USC worried about Vandy defense

It’s not hard to figure out why Vanderbilt is 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the SEC.

Heading into Saturday’s contest against No. 23 South Carolina (5-2, 2-2) in Columbia at 7 p.m. on ESPNU, the Commodores have gotten little offense this season, ranking last in the league at 150.6 passing yards per game.

However, the bright spot for Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson’s squad has been the defense, which has given the Gamecocks fits the last two seasons in a pair of Commodore victories.

“Vandy’s pass defense is actually ranked ahead of ours,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “They’re second in the conference and we’re third in pass defense. We have to mix it up and try to play a lot better than we’ve played the last few times out.”

Spurrier said the Commodores haven’t changed much the last few seasons, running the same schemes, but they disguise them very well.

“They are a zone blitz team,” Spurrier said. “They make very few mistakes. They’re in position where they’re supposed to be. You have to execute to beat them.”

It all starts up front with a big defensive line. Vandy ranks sixth in the league in sacks with 14, just one behind the Gamecock, and this week gets back defensive end Steven Stone, who’s started 27 games and has recorded nine sacks but broke his right foot in the summer.

“Their defensive line’s good,” Spurrier said. “I asked (offensive line) coach (Eric) Wolford, ‘Why are those guys so good in their defensive line?’ And he said they’re strong guys. It looks like they all probably bench-press 400 pounds or more, and they play with excellent leverage. They don’t play low and all that kind of stuff, well-coached, so I think that’s one reason Vandy has played so well on defense the last several years.”

How South Carolina’s offensive line matches up will be key since the Gamecocks rank last in the SEC in sacks allowed, giving up 20 for 140 lost yards.

“We have to finish our blocks,” USC senior offensive lineman Lemuel Jeanpierre said. “Offensive line is a pretty difficult position because you might be blocking someone but yet you don’t know what’s going on behind you. We’re going to keep working on fundamentals like we do every day in practice, just make sure our effort level is high all week.”

On Saturday, the Commodores, who beat USC 24-17 in Nashville last year behind four sacks, returns their entire two-deep up front.

“You can see on tape they’ll be rushing and it seems they’re blocked and all of a sudden you see them disengage, keep working and keep running their feet,” Jeanpierre said. “They don’t stop. They are a high-motor defense, so when you’re playing this defense you’ve got to make sure you’re matching that tempo and outplaying them for four quarters.”