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Wes Mitchell
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South Carolina travels to East Carolina for a noon kickoff in what is a somewhat strange but certainly massive matchup for the Gamecocks. This is the type of game that, if South Carolina wins, no one outside of Columbia really notices or cares about (even if it's a close W), but if the Gamecocks lose, does possibly grab some attention. But none of that really matters because this is a massive game in its own right and a pivotal game on the schedule if South Carolina is going to win six games and get to a bowl game, which has always been, in my opinion, one of the top goals for this season. A win puts the Gamecocks at 2-0 and continues the momentum already building in the early Beamer era.
** Before we get into the matchup itself, here are a few additional observations from Week 1 with some context on why they may matter moving forward.
We, of course, got our first look at offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield's offensive scheme, and while there were some little gadgets here and there that kept it from being a completely vanilla plan, it's obvious that there's plenty more the Gamecocks will show offensively going forward.
But our first glimpse of this scheme showed what I thought was a very Joe Brady-esque vibe highlighted by the number of "tight" formations the Gamecocks used and the use of the running backs as pass-catchers out of the backfield.
Those "tight" formations are a staple of Brady's offenses and have gained popularity in college after LSU's success two seasons ago. As you saw with South Carolina (and LSU) you're not talking about condensed formations in an old-school sense such as goal line or I-formation looks, but in a sense of lining up with four receivers (in Carolina's case a combination of wide receivers and tight ends) in tighter formations and then using those tight alignments to create natural picks in order to get receivers open. You still want to use the entirety of the field and make the opponent "defend every blade of grass" - the key tenet of the spread offense at its core - but the initial formation is from a tighter look as opposed to the spread where you literally are lining up your eligible receivers spread across the field (with the old Baylor offense being the one that takes this to its most extreme).
As referenced above, South Carolina's is a little different from a personnel standpoint (more tight ends as opposed to wide receivers) but the Brady impact here was obvious. I'd imagine once Luke Doty is back in the saddle that we will see a little bit more of the Oklahoma and old Temple aspects of the offense, designed to use Doty's legs as a weapon.
** Offensive line coach Greg Adkins told Gamecock Central during media day that he likes to rotate some offensive linemen in, when he feels like they've earned the opportunity to play, and feels like it's important to try to keep his backups involved. Sometimes that can mean just getting a guy in there as an extra lineman in a goal line situation, whereas other times it can mean truly rotating players.
While Shane Beamer chalked it up to them just rotating lots of guys in after South Carolina took control of the game, I did notice that Jakai Moore (tackle) and Vershon Lee (guard) received reps on the left side of the line, fairly early in the game, in the second quarter before the wholesale substitutions had taken place.
Moore, who graded out as South Carolina's top offensive player according to PFF, could be a player to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Because he was out with an injury all spring and into the start of the preseason, he hasn't really had the opportunity to impress the staff or create some of that offseason buzz that we typically pick up on and then pass along to you. Since we also haven't talked to Adkins since the start of preseason camp, it's certainly possible that it's created a scenario where Moore has been coming on in practice and word just hasn't gotten out yet.
We've always been high on Moore as a prospect and both Moore and Lee are players the previous staff thought were evaluation "hits" after watching them when they first arrived as young players. Just something to keep an eye on moving forward.
** We talked quite a bit going into the first game about wondering what Beamer's in-game, on-field demeanor would be and in many ways, I thought it was an extension of what we've seen from him leading up to Game 1 with high energy and a healthy dose of positivity. I think Beamer hugged every single player who scored a touchdown when they were coming back to the sidelines after scoring and seemed genuinely happy FOR his players to see on-field success. I also believe the aggressive mindset, from sending a message with the early two-point conversion, to the fourth down attempts was an early positive sign after watching a staff that always erred on the side of caution. Facing an opponent who really couldn't do anything about it either way certainly could have played a part in that, but it's still a positive first step.
** Let's move this thing forward to the actual matchup at hand and I'll go back to what I said earlier this week: South Carolina's defensive line vs. ECU's offensive line is the key battle of the game.
ECU's offensive line struggled quite a bit with App State's front and this needs to be one of those games where at about 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon you're thinking to yourself, Enagbare, Burch, Pickens, etc. just took over that football game.
Quarterback Holton Ahlers is an impressive player and he can certainly make some big plays happen. He's a bit of a gunslinger who will make explosive plays but will also put the ball in danger. He's got a backyard football mindset and will extend plays and look to throw in scramble situations.
ECU will try to "take what is there" when defenses play them soft on the edges with quick hitches and slants off RPO looks, but when App State was able to take those things away, their pressure ultimately overwhelmed the ECU front and forced Ahlers to make plays - he was good enough to bail them out at times, but he also is prone to taking a sack or putting the ball in danger if a defense can hassle him enough. Tackling Ahlers when the defense has a shot at him (he's a big, thick QB) and tackling on the edges will be key.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White said there will be some rotation in the Carolina secondary this week and that will be something to watch since Ahlers is prone to throwing up 50/50 balls. My expectation is that R.J. Roderick will be back in the lineup at safety alongside Jaylan Foster. O'Donnell Fortune is a young player who I believe could see more playing time soon.
** When South Carolina is on offense, I expect ECU to be aggressive defensively. That's already a part of their MO but they no doubt saw Carolina's front have some issues with blitzes last week and will look to do some of the same. I believe it will create a game where we see South Carolina have some negative plays but also the opportunity for big plays in the running and passing games. Because of their style, ECU is susceptible to getting themselves out of gaps and allowing for home run plays. Just minimizing the negative plays and staying on course from a down and distance standpoint will be key for a Carolina offensive front that also will need to block a bit better out on the edges and perimeter. Even with the return of Kevin Harris, my expectation is that ZaQuandre White will get the start again and that we'll see the running back rotation have another opportunity for a big game. The Gamecocks only attempted one true deep ball down the field last week, but as much as they emphasized it this offseason, I'd imagine you'll see them attempt to stretch the field a bit more this week, especially against a secondary that I thought struggled some when the ball was in the air last week. Jalen Brooks is fully capable of being a deep threat on this team, just needs to see it go his way in a game situation. I'm also not writing off Dakereon Joyner either - he appeared to be pressing a bit last week - but did have an excellent offseason. It will be interesting to see if we see Joyner used a bit more at QB too since it was part of the plan last week.
** For South Carolina's freshmen, sophomores and several transfers, this will be the best opposing atmosphere they've ever played in and a nice tune-up for what is to come in SEC road games for the rest of the season. Dealing with the noise and communicating and cutting down on some of the self-inflicted mistakes from last week will be the difference in a tight fourth quarter game vs. one where the Gamecock faithful can breathe.
FINAL PREDICTION: This is a strange matchup and weird one to try to predict, especially early in the season. While Vegas has had it really close, ESPN's FPI actually gives Carolina a 71 percent chance to win, which I find interesting. Ultimately, I think the Gamecocks' will have the advantage on the line of scrimmage and that will be the difference with the running back room having another big game. South Carolina 31, East Carolina 20.
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