The 3-2-1: Three key plays, two game balls, one burning question from South Carolina's win over Vanderbilt
South Carolina became bowl-eligible with a 28-7 win over no. 24 Vanderbilt. GamecockCentral looks at the key plays, hands out game balls, and asks the burning question.
Three Key Plays
1. Third and 10
On Saturday South Carolina struggled when it had long third downs. But this long conversion set up the Gamecocks’ first touchdown. Josh Simon ran an out route right to the first down marker, got a bit of a pick to get some space, and LaNorris Sellers put the pass right in Simon’s hands. It kept the drive alive, led to a touchdown, and forced Vanderbilt to play from behind.
2. Houdini
South Carolina was flagged for holding on the first play of the drive, making it first and 20 from the 15. Things went from bad to worse when LaNorris Sellers dropped back to pass and was wrapped up near the two-yard line. Except he somehow spun out of the tackle, scrambled left, kept his eyes downfield, and found Jared Brown open near midfield. Instead of a disaster, South Carolina had a 51-yard gain. Two plays later Rocket Sanders scored from 33 yards out to give the Gamecocks a 14-0 lead.
3. Blitz
South Carolina got pressure on Diego Pavia all game despite rarely blitzing. In the fourth quarter, needing a stop on fourth and one, Clayton White went with a rare blitz. Bam Martin-Scott came through untouched. He forced a quick throw by Pavia that he batted into the air for an incomplete pass and turnover on downs. A touchdown on the ensuing drive all but wrapped up the win for the Gamecocks.
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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game]
Two Game Balls
Rocket Sanders
Sanders rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries, an average of 8.4 yards per rush. He ran with power and explosiveness, getting short yardage when needed, and had four rushes of 10 yards or more. He also caught two passes for 52 yards and the game-sealing touchdown.
Kyle Kennard
Kennard had the most dominant one-tackle game you’ll ever see. It wasn’t even a real tackle. It was a strip-sack of Pavia that he also recovered. Kennard was credited with four quarterback hurries and collapsed the pocket all game. Kennard had a lot of help, but he was the ringleader.
One Burning Question
Can the Gamecocks keep the momentum going?
South Carolina has won three straight games, all by double digits. The defense has become a dominant unit, while the offense has figured out how to sprinkle in big passes to complement the rushing attack of Sanders and Sellers. And they have stopped beating themselves. Against Vanderbilt, the Gamecocks had 238 yards passing and 214 yards passing while holding Vanderbilt to 274 total yards. A month ago next week’s game against Missouri looked like a probable loss. Missouri plays later on Saturday without injured quarterback Brady Cook, and haven’t played well without him. Suddenly it looks like a very winnable game, followed by Wofford, and South Carolina can dream of going to Clemson with an 8-3 record. Can they keep it going that long?
