For the second time this season, the South Carolina football team recorded more than 200 rushing yards in a 34-27 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The team rushed for a season-high 212 yards, and three of the four Gamecock touchdowns came on the ground.
“That’s over 200 yards rushing or right at it in the last three SEC ball games, so that’s a huge marked improvement from where we’ve been," head coach Will Muschamp said.
The heavy rush production powered South Carolina to its ninth straight win against Vanderbilt and improved the all-time meeting record to 23-4 in the Gamecocks' favor.
After Rico Dowdle suffered a fibula fracture against Tennessee two weeks ago, fans were wondering who would step up and become the lead back for the Gamecock offense going forward.
It did not take long for that void to be filled.
A.J. Turner had one of the best games of his career on Saturday, averaging a whopping 8.1 yards per carry en route to a personal best 121 yards — the same amount the entire Vanderbilt team had — on 15 attempts.
“Coach [Bobby] Bentley always says when we get the ball just make the most of it even if the line isn’t blocking; create your own yards and that’s what I’ve been trying to do and trying to help my team out in that way," Turner said when asked about his improvement in Saturday's game compared to games earlier in the season.
Turner also scored a touchdown, upping his total to two rushing touchdowns this season. This performance makes Turner the first Gamecock to surpass 100 rushing yards in a game this season.
“A.J. Turner ran extremely hard in the game," Muschamp said. "You see the power that he has ... he is able to run through tackles."
Another vital piece to the rushing attack for the Gamecocks was quarterback Jake Bentley. Though Bentley may not seem like a rushing quarterback to the average college football follower, he utilized the rush to the best of his ability against the Commodores. It would not be surprising to see him rush more in the future. After all, Bentley said he used to be a running quarterback in the past.
“Believe it or not, in middle school and little league, I used to run all the time," Bentley said.
Similar to Turner, Bentley had a career-high in rushing yards with 47 and also totaled two rushing touchdowns — the first time in his career he's scored in that fashion.
When asked about Bentley's rushing style, defensive back Steven Montac said, "Like Mike Vick."
Running back Mon Denson, who was dubbed the "next man up" following Rico Dowdle's injury, also contributed for the Gamecocks. Denson compiled 25 yards on four carries, with his longest going for a season-high 14 yards.
The Commodores are one of the worst teams in the SEC in stopping the run. After starting the season 3-0, they have lost five straight SEC games. Each team they faced had at least one rusher finish with more than 100 total yards. In Vanderbilt's three wins this season, all three opposing teams failed to get a running back to surpass 50 rushing yards.
Behind the run game, the Gamecocks picked up their fourth win in five games and are officially bowl eligible. They'll look to carry this momentum over into next Saturday's game against Georgia in what will be a top-tier SEC showdown.
In the words of defensive lineman Dante Sawyer, “It’s gonna be a dog fight.”