Instant Analysis: South Carolina-Vanderbilt

When your program doesn't have a tradition of winning, learning how to win can take a very long time. Vanderbilt, then, is more ahead of schedule in 2008 than South Carolina, where Steve Spurrier and sons are finding out how difficult it is to change the subculture at a school.

South Carolina's defense didn't play horribly against Vanderbilt on Thursday night in Nashville, but when put in a bad position by the Gamecocks' sputtering offense, the backbone of the Carolina crew couldn't force field goals or get off the field. Coordinator Ellis Johnson's unit didn't concede all that many yards, but big plays were lacking for a squad that needed to make more of an impact on the proceedings.

Carolina's offense was much worse in last year's loss to Vanderbilt, but just the same, Chris Smelley couldn't make enough clutch throws in big situations. A second-quarter overthrow of tight end Jared Cook denied the Gamecocks a chance to get a 14-0 lead and, in all probability, run away from the Commodores. On the very next play, Smelley tossed an interception that led to a Vandy field goal. Carolina's offense looked better than in the opening-week struggle against North Carolina State, but with crucial mistakes at the wrong times, the Gamecocks came up short.

All in all, a mistake here on special teams (where a fumble and a blocked field goal devastated Team Spurrier) and a mistake there on defense (a third-down penalty to keep a Vandy drive alive), combined with turnovers on offense, enabled South Carolina to play just well enough to lose. Vanderbilt didn't dominate play; the Commodores merely made the most of the gifts Carolina gave them. Thursday night's SEC East encounter offered a perfect example of how talent doesn't easily translate to results. Learning how to win--making the bigger plays in the most significant moments--is the untaught skill that college football teams must learn how to master... especially at programs without a history of excellence.

Steve Spurrier is a very wise man who hasn't forgotten how to coach. He's merely stuck in a situation where his quarterbacks, and several other players on his roster, just don't know how to perform in the pigksin pressure-cooker that is the SEC. Until attitudes change and young men decide to grow up, South Carolina won't reach the next level, no matter how much Spurrier demands from his uncertain and hesitant players.