Upset in the making?
Credit to the South Carolina fans. They showed up some 79,000 strong for an early game, which is more than I thought would be here.It's a safe bet, however, that they didn't expect to see what transpired in the first half.
Vanderbilt came out by far the more inspired team, played harder and played faster and held a 17-0 at the end of the first quarter. It's 17-6 at the half.
All is not lost for the Gamecocks, but they need to get something going early in the second half, and will have that chance since they get the ball first.
To Vanderbilt's credit, when the Commodores didn't score in that first quarter, they still kept USC pinned deep in its own territory. The Gamecocks' average starting field position on their first four possessions was about their 11-yard line, including two inside the 5. In all, USC started three possessions inside its 5 -- from the 1, 2 and 3.
USC finally got a big special teams play before halftime when Captain Munnerlyn returned a punt 46 yards to the Vandy 17, but the Gamecocks managed only a field goal.
The Gamecocks have some offensive problems that they need to solve, and solve quickly, not only for the remainder of this game, but for the remainder of the schedule, which includes a couple of the SEC's traditional big boys in Tennessee and Florida.
Posted by
on 10/20 at 01:06 PM
