Lorenzo Ward’s a marked man in Columbia, S.C., this season.

South Carolina’s defensive coordinator received the lion’s share of criticism after the Gamecocks’ fifth loss in nine games Saturday night against Tennessee, searching for answers after another disappointing performance.

His unit gave up 645 total yards and 17 unanswered points during the overtime defeat, a product of missed tackles and players that appeared out of position throughout.

“This is probably worst one (seasons) I’ve been apart of … well I can’t say that, we went 2-14 when I was with the (Oakland) Raiders,” Ward said after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s tough, but you have to grind through it. We’re accustomed to winning here and need to go back to it.”

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Ward, who signed a new three-year extension in January, said he wasn’t worried about his own job security and is focused on helping the Gamecocks’ defense tighten up over its final three games.

South Carolina ranks last in the SEC in several statistical categories on defense and is giving up 34.1 points per game this season, the most in the Steve Spurrier era.

“We’re going through this for a reason and there’s a lot of different reasons,” Ward said. “We can’t give up on the kids and can’t give up on the system. The guys were a little down yesterday (during a short workout), but they were better today.”

Ward attributed Saturday night’s challenges against Joshua Dobbs and the Tennessee offense to early-season struggles and lack of execution in late-game situations against Mizzou and Kentucky.

There’s nowhere to go but up for a team in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since losing five straight to end the season in 2007.

“We’re to the point to where, because of what happened early, guys were afraid to make a mistake and played tentative,” Ward said. “That’s why we missed tackles in the open field.”

The Gamecocks are off this week in prep for Florida on Nov. 15.