On Saturday, the Gamecocks knocked off the Vanderbilt Commodores 34-27 and punched their ticket to bowl eligibility. Here are three things we learned from South Carolina’s victory:

1. Don’t sleep on AJ Turner

With all of the talk in the pre-season being focused on RB’s Rico Dowdle and Ty’son Williams, Turner seemed like the forgotten guy. After having a solid freshman campaign, Turner found himself being mainly only used sparingly by OC Kurt Roper. However, the shifty Turner reminded us why he may be the leader of the Gamecocks backfield. Turner exploded for 121 yards and 1 TD on 15 carries. He also showed a shiftiness and burst of speed we haven’t seen from him this season. Don’t be surprised if AJ Turner is a much bigger part of the offensive game-plan moving forward.

2. Fleet of foot Bentley

QB Jake Bentley showed his running ability Saturday, carrying the ball six times for 47 yards and two TD’s. More importantly, the Gamecocks showed a new wrinkle in their offense with Bentley keeping the ball more often on “read-option” type plays. As it appears that Jake is becoming more comfortable with pulling the ball out and keeping it, this could be a huge game changer for this offense. Keep the defense honest and watch this RPO offense flourish with the dual threat capability.

3. Trending Upward

Look, it wasn’t pretty. The Gamecocks had to hold on at the end for a 34-27 win over a less than impressive Vanderbilt team. However, this Gamecocks team has found a way to get it done all season and now finds themselves 6-2 heading into a huge match-up with #2 Georgia. Will Muschamp has this program heading in the right direction and could make a huge statement with an impressive showing between the hedges on Saturday afternoon.

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