COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)
-- For the first time in his seven years at South Carolina, Steve
Spurrier team is 4-0. But like most of his Gamecocks teams, he can't get
the offense where he wants it.
No. 12 South
Carolina (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) beat Vanderbilt 21-3 on
Saturday night. But Stephen Garcia threw four interceptions, Marcus
Lattimore was held under 100 yards rushing and all-SEC receiver Alshon
Jeffery caught just two passes for 34 yards.
"I apologize to
Gamecock fans for such a putrid offensive performance," Spurrier
said. "But we won the game."
Spurrier had no
problem admitting his defense bailed this one out. The Gamecocks held
the Commodores (3-1, 1-1) to 77 yards and just five first downs. South
Carolina recovered two fumbles, both forced by freshman defensive end
Jadeveon Clowney, and sacked Vanderbilt's quarterbacks six times. It was
the fewest yards allowed by a South Carolina team since holding Wake
Forest to 66 yards in November 1987.
"We just played
solid, sound defense, put the guys in position and let them play,"
Spurrier said. "They played well and tackled well."
But great defensive
games are just a small comfort to Spurrier, a Heisman Trophy winning
quarterback at Florida who then revamped offenses in the SEC as a coach
at his alma mater, winning a national title and six SEC crowns with his
Fun-and-Gun attack.
There wasn't much
firepower to South Carolina's offense Saturday night. The Gamecocks two
biggest plays were a 52-yard touchdown pass to Lattimore on a screen
pass in the waning moments of the second quarter that put South Carolina
ahead 14-3 and a jump ball that fell from a Commodore defender's hands
to Ace Sanders for a 51-yard gain.
"I guess those
were our two big plays of the night. A screen pass and a jump
ball," Spurrier said. "I guess that's the way it goes."
Garcia did throw his
third touchdown pass, as many as defensive end Melvin Ingram has now
scored this season. Ingram recovered a teammate's fumble in the end zone
to go with two sacks, a tackle for an 8-yard loss and swatted away a
pass.
Garcia's problems
caused Spurrier to throw his headset in the first quarter and his
playcalling sheet in the second. By the time Garcia threw his fourth
pick in the end zone in the fourth quarter, the Head Ball Coach could do
nothing more than slowly shake his head as his senior quarterback spoke
to him.
Garcia shrugged off
his performance at first. "A win is a win. If we would have lost,
hell yeah, it would have been frustrating," he said.
But a few minutes
later Garcia seemed to realize that his nonchalance at his own mistakes
is one of the things that drives his coach nuts.
"I hope this is
the last week we play like this offensively," Garcia said. "I
don't think we can survive playing like this."
Spurrier put backup
Connor Shaw into the game in the fourth quarter, his first action since
getting the nod to start this year's opener, then being benched after an
ineffective first quarter. Spurrier took no chances, running Lattimore
on six of Shaw's first eight plays. The other two snaps were designed
quarterback runs.
Spurrier didn't
close the door to a quarterback competition during this week's practices
as the Gamecocks prepare for Auburn. But he didn't sound confident he
had anyone he thinks can run his offense the way he wants it.
"We'll put
whoever out there we can to help us win the game," Spurrier said,
adding Garcia will likely start with "the way we're looking at
things now."
Lattimore finished
77 yards rushing and 73 receiving. Sanders led South Carolina with four
catches for 75 yards. And after eight 100-yard plus games last season,
Jeffery has yet to have a 100-yard game this season.
"We're not
playing at the top of our game, Hopefully we have a top of our
game," Spurrier said.
Meanwhile, South
Carolina's defense finally got on track after coming into the game
allowing 372 yards a contest. They harassed Vanderbilt quarterback Larry
Smith all night, finally knocking him out of the game in the third
quarter. Coach James Franklin refused to update Smith's condition after
the game.
Smith was 12-of-16
passing, but they were almost all short throws. He threw for 44 yards
and was sacked six times. Backup Jordan Rodgers, whose older brother is
Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers, completed his first two passes,
but only gained 2 yards.
"We got
manhandled up front. Their athleticism up front was obvious,"
Franklin said. "We struggled with that all night."
After complaining
about his offense for most of his 10-minute postgame news conference,
Spurrier tried to end on a positive note. But the sigh that started his
ending statement gave away his true feelings.
"We're 4-0.
We're going to enjoy this victory. We're going to get ready for
Auburn," Spurrier said. "We're not going to go in the jar. We
aren't going to point fingers at anybody."
