Takeaways remain a key emphasis for South Carolina heading into matchup against Vandy
After going 15 straight quarters without forcing a turnover, South Carolina finally ended that drought this past weekend against Jacksonville State.
“It’s definitely difficult when you can’t the ball back on defense but coming into Saturday’s game (against Jacksonville State) that was an emphasis for us,” said defensive back DQ Smith. “That will be an emphasis for us for the rest of the season as well. We emphasize it a lot in practice.”
The Gamecocks finished with four takeaways, which marked their most since last year’s game against Vanderbilt on Nov. 5, 2022. The highlight of the day for South Carolina’s defense came on an 88-yard pick six by linebacker Stone Blanton that all but iced the victory for USC.
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“Something that coach (Clayton) White always says is that takeaways come in bunches,” said Blanton. “We had a cold streak for sure. I mean, it was rough. We (felt) like we couldn’t pay for a turnover. But once we got that one, they kept coming, they kept coming, they kept coming. That’s what it takes. Once you get that first one, they keep coming… I think last year we started off slow with turnovers too and then we got that one and they kept coming game after game.
Including Blanton’s pick six, three of USC’s takeaways led to points on the ensuing drive by the Gamecocks. The one that didn’t led to two kneel downs to end the game. The point being is that it’s not just the defense who fed off that energy of creating turnovers.
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“That’s something we’ve been looking for all year from our defense,” said tight Joshua Simon. “It’s not like they’re not capable of doing it but to actually go out there and do it, it’s like a momentum shift. We can feel it, the fans can feel it, and when all that energy just going around Willy-B you can’t do anything but make the best out of it.”
Heading into this weekend’s game, Vanderbilt has turned the ball over 17 times. That’s tied for the 15th most by any team in FBS.
“Just keeping that same energy,” said defensive back O’Donnell Fortune. “Heading into the Vandy game, we’re gonna keep that same momentum.”
