South Carolina football beats Vanderbilt 38-27 in 14th consecutive victory over Commodores

South Carolina football earned its sixth win to reach bowl eligibility with a convincing 38-27 victory over Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3 SEC) beat the Commodores (3-4, 0-5) for the 14th consecutive meeting, maintaining Vanderbilt's longest active losing streak against an SEC opponent. It was also the second SEC road win of coach Shane Beamer's tenure after South Carolina beat Kentucky in Lexington in Week 6.

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Offense has well-rounded performance

For the first time all season, the South Carolina offense had a fairly even stat line rushing and passing. Quarterback Spencer Rattler had his first game of the season with three passing touchdowns, connecting on a 29-yard pass to Xavier Legette and two of his best throws of the season to Josh Vann and Antwane Wells. Rattler had his best game of the year and finished 16-for-23 passing for 186 yards and three TDs.

Star running back Marshawn Lloyd did not travel with the team due to a thigh contusion he sustained against Missouri, but the run game adjusted fairly well. Four players had three or more carries, and USC finished with 211 yards rushing.

Trick plays work wonders — sometimes

The Gamecocks pulled off the fake field goal play they used against Georgia State in Week 1 to just as much success against Vanderbilt. Punter Kai Kroeger, who played quarterback in high school, threw the pass lined up as long snapper to defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway to pick up a first down late in the third quarter.

The team's second touchdown also came on a trick play that used receiver Dakereon Joyner at quarterback. Another high school quarterback, Joyner played under center during last year's Duke's Mayo Bowl win but has not been used in that role much this season. After the play broke down, Joyner scrambled and tossed the ball up to Wells, who ran it 68 yards for a touchdown.

However, the trick plays weren't perfect. The most notable failure was a fleaflicker that USC chose to run on third down and three that ultimately led to a punt.

Defense struggles vs. run game

The Gamecocks' defense has consistently been a strength, but it struggled badly against Vanderbilt's running backs and mobile quarterback Mike Wright, who replaced starter AJ Swann after an injury. Senior running back Ray Davis led the Commodores with a season-high 167 rushing yards, and the team finished with 226 yards. They also averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

Entering the Vanderbilt game, South Carolina was allowing an average of 165 rushing yards to opponents. Missed tackles were a huge issue, and the secondary was notably struggling with injuries again. Nickelback David Spaulding did not travel with the team due to an injury, and Devonni Reed was limited amid recovery from a knee injury. Freshmen safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith also both went down briefly with injuries, thought they were able to return to the game.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football beats Vanderbilt 38-27, gets bowl eligibility