What happened at halftime to spark Gamecocks' defense in win over Vols?

Oct. 29—COLUMBIA — DeSean Bishop was starting to find more room and yards after contact. George MacIntyre was way too comfortable in the pocket. Receivers were finding those familiar holes in South Carolina’s secondary and the Gamecocks were handing Tennessee every bit of the 14-point lead USC had seized, and then some.

Trailing at halftime, USC had yielded 179 yards and 21 points (the scores all in the second quarter). Something needed to change.

End of the game, USC had yielded 141 more yards and just three points. Something definitely changed.

What?

“We didn’t do anything different. I wasn’t really pleased with how we were stopping the run early in the game, so I came into the locker room, brought the team up,” defensive tackle Kelby Collins said. “‘It starts up front, with the D-line, we got to do a better job stopping the run.’ Everybody bought in and fell in line, and we did what we knew we were supposed to do the whole game.'”

To get it out of the way, yes, three Tennessee touchdowns were called back. But the penalties were correct. The Vols ended up scoring a touchdown on one drive anyway and a field goal on another.

USC’s defense can’t take sole credit for those because it was Tennessee that screwed up. But of course it didn’t hurt the Gamecocks’ confidence.

“I knew we were going to end the game, I felt it coming. Just seeing that moment happen, what can you do but get excited? I didn’t have a doubt in my mind,” said lineman Noah Clark, who was part of a group that came up with a fourth-and-1 stop and a strip-sack to set up USC’s incredible game-winning rally. “We just played with a next-play mentality. You can’t dwell on a bad quarter in the SEC. Every team you play is a good team. Just got to let it go and play football.”

Coach Shane Beamer put it simply. There was no drastic change or sudden swig of energy juice.

“We ran a little bit more five-man pressures and playing some man coverage behind it, but I thought in the second half, those guys played with more physicality and more effort,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, and really the only thing from a coverage standpoint or defensive scheme standpoint was just a little bit more five-man pressure.”

Not too much exciting about that. Folks want to hear of a passionate speech, or a challenge to fight. Ed Reed shouting “I’m hurt, dawg!,” that kind of thing.

OK, maybe a little bit.

“We had a little come-to-Jesus moment as a defense, ‘This isn’t our standard,'” said cornerback Judge Collier. “We went out there and played our standard of ball, took care of business.”

Now to make sure they don’t wait until halftime.

Follow David Cloninger on Twitter at @DCPandC

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