Some quick observations after tonight's game...
Obviously, the offense did not put up as many points as I anticipated and USC's coaching staff hoped to put up, but they came away with a win. The offense had some chances which they did not convert at times. I thought USC's offense looked more than capable of scoring points, they just failed to put it all together and missed some chances.
Carolina's rushing attack managed just over 100 yards; at times the running game looked encouraging and at other times they were stuffed near the line of scrimmage. I thought Patrick Dimarco and Brian Maddox showed excellent effort running the ball.
South Carolina did allow some sacks, but a couple were the product of Stephen Garcia holding the ball too long. He was decisive and got rid of the ball quickly at times, but tried to do too much and got himself in trouble on other occasions.
On the whole, I thought South Carolina's offensive line performance was encouraging. There is still some work to do; they made some mistakes both in the run and pass game but I thought they were solid.
Devin Taylor was impressive in his first start and made several nice plays for Carolina.
Eric Norwood showed why he was so highly regarded, grabbing a pair of sacks and being very active on defense. I was also impressed with Darian Stewart.
Carolina's defense, on the whole, did a great job. If you hold any team to under 150 yards of total offense, you've done something right. Russell Wilson was OK but certainly not great, and they also held the ground game in check. Since the offense sputtered, the defense definitely won the game here.
USC's got some young players in the secondary, but have a lot of talent. Stephon Gilmore's play in the end zone was excellent and Devonte Holloman also had an excellent pass break-up downfield. I thought the secondary did a good job.
USC looked to wear down a bit on defense towards the end but managed to make enough plays to keep State out of the end zone.
Spencer Lanning, with the exception of one, was excellent punting the ball. The field goal miss was certainly one he should be able to put through, though.
Tori Gurley looked good as a starter, he had the touchdown called back for pushing off but he made several other key catches.
Stephen Garcia made a bad decision on the interception and also held the ball too long at times. Other than that, he did a pretty good job protecting the ball. He did have a couple of errant throws that could have been better. I expect him to be a guy that improves as the season goes along.
Obviously, the offense did not put up as many points as I anticipated and USC's coaching staff hoped to put up, but they came away with a win. The offense had some chances which they did not convert at times. I thought USC's offense looked more than capable of scoring points, they just failed to put it all together and missed some chances.
Carolina's rushing attack managed just over 100 yards; at times the running game looked encouraging and at other times they were stuffed near the line of scrimmage. I thought Patrick Dimarco and Brian Maddox showed excellent effort running the ball.
South Carolina did allow some sacks, but a couple were the product of Stephen Garcia holding the ball too long. He was decisive and got rid of the ball quickly at times, but tried to do too much and got himself in trouble on other occasions.
On the whole, I thought South Carolina's offensive line performance was encouraging. There is still some work to do; they made some mistakes both in the run and pass game but I thought they were solid.
Devin Taylor was impressive in his first start and made several nice plays for Carolina.
Eric Norwood showed why he was so highly regarded, grabbing a pair of sacks and being very active on defense. I was also impressed with Darian Stewart.
Carolina's defense, on the whole, did a great job. If you hold any team to under 150 yards of total offense, you've done something right. Russell Wilson was OK but certainly not great, and they also held the ground game in check. Since the offense sputtered, the defense definitely won the game here.
USC's got some young players in the secondary, but have a lot of talent. Stephon Gilmore's play in the end zone was excellent and Devonte Holloman also had an excellent pass break-up downfield. I thought the secondary did a good job.
USC looked to wear down a bit on defense towards the end but managed to make enough plays to keep State out of the end zone.
Spencer Lanning, with the exception of one, was excellent punting the ball. The field goal miss was certainly one he should be able to put through, though.
Tori Gurley looked good as a starter, he had the touchdown called back for pushing off but he made several other key catches.
Stephen Garcia made a bad decision on the interception and also held the ball too long at times. Other than that, he did a pretty good job protecting the ball. He did have a couple of errant throws that could have been better. I expect him to be a guy that improves as the season goes along.
