Nashville, TENN--Vanderbilt suffered its first loss by more than one score in its 28-7 defeat against South Carolina on Saturday.

Here's a breakdown of its offense in that performance.

What went right

Where would Vanderbilt be without Diego Pavia's legs...

That's probably not a question that Tim Beck and Vanderbilt would like to hear the answer to. Without what Pavia did on the ground on Saturday, Vanderbilt likely doesn't score on Saturday without Pavia's legs.

The veteran quarterback went for 65 yards on 13 carries, one of those carries ended in a hurdle that ended as Vanderbilt's play of the game.

Vanderbilt's best offensive news was the improved health of Sedrick Alexander, who seemed to be moving significantly better than he was a week ago.

What went wrong

Vanderbilt's offense struggled in a way it hadn't yet offensively this season as it took the field on the gloomy Saturday that Nashville had to offer.

That was evident as Tim Beck's offense went scoreless in the first half of Saturday's game, which was the first half that Vanderbilt has been held scoreless the entire season. Vanderbilt's struggles were also easy to see as it was out-gained 452-274 by South Carolina and averaged just 4.6 yards per play as opposed to the Gamecocks' 7.2.

The Commodores threw for just 166 yards on a 52% completion percentage with just two plays that went for over 15 yards through the air and had just one receiver with over 30 yards.

The general stats weren't pretty for Vanderbilt and neither were its timely stats. Vanderbilt went just 6-for-13 on third down on the day as well as 1-for-2 in the red zone. That unsuccessful trip came as a result of a fumble that ruined Vanderbilt's chance at a score with excellent field position.

That's when this one felt as if it could go the way it did. Perhaps it was easy to see earlier than that, though.

A lot of what went poorly on Saturday started with Vanderbilt's offensive line, it felt as if that group was pushed around all afternoon and handicapped the rest of its ability to generate anything offensively.

That was somewhat of a new sight for a group that had generally been able to handle the SEC's best front sevens. On Saturday it looked more reminiscent of what Vanderbilt had up front in 2023 rather than the group that showed up and beat No. 1 Alabama earlier this season.

Vanderbilt will now have to scheme around that as it looks to put together a more complete performance in its final two games and to eclipse 300 yards for the first time in over a month.

Grade: D

Vanderbilt's offense wasn't good enough to win on Saturday, plain and simple.

This was its worst performance on that side of the ball all season.

MVP: Diego Pavia's legs

Still wondering where Vanderbilt would be without Pavia's ability to add another dimension to its offense.