South Carolina's Defense Rounding Into Form At The Right Time
At one point this Fall, South Carolina's defense had given up 20 or more points in sixteen straight contests dating back to last season, a streak that no unit, especially in the SEC, ever wants to see. Late in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks back in week eleven, the Gamecocks from Columbia were hanging onto a three-point lead for dear life, with State having driven to Carolina's 17-yard line.
On the final play of that drive, Stone Blanton picked off a pass on a wheel route and returned it for a touchdown, which sealed a win at that moment, but in the grand scheme of things, may have also given Clayton White's unit the spark that they oh so desperately needed. Playing against the Vanderbilt Commodores last week, in rainy conditions no less, the Gamecocks held their opponent to six points, the lowest they'd given up since shutting out Eastern Illinois in Shane Beamer's debut game in 2021.
After those two contests, some opined that those performances came against inferior competition where the offense largely did enough to win. Fair as that may be, it's undeniable that South Carolina won tonight's game versus the Wildcats because of what this defense did. In the second quarter, one that was extremely ugly for Dowell Loggains' offensive unit, the Gamecocks forced two turnovers on their side of the field and prevented Kentucky from taking the lead and, subsequently, the game's momentum heading into halftime.
At the start of the second half, the Wildcats put together a nine-play, 92-yard that might've left some wondering if this was the moment where the game would turn on its head. Carolina's defense was never phased, as they only gave up 63 yards the rest of the game and made two critical stops late in the fourth quarter to help South Carolina maintain its slim lead.
Tonka Hemingway holding onto the ball for dear life after catching it late against Kentucky (18th Nov., 2023)
Jeff Blake | USA Today Network
In the last three games, the Gamecocks' defense has taken away the football nine times from their opposition. They've given up an average of 263 yards in their previous two games, with just 96 coming via the run game. It might make some unhappy to think that it took this long for this unit to finally have some sustained success, and hey, the team would've much rather had this kind of rhythm back when they played North Carolina in Charlotte.
But with bowl eligibility at stake and one of the biggest rivalries in college sports coming up next week, Clayton White's unit is playing sound football at just the right time and doing their part in trying to make this a November to remember for South Carolina.
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