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Wes Mitchell
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After rewatching the Coastal Carolina game on TV, here are some things that stood out to me about the Gamecocks' win...
** South Carolina's much-anticipated new offense made its debut and was about what I expected, for the most part. Not only did the Gamecocks do what they were supposed to do against an inferior opponent, rather than let them hang around for most of the game, the offense moved the ball with relative ease and probably could have named its score if it had really wanted to run it up. Keeping in mind that it's one game against a lesser opponent, the offense was about as efficient as we could have ever expected and showed off a couple of its new wrinkles without giving a whole lot away.
The tempo was faster than last year for sure, but wasn't warp speed - something we talked about in my Final Thoughts Carolina Confidential that you can read every Friday before the game. I do think the pace in which they operated made for a nice rhythm for Jake Bentley and the entire offense. They seemed comfortable and there were a couple of occasions where they showed just how fast they were capable of going with one of the plays on the two-minute drill at the end of the half standing out in that regard - they got lined up in 8 seconds according to Chris Clark's count.
What actually stood out to me more than the pace of the offense was the quickness in which Bentley got rid of the ball on his passes. We had been told that the ball was coming out quick in practice and that played out throughout Saturday's game. Bentley seemed to be comfortable with exactly where the ball was going throughout the game and while this is certainly Bryan McClendon's offense, there was a feel of what Dan Werner did at Ole Miss.
Bentley did a good job of getting the ball out to his playmakers in space and even the deeper passes were released quickly with enough air for his receivers to run under the football. There was only the one sack and while the offensive line deserves credit for that, the offensive scheme and Bentley's ability to make the right quick decisions was a factor in that as well. We've said it all offseason, but teams are just going to struggle to cover Deebo Samuel, Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith and OrTre Smith in space.
Some of the decisions to go for it on fourth down and to call timeouts on Coastal's last drive of the first half in order to get the ball back to the offense showed a sense of confidence in the offense too that wasn't always there last season. My expectation is that you'll see that have a large effect in scenarios where there's a decision about attempting a long field goal or going for it, considering that Parker White has been very accurate inside 40 yards but has struggled outside of that. An offense that can stay on the field, helps negate that issue.
** Carolina's goal in the running game has been for it to get 5.0 yards per carry in a game - a number that it bumped up to 5.5 yards per carry at some point during preseason due to the success of the unit in practice. With Rico Dowdle averaging 7.0 yards a carry and Ty'Son Williams 7.5, the offense got that and then some.
In another area that I was paying close attention to, the offensive line got a consistent push up front which was a sign of progress from what we've seen against smaller opponents in the past when Carolina would have its share of long runs but also have a large number of no gain or negative plays. They showed that they could lean on a smaller defensive front with large holes often opening up and the offensive linemen often getting to the second level to take on linebackers.
The ability to have a successful rushing attack, pretty much at will, gave McClendon a lot of freedom as a playcaller. Whenever USC would take shots on first down, even it it didn't hit them, it knew it could still get the first down by running it on the next two plays - huge luxury. Needless to say Dowdle and Williams both ran extremely hard.
** There may not be a tight end on the roster with Hayden Hurst's skillset all rolled up into one, but this tight end group is very good again and one of the deeper units on the team. Each will be asked to do what he's good at and there was production in both the passing game and in blocking when I watched. Kiel Pollard showed flashes of why I believe he's one of the more underrated players on the team and K.C. Crosby had a couple of great blocks as one of the pound-for-pound strongest players on the team.
** On defense, Carolina primarily operated out of a 3-3-5 nickel, a 4-3 and some goal line. The 3-3-5 allowed the staff to keep Bryson Allen-Williams on the field as a third linebacker, with Keir Thomas and D.J. Wonnum lining up on the end and Javon Kinlaw in the middle of the defensive line, rather than the 4-2-5 that became its primary nickel look after Allen-Williams got injured last year. When Carolina shifted to its base 4-3, Aaron Sterling basically came in as the replacement for the nickelback to play end with Thomas sliding inside in the 4-3, though there were also some sets with more beef where Kinlaw and Kobe Smith were on the field at the same time at DT.
** Overall, it was a solid, if not dominating, effort from the defense, though it's hard to dominate a team that runs an offense like Coastal's. The Chants ran a lot of misdirection, with option elements and the quarterback heavily involved in the run game. It was about what we expected though in a lot of ways with Coastal staying on the ground and trying to milk the clock to shorten the game. Coastal's passing game was never really able to threaten Carolina down the field, so I'm not sure what this game really tells us because it wasn't exactly a balanced attack, but it's also worth pointing out that most of the damage was done in the fourth quarterback against second and third teamers.
** Allen-Williams is off to strong start to his season and was relentless as a pass-rusher both off the edge and up the middle. That's what he does best and I think you'll continue to see the staff use him in that way which should give him the opportunity for a big final season. He's always had a knack for rushing the passer, but I thought his strength flashed too as he showed the ability to shed blockers quickly and continue his rush.
** T.J. Brunson looks a step faster and more explosive to me this year than last and it was no surprise for him to lead the team in tackles. He has a certain presence about him in how he leads the unit inbetween plays too that I'm not sure was there last year.
** Jaycee Horn was as advertised and his body language exudes the "it" factor that you look for in all great cornerbacks. He was the team's starting nickelback but also took a bunch of snaps outside at cornerback as well, where he'll ultimately end up sooner rather than later in my opinion. Again, the secondary didn't get threatened much but Horn has it all - length, hips, speed, confidence - and will easily be a freshman All-SEC this year in my estimation.
** Overall, the Gamecocks did what they had to do again an overmatched opponent and I don't have to tell any of you that this hasn't always been the case. The most positive part of that is that it was a relatively easy blowout with Carolina not having to show much and without playing a perfect game, leaving plenty of coaching points for the staff this week. There are still some questions for sure, but this team looks talented and well-coached with very few major hiccups, which is impressive for Week 1 and with a new offense. The competition clearly takes a huge step up this week with the game that the players and coaches have been avoiding talking about all offseason is finally here. It's officially Georgia week!
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