Auburn Game Thoughts
Three of my keys to the game were to contain Auburn QB Cam Newton, to play with discipline, and to win the line of scrimmage. Looking back at the game, those are all areas in which USC struggled a lot, and are the primary reasons for the close loss on the road.
Obviously, Newton was the story of the game. He has great size, runs very well for his size, and is tough to bring down. He accounted for all of Auburn's touchdowns either on the ground or through the air, and South Carolina's defense was just unable to respond.
I thought Auburn's gameplan was pretty smart; they didn't seem to try to throw the ball downfield a lot - they got their receivers out on the edge and blocked well and gave Newton a lot of short, safe throws. South Carolina's defensive line, as Ellis Johnson said, did not get blown off of the ball, but Auburn's line did enough to give the backs and Newton room to pick up a lot of yardage on the ground.
Really, the defense did not have their best night on the whole. There was not a lack of effort, but there were too many missed tackles (or otherwise extra yardage) and blown assignments. Stephon Gilmore uncharacteristically missed a tackle that led to a touchdown, and he tackles better than many of the players on USC's defense regardless of position. That just goes to show you what kind of night it was.
Stephen Garcia really had an excellent game statistically throwing the ball, but unfortunately made perhaps the two biggest plays of the game when he fumbled twice at inopportune times. The fumbles were really huge momentum shifts back to Auburn when the Gamecocks had a chance to move back down the field and put more points on the board. It would certainly help Carolina's offense and their chances of having a better season if Garcia would stop putting himself in position to lose the ball. Like Coach Spurrier said, it's something they have talked to him about over and over.
Connor Shaw made some nice throws, not counting the one he threw right to linebacker Josh Bynes. It was a tough situation for him to be thrown in to, and I thought he responded pretty well. He certainly didn't look like a scared freshman out there, and I believe his future is definitely bright at USC. He has really showed me from what I have seen so far that he can make the throws, and he is also a very good running quarterback, which he showed flashes of last night as well.
There's not much to say about Alshon Jeffery; he is tremendous and has really proved that he's an elite wide receiver, one of the best in the country. Tori Gurley also had a good game.
Despite South Carolina being fairly ineffective running the ball, the offensive gameplan also still had them in position to win, the turnovers were just killer.
It was a really tough loss for the Gamecocks because they controlled the game at one point, but the turnovers and inability to stop Auburn's offense at times really hurt. Even with the defense's subpar (for their standards) performance, USC still had a chance to win. It just proves you cannot turn the ball over in bad spots on the road and expect to win.
Football Recruiting
Summerton (SC) Scotts Branch ATH Jerell Adams will be at the Clemson/Miami game this weekend; USC still has a nice lead here.
In case you missed the article on the Ticker, Manning (SC) DT this article. It's not surprising; as I've posted in all of my Dukes updates lately, there has been a lot of positive feedback coming from Dukes and from Manning regarding USC's chances. Again though, I cannot overemphasize that Clemson also feels confident about landing Dukes in the end.
One offensive lineman still on South Carolina's board is Pennsylvania prospect Brandon Clemons, who could actually be a defensive tackle or interior lineman at the next level. USC likes his potential as a center, from what I hear. From what I gather, Clemons is hoping to narrow his list soon, possibly to five and I feel pretty confident that South Carolina will make the cut. The distance is a concern here, as USC is the only school in the south he is considering. He was on campus earlier this summer and will likely take an official to Columbia as well. I think there's a better chance he stays somewhere up north, but you never know.
I heard from a source close to Jadeveon Clowney that he had hoped to go to the Auburn/USC game this weekend, but had testing and could not make it. He will be in Columbia for the Alabama game. More on him below:
GamecockCentral.com's Glenn Elrod was at the South Pointe/Spartanburg game at Wofford on Friday night and he spoke with South Pointe's Gerald Dixon. Here are his observations from the prospects and some quotes from Clowney and Dixon.
Glenn's game stats:
Clowney: 8 tackles (2 for loss) and a sack.
Dixon: 10 tackles (4 for loss).
The game was a physical, defensive battle. Both teams fought hard. The game went into overtime with the score knotted at 7. South Pointe received the ball first from the 10 yard line and scored a TD to go up 14-7. Spartanburg got the ball in the endzone as well on a long pass (after going backwards on their first two plays). However, sensing his defense was worn down, Spartanburg head coach Freddie Brown, Jr. decided to go for two The conversion failed and South Pointe won a thriller 14-13.
I was very impressed with Dixon. He was in the backfield all night long. I talked to a South Pointe defensive coach afterward who said that teams run away from Clowney but don't realize how good Dixon is until it's too late. He went on to say that Dixon flat out made ball plays tonight. I believe he could start off early in his career at defensive end but would move inside pretty quickly.. He has a great frame to hold a lot more weight.
It was my first time seeing Clowney in action and he did not disappoint . He is so quick off the edge and has the ability to get into the backfield before the offensive play develops. On at least three plays, he would run all the way across the field and chase down the ball carrier. Afterward he wasn't all that excited about his personal performance but was thrilled to pull out the win.
USC cornerback commitment Ronnie Martin for Spartanburg didn't get a chance to make too many plays tonight. South Pointe is an option/running team. When they did air it out, it wasn't usually towards Martin's side of the field. He did have a big pass break up in the 4th quarter. He ended up with two or three tackles.
Quotes from Jadeveon Clowney:
On the game:
"It wasn't really a good game for me today. I got hit pretty hard on my hip and it was sore the whole game. I played 'OK' but other people stepped up. Gerald Dixon had a big game on his side of the line, he made a lot of good plays.
On his recruiting:
"Nothing new really. Everything is the same. I'm still thinking about everything. I might go watch a few games before too long. (It is the) same schools. South Carolina, Alabama, and a few other schools."
Quotes from Gerald Dixon:
On the game:
"It's good to get out of here with a win. We fought hard. I thought I played pretty well. I stepped up and made some plays".
Visits and schools standing out:
"I don't know right now. I'm going to stay home this weekend. South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Wake Forest, and NC State."
Three of my keys to the game were to contain Auburn QB Cam Newton, to play with discipline, and to win the line of scrimmage. Looking back at the game, those are all areas in which USC struggled a lot, and are the primary reasons for the close loss on the road.
Obviously, Newton was the story of the game. He has great size, runs very well for his size, and is tough to bring down. He accounted for all of Auburn's touchdowns either on the ground or through the air, and South Carolina's defense was just unable to respond.
I thought Auburn's gameplan was pretty smart; they didn't seem to try to throw the ball downfield a lot - they got their receivers out on the edge and blocked well and gave Newton a lot of short, safe throws. South Carolina's defensive line, as Ellis Johnson said, did not get blown off of the ball, but Auburn's line did enough to give the backs and Newton room to pick up a lot of yardage on the ground.
Really, the defense did not have their best night on the whole. There was not a lack of effort, but there were too many missed tackles (or otherwise extra yardage) and blown assignments. Stephon Gilmore uncharacteristically missed a tackle that led to a touchdown, and he tackles better than many of the players on USC's defense regardless of position. That just goes to show you what kind of night it was.
Stephen Garcia really had an excellent game statistically throwing the ball, but unfortunately made perhaps the two biggest plays of the game when he fumbled twice at inopportune times. The fumbles were really huge momentum shifts back to Auburn when the Gamecocks had a chance to move back down the field and put more points on the board. It would certainly help Carolina's offense and their chances of having a better season if Garcia would stop putting himself in position to lose the ball. Like Coach Spurrier said, it's something they have talked to him about over and over.
Connor Shaw made some nice throws, not counting the one he threw right to linebacker Josh Bynes. It was a tough situation for him to be thrown in to, and I thought he responded pretty well. He certainly didn't look like a scared freshman out there, and I believe his future is definitely bright at USC. He has really showed me from what I have seen so far that he can make the throws, and he is also a very good running quarterback, which he showed flashes of last night as well.
There's not much to say about Alshon Jeffery; he is tremendous and has really proved that he's an elite wide receiver, one of the best in the country. Tori Gurley also had a good game.
Despite South Carolina being fairly ineffective running the ball, the offensive gameplan also still had them in position to win, the turnovers were just killer.
It was a really tough loss for the Gamecocks because they controlled the game at one point, but the turnovers and inability to stop Auburn's offense at times really hurt. Even with the defense's subpar (for their standards) performance, USC still had a chance to win. It just proves you cannot turn the ball over in bad spots on the road and expect to win.
Football Recruiting
Summerton (SC) Scotts Branch ATH Jerell Adams will be at the Clemson/Miami game this weekend; USC still has a nice lead here.
In case you missed the article on the Ticker, Manning (SC) DT this article. It's not surprising; as I've posted in all of my Dukes updates lately, there has been a lot of positive feedback coming from Dukes and from Manning regarding USC's chances. Again though, I cannot overemphasize that Clemson also feels confident about landing Dukes in the end.
One offensive lineman still on South Carolina's board is Pennsylvania prospect Brandon Clemons, who could actually be a defensive tackle or interior lineman at the next level. USC likes his potential as a center, from what I hear. From what I gather, Clemons is hoping to narrow his list soon, possibly to five and I feel pretty confident that South Carolina will make the cut. The distance is a concern here, as USC is the only school in the south he is considering. He was on campus earlier this summer and will likely take an official to Columbia as well. I think there's a better chance he stays somewhere up north, but you never know.
I heard from a source close to Jadeveon Clowney that he had hoped to go to the Auburn/USC game this weekend, but had testing and could not make it. He will be in Columbia for the Alabama game. More on him below:
GamecockCentral.com's Glenn Elrod was at the South Pointe/Spartanburg game at Wofford on Friday night and he spoke with South Pointe's Gerald Dixon. Here are his observations from the prospects and some quotes from Clowney and Dixon.
Glenn's game stats:
Clowney: 8 tackles (2 for loss) and a sack.
Dixon: 10 tackles (4 for loss).
The game was a physical, defensive battle. Both teams fought hard. The game went into overtime with the score knotted at 7. South Pointe received the ball first from the 10 yard line and scored a TD to go up 14-7. Spartanburg got the ball in the endzone as well on a long pass (after going backwards on their first two plays). However, sensing his defense was worn down, Spartanburg head coach Freddie Brown, Jr. decided to go for two The conversion failed and South Pointe won a thriller 14-13.
I was very impressed with Dixon. He was in the backfield all night long. I talked to a South Pointe defensive coach afterward who said that teams run away from Clowney but don't realize how good Dixon is until it's too late. He went on to say that Dixon flat out made ball plays tonight. I believe he could start off early in his career at defensive end but would move inside pretty quickly.. He has a great frame to hold a lot more weight.
It was my first time seeing Clowney in action and he did not disappoint . He is so quick off the edge and has the ability to get into the backfield before the offensive play develops. On at least three plays, he would run all the way across the field and chase down the ball carrier. Afterward he wasn't all that excited about his personal performance but was thrilled to pull out the win.
USC cornerback commitment Ronnie Martin for Spartanburg didn't get a chance to make too many plays tonight. South Pointe is an option/running team. When they did air it out, it wasn't usually towards Martin's side of the field. He did have a big pass break up in the 4th quarter. He ended up with two or three tackles.
Quotes from Jadeveon Clowney:
On the game:
"It wasn't really a good game for me today. I got hit pretty hard on my hip and it was sore the whole game. I played 'OK' but other people stepped up. Gerald Dixon had a big game on his side of the line, he made a lot of good plays.
On his recruiting:
"Nothing new really. Everything is the same. I'm still thinking about everything. I might go watch a few games before too long. (It is the) same schools. South Carolina, Alabama, and a few other schools."
Quotes from Gerald Dixon:
On the game:
"It's good to get out of here with a win. We fought hard. I thought I played pretty well. I stepped up and made some plays".
Visits and schools standing out:
"I don't know right now. I'm going to stay home this weekend. South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, Wake Forest, and NC State."
