Many of the positives around South Carolina this season have been about the defense, and its strong play led by a turnover frenzy that has put the Gamecocks at the top of the SEC, and among the nation’s leaders.

But that play, particularly in the secondary, saw some alarming sequences Saturday as South Carolina allowed Vanderbilt to produce the kind of big plays it hadn’t done all season.

Coming into the game, Vanderbilt hadn’t had a play of more than 40 yards, but in the first quarter, the Gamecocks allowed passes of 44 yards and 50 yards to receivers Cam Johnson and Will Sheppard. They came from a backup quarterback that the Gamecocks could be given a break on since they likely didn’t prepare for, especially his mobility. But seeing the worst team in the SEC running free down the field is not a settling sight.

Then there was the 3rd-quarter touchdown by Sheppard that went for 52 yards.

Those 3 big passing plays (44, 50, 52) accounted for nearly half of the yards Vanderbilt gained, 146 of 312. Coach Shane Beamer knew exactly what the problems were.

“Busting coverages in the first half on defense and giving up explosive passes. … Two holding penalties by two DBs on the same play, missed tackles,” Beamer said.

He admitted that Vanderbilt deserves some credit, but that South Carolina gave the Commodores a boost when missed tackles led to extra yards on the outside.

“A lot of the drives that continued were because of penalties or busts on defense. We’ve got to get that cleaned up,” Beamer said.

The defense picked up 2 more turnovers, and still leads the SEC with 16 turnovers, including 10 interceptions. However, the Gamecocks are leaking oil on the other side with 6 turnovers on offense. Beamer doesn’t see an obvious difference lately in the defense.

“I really feel like, game plan-wise, it was the same as it has been,” Beamer said. “We kind of do what we do on defense and don’t really change a whole lot week to week. The biggest thing, with us, that quarterback got around and scrambled. The first big play, we were in 3-deep, zone coverage. You shouldn’t be giving up an explosive pass on 3-deep, zone coverage, and guys just have to be more disciplined from that standpoint.”

The rushing defense has left much to be desired, and while it held Vanderbilt to 106 yards, it’s had 3 games this season where it allowed more than 5 yards per rush.

Before the Vanderbilt game, defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke about the importance of improving in that area.

“We definitely want to improve that area,” he said. “Obviously evaluating things over a short period of time, you definitely want things to be better. … We feel like the mistakes that we are making are very correctable. We know we have the talent to go out here and play better run defense. That’s obviously the goal, coaches, we take it very hard and our players do too and I think that’s the most important thing. And our whole team knows that running the football and stopping the run is a formula that coach Beamer talks about every single week, so we’re going to grind at it.”

The Gamecocks get a test this week against Texas A&M and the dynamic pairing of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane, who are the only teammates in the top 10 in rushing in the SEC who have 4 touchdowns each. Spiller averages 94 yards per game, and Achane sits at 64, and they each average more than 6 yards per carry.