With the return of Heisman hopeful Marcus Lattimore and the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Jadeveon Clowney at Defensive End South Carolina was sure to steamroll the Commodores for the easy victory. Marcus Lattimore was back on the field to carry the Gamecocks to victory scoring South Carolinas only two touchdowns for the night. Lattimore rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries for 2 TDs averaging 4.8 yards a carry; he also had three receptions for 21 yards accounting for almost half of Carolina’s total yards. Lattimore showed promising signs of what is yet to come if he can stay healthy. South Carolinas quarterback struggles continued as Connor Shaw completed 7 of 11 passes totaling only 67 yards and throwing one interception and racked up 92 yards rushing. Shaw’s Thursday night’s performance did not show the likes of a SEC caliber quarterback. Granted Shaw went down in the first half with shoulder injury that doesn’t excuse his 67 yard 1 interception passing performance against a decent Vanderbilt defense. With nonexistent a pass game the Gamecocks looked offensively stagnant giving most of the load to Lattimore. The Gamecock front seven on defense had a good outing while the Gamecock secondary remains in question in a controversial pass interference no call late in the fourth quarter. Conversely Vanderbilt showed signs of improvement holding the Gamecocks to only 17 points. The Commodores rallied behind Quarterback Jordan Rodgers who threw for more than 200 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 pick to keep the game competitive all the way down to the wire.
The season opener is in the books for the Gamecocks but an overall progression is needed to compete for an SEC title let alone National Championship.
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