South Carolina’s defense has been a strong point of the team this season. But it hasn’t been perfect. And it shouldn’t be yet only three games in.

So far this year, the Gamecocks have held opponents to 20.3 points per game. They’ve also been able to create turnovers, something that was a glaring problem at times last year. They’re top 10 in the country right now with eight forced turnovers.

Despite winning by 25 points against Kentucky two weeks ago, there were some minor issues flaring up. It wasn’t a big deal because the defense has been able to deliver in the end. However, in a 36-33 loss to LSU last Saturday, it was a bit more apparent there were going to be some things to clean up.

The Tigers offense put up more than 400 total yards and were able to find a rushing attack. The Gamecock defense gave up 132 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, something that has become more concerning over the last two games.

“We kind of pretty much just shot ourselves in the foot, just trying to overcompensate, people not really doing their jobs. Big games like that, everybody wants to make the play,” Demetrius Knight said.

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Now, that’s not to say South Carolina didn’t play well defensively. It came out on fire in that game, holding LSU to just seven yards of offense in the first quarter. The defense was able to force heavy pressure onto Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

Most of this early success came in the 4-2-5 defense. As the game moved along, defensive coordinator Clayton White occasionally switched to playing with three down linemen in order to have another defender in pass coverage. The results weren’t as strong.

In the second half, LSU scored 20 points on 248 total yards while dominating the time of possession battle. It’s become a big point of contention that changing what was working was the wrong move. But White doesn’t regret his decision.

“Obviously, we know LSU has a locker room full of talent and they can strike at any time. So, the main thought was let’s go three down and put more guys in coverage and invite them to run it,” White said. “And then obviously the very first play we had a blown coverage and got to get that fixed. … Obviously, that defense has been good for us and the 4-2-5 has also been good for us, too. So, just unfortunate timing.”

It wasn’t solely the switch that was the issue, though. South Carolina missed 17 tackles, which allowed LSU to turn small gains into bigger chunk plays. For comparison, the defense had 19 missed tackles in the first two games.

Could fatigue and being on the field for much longer have been a factor? Possibly. But the players indicated that was not the reason why they were missing tackles.

“It was definitely fundamental things, just not wrapping up,” Kyle Kennard said. “Sometimes we put our head down, sometimes we didn’t drive through, just little things like that. It had nothing to do with fatigue. I think we were ready to play throughout the whole entire game.”

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While the loss certainly stung in the days after, there were positives the defense could take away. After all, they were keeping South Carolina in the game and playing well overall. It may end up being just a bump in the road.

“You can take good out of even the bad with the missed tackles. It brings you to the point of humility. Coach White talks about that a lot that you have to be humble, remain humble. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low — remain in the middle,” Knight said.

“So of course, with the missed tackles, that kind of humbled us a little bit that we need to rely more on technique and remember again going back to doing your job. If you got the guy to the flat, take him to the flat. You got the receiver here, stay on him but not your eyes in the back field on the quarterback because your guy can run past you.”

The Gamecocks will have a great chance to reset and work out some of the issues from last weekend with Akron coming into town. The Zips are still looking to find their rhythm as the offense has averaged 18 points per game this season, which bodes well for South Carolina.

The key for White and the players has been to learn and move forward. In the team’s defensive staff room, White has a listed saying, which reads, “Don’t get mad twice.” That’s become the goal for this weekend.

“Basically, it means move on, don’t dwell, don’t linger,” White said. “It’s been written up there since January 2021. … It don’t mean you don’t get upset twice but definitely keep your emotions in check and make sure you learn from your mistakes.”

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