It’s a one-game sample, but if South Carolina’s defensive line plays like it did against NC State on a consistent basis, there’s reason to believe this is an improved group. To be clear, there are still concerns rushing the passer and in the running game. NC State was able to hit some cutbacks on its unique stretch play and generally tried to get the ball out quickly in the passing game, but USC passed the eye test much better in this game than it did most of last season.
Here’s one statistic that will bear out this thought: USC had 11 tackles for loss in this game. If that seems like a high number, it is. By comparison, USC averaged 5.4 tackles for loss last season. I think credit goes to the front seven for that number. Linebackers TJ Brunson and Skai Moore were extremely active for the Gamecocks. I’d go as far to say as I was even surprised by how well Brunson played in his first contest as a full-time starter.
I thought Dante Sawyer may have had his best game in a USC uniform, based on what he did against the run and pass. DJ Wonnum was very active and his added bulk and technique helped him turn in a solid performance as well. Taylor Stallworth was a stalwart in the middle. He frequently collapsed the interior of the line and showed his strength. I thought true freshman Aaron Sterling gave USC some quality snaps as well. He seems to be very instinctive in his pursuit, whether in the running game or passing game.
I was very curious going into this game to see how much South Carolina utilized Bryson Allen-Williams off the edge. In short, he caused NC State’s some problems. He looked speedy getting off the ball at the snap and was active in rushing the passer when called upon. South Carolina actually got some good fortune with NC State’s starting right tackle being suspended for this game, because Allen-Williams and BUCK DJ Wonnum caused some problems coming off the right side of the ball.
Let’s turn to the offensive line. Again, we can look at stats but we can also look at the game itself. This group looks better. This year will really give us a sound determination on just how good NC State’s line is, but it was a very good group last season and got everyone back. There are multiple NFL players on the line, and if you watch them move around and can play you can tell they’re really good. USC was able to neutralize Bradley Chubb pass-rushing most of the time by mixing up looks and doing a good job one-on-one. Chubb nearly had a big sack on Jake Bentley, but he used his uncanny feel and elusiveness to escape. Hayden Hurst was singled up on Chubb at times and protected as well as you’d want a left tackle to on those occasions. Other times, USC had a tackle and two tight ends aligned over Chubb, which can cause a slowdown for a defender no matter what comes at him.
I thought USC picked up the blitz better and did much better in the one-on-one situations it so frequently lost last season. Eric Wolford did a good job of mixing looks and I think his impact on this team was already apparent. You can thank schematic adjustments and Jake Bentley’s legs for this in part, but USC gave up two sacks on the game and both were from well-designed blitzes in which a player from the secondary made the play. USC needs to clean up its tackles for loss allowed (only five team in the country were worse last season), but it was a cleaner-looking performance overall. A couple of those TFLs were on passing plays out to the perimeter.
What about the running game? A look at the statistics without watching the game would be very concerning. And indeed, USC was not very effective there. Yet a look at the game shows that the Gamecocks scored 28 points (not counting a special teams score) by running just 50 plays. That’s not an ideal number, particularly when you’re playing 99 on the other side of the ball. That does, however, show that USC’s offense has much more explosive potential last season. A better measure for the running game will be shown when Rico Dowdle has more than 12 carries, AJ Turner has more than one, Deebo Samuel has more than one, and Ty’Son Williams gets one at all. USC’s better matchups in this one were in the passing game, and so there was more emphasis on the passing game.
Jake Bentley did a really nice job in this game when pressured. Obviously, he had the huge touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel after eluding a blitzer and chucking it to the back of the end zone. He also had a key third-and-three completion to Shi Smith to get a first down. Deebo Samuel’s touchdown grab over the middle in the red zone came when Bentley found him against a seven-man pressure from NC State. Of course, he also had some huge scrambles to pick up first downs when USC was in third-and-long situations. The interesting aspect about Bentley’s performance is that while he made several plays that were decidedly not routine (the kind of plays that very good QBs make to win their team games), he missed on some balls that he normally hits. If he can put together a more consistent performance in future contests? That could really open up this offense.
We knew heading into this game that NC State’s ability to scheme things up offensively would cause USC some issues. Early on, State really hurt the Gamecocks with some boot action that freed up guys underneath or down the sideline. I thought that NC State had to throw the ball down the field more in the second half, which generally played more to USC’s advantage. State had a dropped long ball that was right in the breadbasket, and also drew a pass interference flag. Yet having the Wolfpack go more away from the intermediate passing game (unless USC was giving it to them to help bleed clock) seemed a better play. NC State also had some key penalties that really hurt them offensively. One of them forced a third and 20, then USC was able to strip the ball out on a screen play.
Three of South Carolina’s best plays in this game were things that did not happen. Huh? Allow me to explain…
With NC State driving in the effort for a game-tying touchdown late in the game, it was second down and star linebacker Skai Moore was not in the game. The senior was banged up on a collision in the end zone after Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley threw into the corner of the end zone on first down and had his pass tipped away by USC safety DJ Smith.
NC State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz’s eyes likely widened when he saw Moore come off the field, replaced by junior college transfer Eldridge Thompson at the WILL backer spot. NC State aligned its do-it-all offensive star, Jaylen Samuels, in the slot against Thompson. Upon the snap, Finley looked right at Samuels but the athletic Thompson had him covered well. Finley was forced to move in the pocket before being sacked by Bryson Allen-Williams. That resulted in a loss of yardage and the burning of NC State’s final timeout.
On third down, NC State shifted its formation to the right, aligned true freshman nickel Jamyest Williams onto 6-foot-2 receiver Stephen Louis on an island. Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson made the call to signal timeout and get the Gamecocks into a better look. Back onto the field, Williams was then aligned in the slot against Jaylen Samuels on the other side, but Finley looked towards Pack wideout Kelvin Harmon over the middle, with the pass falling incomplete.
Skai Moore drew the assignment to cover Samuels on NC State’s final attempt on fourth down and appeared to have good coverage, causing a collision near the line of scrimmage. Finley was pressured and threw the ball into the end zone, with another tip by DJ Smith that sealed the game.
Special teams was another big question mark in this game, in terms of how the kickers would perform and USC’s coverage units. The team made a huge statement in the first play of the season when Deebo Samuel took a well-blocked kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Overall, the coverage units (while not perfect) were solid. USC did not have to attempt a field goal so that remains a question, particularly in a pressure situation.
Here’s one statistic that will bear out this thought: USC had 11 tackles for loss in this game. If that seems like a high number, it is. By comparison, USC averaged 5.4 tackles for loss last season. I think credit goes to the front seven for that number. Linebackers TJ Brunson and Skai Moore were extremely active for the Gamecocks. I’d go as far to say as I was even surprised by how well Brunson played in his first contest as a full-time starter.
I thought Dante Sawyer may have had his best game in a USC uniform, based on what he did against the run and pass. DJ Wonnum was very active and his added bulk and technique helped him turn in a solid performance as well. Taylor Stallworth was a stalwart in the middle. He frequently collapsed the interior of the line and showed his strength. I thought true freshman Aaron Sterling gave USC some quality snaps as well. He seems to be very instinctive in his pursuit, whether in the running game or passing game.
I was very curious going into this game to see how much South Carolina utilized Bryson Allen-Williams off the edge. In short, he caused NC State’s some problems. He looked speedy getting off the ball at the snap and was active in rushing the passer when called upon. South Carolina actually got some good fortune with NC State’s starting right tackle being suspended for this game, because Allen-Williams and BUCK DJ Wonnum caused some problems coming off the right side of the ball.
Let’s turn to the offensive line. Again, we can look at stats but we can also look at the game itself. This group looks better. This year will really give us a sound determination on just how good NC State’s line is, but it was a very good group last season and got everyone back. There are multiple NFL players on the line, and if you watch them move around and can play you can tell they’re really good. USC was able to neutralize Bradley Chubb pass-rushing most of the time by mixing up looks and doing a good job one-on-one. Chubb nearly had a big sack on Jake Bentley, but he used his uncanny feel and elusiveness to escape. Hayden Hurst was singled up on Chubb at times and protected as well as you’d want a left tackle to on those occasions. Other times, USC had a tackle and two tight ends aligned over Chubb, which can cause a slowdown for a defender no matter what comes at him.
I thought USC picked up the blitz better and did much better in the one-on-one situations it so frequently lost last season. Eric Wolford did a good job of mixing looks and I think his impact on this team was already apparent. You can thank schematic adjustments and Jake Bentley’s legs for this in part, but USC gave up two sacks on the game and both were from well-designed blitzes in which a player from the secondary made the play. USC needs to clean up its tackles for loss allowed (only five team in the country were worse last season), but it was a cleaner-looking performance overall. A couple of those TFLs were on passing plays out to the perimeter.
What about the running game? A look at the statistics without watching the game would be very concerning. And indeed, USC was not very effective there. Yet a look at the game shows that the Gamecocks scored 28 points (not counting a special teams score) by running just 50 plays. That’s not an ideal number, particularly when you’re playing 99 on the other side of the ball. That does, however, show that USC’s offense has much more explosive potential last season. A better measure for the running game will be shown when Rico Dowdle has more than 12 carries, AJ Turner has more than one, Deebo Samuel has more than one, and Ty’Son Williams gets one at all. USC’s better matchups in this one were in the passing game, and so there was more emphasis on the passing game.
Jake Bentley did a really nice job in this game when pressured. Obviously, he had the huge touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel after eluding a blitzer and chucking it to the back of the end zone. He also had a key third-and-three completion to Shi Smith to get a first down. Deebo Samuel’s touchdown grab over the middle in the red zone came when Bentley found him against a seven-man pressure from NC State. Of course, he also had some huge scrambles to pick up first downs when USC was in third-and-long situations. The interesting aspect about Bentley’s performance is that while he made several plays that were decidedly not routine (the kind of plays that very good QBs make to win their team games), he missed on some balls that he normally hits. If he can put together a more consistent performance in future contests? That could really open up this offense.
We knew heading into this game that NC State’s ability to scheme things up offensively would cause USC some issues. Early on, State really hurt the Gamecocks with some boot action that freed up guys underneath or down the sideline. I thought that NC State had to throw the ball down the field more in the second half, which generally played more to USC’s advantage. State had a dropped long ball that was right in the breadbasket, and also drew a pass interference flag. Yet having the Wolfpack go more away from the intermediate passing game (unless USC was giving it to them to help bleed clock) seemed a better play. NC State also had some key penalties that really hurt them offensively. One of them forced a third and 20, then USC was able to strip the ball out on a screen play.
Three of South Carolina’s best plays in this game were things that did not happen. Huh? Allow me to explain…
With NC State driving in the effort for a game-tying touchdown late in the game, it was second down and star linebacker Skai Moore was not in the game. The senior was banged up on a collision in the end zone after Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley threw into the corner of the end zone on first down and had his pass tipped away by USC safety DJ Smith.
NC State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz’s eyes likely widened when he saw Moore come off the field, replaced by junior college transfer Eldridge Thompson at the WILL backer spot. NC State aligned its do-it-all offensive star, Jaylen Samuels, in the slot against Thompson. Upon the snap, Finley looked right at Samuels but the athletic Thompson had him covered well. Finley was forced to move in the pocket before being sacked by Bryson Allen-Williams. That resulted in a loss of yardage and the burning of NC State’s final timeout.
On third down, NC State shifted its formation to the right, aligned true freshman nickel Jamyest Williams onto 6-foot-2 receiver Stephen Louis on an island. Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson made the call to signal timeout and get the Gamecocks into a better look. Back onto the field, Williams was then aligned in the slot against Jaylen Samuels on the other side, but Finley looked towards Pack wideout Kelvin Harmon over the middle, with the pass falling incomplete.
Skai Moore drew the assignment to cover Samuels on NC State’s final attempt on fourth down and appeared to have good coverage, causing a collision near the line of scrimmage. Finley was pressured and threw the ball into the end zone, with another tip by DJ Smith that sealed the game.
Special teams was another big question mark in this game, in terms of how the kickers would perform and USC’s coverage units. The team made a huge statement in the first play of the season when Deebo Samuel took a well-blocked kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Overall, the coverage units (while not perfect) were solid. USC did not have to attempt a field goal so that remains a question, particularly in a pressure situation.
