South Carolina beat Vanderbilt 24-7 last night in a game to stay undefeated against the Commodores this decade and move up to 4-5 on the season.

South Carolina was plagued by injuries, but that helped some of the younger guys step up.

Here are my three takeaways:

The future looks good

South Carolina went into this game without Rico Dowdle and Shi Smith.

It didn’t help that Tavien Feaster suffered an injury early in the game as well. It did give more opportunities to guys like Deshaun Fenwick and Kevin Harris.

Fenwick finished the game with 102 yards, and Harris had 20 yards with a touchdown.

Harris played in his first game back from a sports hernia injury he suffered five weeks ago.

I think the running back position is going to be great over the next few years, especially with the addition of Marshawn Lloyd next year.

Another freshman that impressed me was Xavier Legette.

Hilinski, who had one of his best games this season, threw a dime to Legette in the second quarter.

Legette was able to beat the corners, and he looked like he deserved the starter spot.

The defense bounced back

South Carolina was embarrassed by Tennessee last weekend, and their secondary was exposed by a backup quarterback.

This week, the whole defense looked sharp. It helped that Vanderbilt lost Riley Neal, but the defense still were able to shut down Ke’Shawn Vaughn.

The defensive line did a good job of getting to the quarterback.

R.J. Roderick and T.J. Brunson both were able to capitalize off the pressure and pick off Deuce Wallace.

The only thing that needs work is the penalties.

Vanderbilt was able to get those seven points because of a few costly penalties against South Carolina on third down.

Bryan Edwards is a clear first round talent

Remember that insane OBJ-esque catch Edwards made last weekend?

That helped his draft stock, but having 14 receptions, 139 yards and a touchdown couldn’t hurt either.

He tied the school single game reception record and continued to make his case for the best South Carolina receiver of all time.

Edwards will already have his name put up in the stadium because he is the career leader in receptions, but he can still set more records.

He needs 88 more yards to set the yardage record, and he needs three more touchdowns to set the touchdown record.

He has three or four more games to break these records, and he can easily break both.

He will be a first round pick and will be known as one of the best South Carolina receivers of all time.

Conclusion

South Carolina will have to play a one loss App State team next week, and they have to win that if they want to keep their bowl hopes alive.

Even if they beat App State, they’ll have to either beat Texas A&M on the road or upset Clemson at home.

A bowl game would certainly help Muschamp keep his seat cool and continue to show progress within the program.