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South Carolina receiver Tori Gurley believes the Gamecocks got the wake-up call they needed as they try to win the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division.
He called their 31-28 loss at Kentucky humbling coming a week after knocking off then-No. 1 Alabama by two touchdowns.
That loss dropped South Carolina to No. 19 in the rankings and erased most of the Gamecocks' lead atop the East. That means South Carolina heads to Vanderbilt on Saturday night needing to snap a seven-game SEC road skid to avoid falling behind the Commodores in the standings.
Gurley said the Gamecocks (4-2, 2-2) just need to work hard because they remain in charge if they just get back to their winning ways.
''We want to control our own destiny,'' Gurley said. ''We don't want to depend on a team to lose and all this tiebreak stuff. We feel if we can go on ahead and run the table, that will speak for itself.''
Yes, the SEC East couldn't be more topsy-turvey this season with Vanderbilt (2-4, 1-2) having the chance to move on top with the tiebreaker with a win over South Carolina, even after being shut out in a 43-0 loss at Georgia last week.
''I don't think it's nuts at all,'' Vanderbilt defensive tackle Adam Smotherman said. ''We're very confident in ourselves. We've had some setbacks. I think we're very confident in our abilities, and we're confident in our coaches to give us a good game plan.''
The Commodores can go into Saturday night confident because South Carolina is the one SEC team they've had the most success with recently. They are looking for their third win in four years and beat the then-No. 24 Gamecocks 28-17 in 2008 for Vanderbilt's first win over a ranked opponent in Nashville since 1992.
South Carolina had to score late to pull out a 14-10 win in Columbia last year.
''They've given us fits,'' South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. ''Hopefully, we can go play a little better and play the entire game and play a little bit better in a lot of areas than we've been playing. If we do that, we'll have a chance. If not, certainly the result will be a good chance to be like it was last week.''
The Gamecocks may be without running back Marcus Lattimore due to a sprained ankle, but they still have quarterback Stephen Garcia.
That may be more than enough against a Vanderbilt defense that could be without defensive tackle T.J. Greenstone and linebacker Chris Marve. Greenstone aggravated his sprained ankle in practice this week, while Marve had some puffiness in his knee after playing against Georgia 10 days after arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage.
Smotherman also will try to play after he was on the field for 20 snaps at Georgia in his first action since tearing an ACL last spring. Fifth-year senior center Joey Bailey also is doubtful with a sprained ankle, which could leave freshman Logan Stewart or James Kittredge starting against South Carolina.
''We could be green as a gourd in the middle there,'' Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell said. ''They'll be ready to battle.''
Even if Lattimore doesn't play, Garcia still will have Kenny Miles, South Carolina's top rusher last year, and the SEC's top receiver in sophomore Alshon Jeffery, who is third-best in the nation with 115 yards receiving per game.
Garcia reminds Caldwell of former Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, who's now in the NFL. He threw for a career-high 382 yards at Kentucky in nearly rallying the Gamecocks, and ranks second in the nation with a pass efficiency rating of 171.0.
''He seems to have a little better grasp of what they're trying to do,'' Caldwell said. ''He's done it against quality people as well, and that concerns us. We have to keep him in the pocket, and we have to pressure him. We have to make him throw before he's ready. Our defensive linemen are going to have to get a pass rush.''
Vanderbilt ranks 31st nationally defending the pass, giving up just 187 yards per game. But the Commodores are giving up 191.8 yards rushing.
Spurrier, who never lost to Vanderbilt before arriving at South Carolina, called the Commodores tough on defense.
''They are sort of a zone-blitz team, a little bit of man-to-man, but there guys are always in position,'' Spurrier said. ''It's funny. If this guy has got this area, he's there. If he's got that one, he's there. And they are spread across just exactly the way you draw it up so I admire how they are such a disciplined defense.''
