Here are some quick reactions to Vanderbilt's 24-7 loss at South Carolina.

1. Quarterback is a hotter mess than ever.

Vanderbilt left last game’s starter, Mo Hasan, at home due to a concussion. It announced that fourth-teamer Allan Walters wasn’t available. Riley Neal threw a touchdown on the Commodores’ first possession, and then didn’t play again for (presumably) an injury.

That left Deuce Wallace to go the rest of the night. The numbers: 8 of 17, 30 yards and two interceptions, though one of those wasn’t Wallace’s fault as James Bostic tipped it into the arms of a South Carolina defender.

I’m not sure that Hasan will ever play again, or that Walters will play a snap at VU. That means the Commodores are now left clinging to hope that some combination of Wallace and Neal plays at a higher level than we’ve see at VU—and that’s assuming Neal is healthy enough to play.

There’s also this: the SEC Network noted in the fourth quarter that the Commodores were 7-of-46 on passes beyond 15 yards downfield this season, and there may have been an incompletion or two after that.

2. The SEC Network broadcast crew had no shortage of opinions about Vanderbilt’s coaching staff and its decisions on Saturday.

The drumbeat started when sideline announcer Cole Cubelic was in disbelief that coach Derek Mason, after being asked three times between the first and second half, couldn’t tell him whether or not Neal was returning.

It got louder as preseason first-team All-Southeastern Conference wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb stood on the sideline the entire game, for what was apparently not injury-related, but a coaching decision.

It continued as the Commodores continued to throw short passes to the sidelines—color commentator Jordan Rodgers was critical of the routes VU had receivers running—and its continued inability to get the ball to preseason All-American tight end Jared Pinkney, who didn’t have a catch on three targets.

The network also questioned why VU didn’t use screen passes to get the ball to running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who caught two balls for nine yards.

Rodgers was frequently critical of VU’s offense in the Commodores’ blowout loss at Ole Miss.

3. Have motion and read-options mostly left the playbook again?

When you can’t throw, and Vaughn’s your only weapon on the field, you’d better find something to keep a defense off balance. Yet tonight, there were no jet sweeps I remember outside an early one to Justice Shelton-Mosley, faked jet sweeps, and don’t remember the ‘Dores sending men in motion across the formation, either.

VU ran one keeper early with Neal, but I don't remember any beyond that.

4. At least Vanderbilt was disciplined on Saturday.

The Commodores were penalized two times for 20 yards, one, a 15-yard personal foul on Vaughn, who retaliated with a shot towards Gamecock Javon Kinlaw’s face mask after Kinlaw kneed him in the head after a play.

5. It wasn’t a great defensive effort, but at least VU showed some heart and fire late into the game on that side, and some improvement in terms of not allowing big plays.

The offense’s inability to move the ball left the defense behind the 8-ball, and the defense did its share of that, also, in allowing 25 first downs and 440 total yards. But at least it didn’t fold; Carolina went for a touchdown in the final two minutes on a fourth-and-goal at the Vandy 1, and linebacker Feleti Afemui helped snuff it out.

The Commodores got slow-bled on that side of the ball, giving up a long run of 18 yards, and (I think) gave up just two pass plays over 20 yards.