I thought coming into the game that Tennessee would struggle with a true freshman starting against the Gamecock defense, but also thought that South Carolina would be able to put up a few more points on the board.
To start with the offense, Connor Shaw did a good job running the football but struggled passing it a good portion of the night. There were a couple of times he could have gotten rid of the ball but did not, and there seemed to be a few miscommunications with receivers. I think the problems in the passing game right now are cumulative. For example, against the Vols the protection was lacking a lot of times, plus Tennessee clearly wanted to force USC to run the ball with a true freshman in a banged up backfield. On top of that, Shaw certainly did not have his best game.
I was very impressed with Brandon Wilds. I’m not even going to get started again on the whole recruiting deal (i.e. fans writing him off because of offer list or rating or senior season) because I’ve addressed that ad nauseum and sound like a broken record. I do want to reiterate, like I’ve said multiple times on our site here and radio interviews that I know people who think Wilds has the biggest upside of any back on USC’s roster (not including the established Marcus Lattimore) and that he has the potential to play in the league. He’s got the size, can run for his size, good hands, and good vision/cutback ability. For his first game on the road in the SEC, I was impressed.
I thought it was a really good sign that USC came out in the second half and had the sustained drive after the D.J. Swearinger interception that resulted in the touchdown. That simply has not happened very often with the Gamecocks on offense and was something the offensive line in particular can use as a confidence-builder. The o-line had some good moments run-blocking in this game but like I said, had some struggles passing the ball.
Defensively I thought the team performed very well especially given the fact that they were faced with a short field many times. There were some occasions where Tennessee could have made some yardage to get them in range for a field goal at the minimum, but USC held them. The team was also good on third down.
As far as individual performances, I thought Antonio Allen was very active in coverage and in run support as always. D.J. Swearinger made a great play to pick off a ball as I mentioned earlier. I also thought Victor Hampton looked good in man coverage, although he did drop a pick that he read perfectly. USC did get lucky on a couple of occasions; Da’Rick Rogers beat Gilmore inside into the end zone but the ball was overthrown, and then Rogers dropped another one deep down the field that could have been a touchdown.
Also, Devin Taylor had a good game and although he doesn’t get mentioned as much as some others on the defensive line, he has had a very good season.
Regardless of what the score was, it was a good win at a place USC has not won at very often at all and gives them two straight road victories. Next week will certainly be a tougher test, though Arkansas has not looked as good the past couple weeks as I expected them to. Still, they have plenty of offensive firepower so USC needs to find a way to generate more points than they have in their last two games.
To start with the offense, Connor Shaw did a good job running the football but struggled passing it a good portion of the night. There were a couple of times he could have gotten rid of the ball but did not, and there seemed to be a few miscommunications with receivers. I think the problems in the passing game right now are cumulative. For example, against the Vols the protection was lacking a lot of times, plus Tennessee clearly wanted to force USC to run the ball with a true freshman in a banged up backfield. On top of that, Shaw certainly did not have his best game.
I was very impressed with Brandon Wilds. I’m not even going to get started again on the whole recruiting deal (i.e. fans writing him off because of offer list or rating or senior season) because I’ve addressed that ad nauseum and sound like a broken record. I do want to reiterate, like I’ve said multiple times on our site here and radio interviews that I know people who think Wilds has the biggest upside of any back on USC’s roster (not including the established Marcus Lattimore) and that he has the potential to play in the league. He’s got the size, can run for his size, good hands, and good vision/cutback ability. For his first game on the road in the SEC, I was impressed.
I thought it was a really good sign that USC came out in the second half and had the sustained drive after the D.J. Swearinger interception that resulted in the touchdown. That simply has not happened very often with the Gamecocks on offense and was something the offensive line in particular can use as a confidence-builder. The o-line had some good moments run-blocking in this game but like I said, had some struggles passing the ball.
Defensively I thought the team performed very well especially given the fact that they were faced with a short field many times. There were some occasions where Tennessee could have made some yardage to get them in range for a field goal at the minimum, but USC held them. The team was also good on third down.
As far as individual performances, I thought Antonio Allen was very active in coverage and in run support as always. D.J. Swearinger made a great play to pick off a ball as I mentioned earlier. I also thought Victor Hampton looked good in man coverage, although he did drop a pick that he read perfectly. USC did get lucky on a couple of occasions; Da’Rick Rogers beat Gilmore inside into the end zone but the ball was overthrown, and then Rogers dropped another one deep down the field that could have been a touchdown.
Also, Devin Taylor had a good game and although he doesn’t get mentioned as much as some others on the defensive line, he has had a very good season.
Regardless of what the score was, it was a good win at a place USC has not won at very often at all and gives them two straight road victories. Next week will certainly be a tougher test, though Arkansas has not looked as good the past couple weeks as I expected them to. Still, they have plenty of offensive firepower so USC needs to find a way to generate more points than they have in their last two games.
