W
Wes Mitchell
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Offense puts up big yardage, but not efficient enough -
It seems we have to start with the South Carolina offense, which remains a work in progress, and seems to have regressed in a sense, since the start of the season.
Some of that can, of course, be attributed to the loss of key starters in wide receiver Deebo Samuel and right tackle Zack Bailey. The injury to Cory Helms against Louisiana Tech, which meant that Donell Stanley moved to right guard and redshirt freshman Sadarius Hutcherson got the first playing time of his career, at left guard, means there have been wholesale changes on the line since the beginning of the season. That certainly has an affect on this group, but doesn't tell the complete story.
Statistically, there were some positives as the offense hammered out 438 yards of total offense, including 6.5 yards per play and 4.5 yards per carry. But there was also a certain crispness that the offense once again lacked as those yardage numbers were turned into just 17 points, largely due to two turnovers and two missed field goals, in a game that was shortened to a limited number of possessions by both teams due to established drives from both sides.
Those numbers make the scoring output a bit more understandable when taking a step back from the initial staggering reaction to the Gamecocks' being shut out by Louisiana Tech through three quarters at home. That's certainly not a good look at all and isn't going to cut it against SEC programs.
The loss of Samuel and Bailey are hurting an offense that couldn't afford to lose two of its best. With several true freshmen now playing at receiver, and an offensive line shuffled completely, the unit will have to gel together quick for the Gamecocks to have a shot at winning at Texas A&M next week.
Many like to point to playcalling as the culprit, but I didn't have a problem with that aspect, and again, believe it's an easy out that many take when things aren't going right. That said, it's ultimately the coaches' jobs to get the group to execute and right now the execution on that side of the ball is lacking. The unit is not efficient enough to score a bunch of points in a shortened game. There's often a push from the outside to add in more plays and wrinkles, but at this point, with younger players now being counted on, the Gamecocks may actually need to simplify their approach offensively.
Defense does what it takes, but also is what it is, for now -
South Carolina's defense continues to give the Gamecocks a chance to win games as few opponents have scored 30 or more points since Will Muschamp arrived in Columbia. That's quite impressive considering what Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson inherited on the defensive side of the ball. Look no further than the Gamecocks' secondary which has played predominantly the entire four of five guys for the entire season except for a few snaps from the injured Stevan Montac in the season opener.
While the Gamecocks are forced to play that style, in order to keep themselves in ball games and not get in shootouts, it's also worth pointing out that it can lead to long, time-consuming drives from opponents when the defense is not able to create turnovers.
That bend-but-don't-break style, combined with the style that Louisiana Tech plays on offense, combined with the deliberately paced style that the Gamecocks play on offense, also helped create the perfect storm of decreased possessions that almost led to a loss to La Tech. That's not even to say that the Gamecocks need to use a different approach on defense, because, as noted, they're truly doing what they have to do. But there will be times that it leads to games like the one witnessed Saturday if there aren't many turnovers forced and the offense isn't efficient with its possessions.
Good for you, Parker White -
The final point is dedicated to kicker Parker White, who I thought would play well, but had to battle through two early misses, getting booed by his own fan base, and the biggest pressure situation of his football life, in order to save the Gamecocks from an embarrassing home defeat.
It had to seem like an eternity as White waited through two straight timeouts before getting redemption by knocking the game-winner through the uprights. Good for him, though, for fighting through the adversity and coming through for his teammates. I'm not one of these people that preaches to fans, but frankly anyone who booed the kid for the two previous misses, should be ashamed of themselves.
I've said for some time that a team which will surely find itself in more fourth quarter games would have to stabilize its kicking situation if the Gamecocks are going to win the number of games they hope to this year. White's big kick should give him confidence moving forward that he can knock the ball through in any situation.
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