I want to start with a positive and that is that South Carolina now has six wins and will be going to a bowl game this season. After the way the season started with losses to Mississippi State and Kentucky and with the way the offense was looking, that is a big accomplishment for this young football team. It is huge for this team and the young guys to get more practices in December and play another game after next week.
Now with all that said, that was a bad football team they just played. The offense did what they should do and that was flex their muscles and run the football. South Carolina had around 420 yards rushing and Rico Dowdle had a field day running the football. It was good to see that Dowdle is healthy after the way he exited the game last week. I’ve been saying this since his first game action this season, but he has the look to be a really good running back in the SEC. He is tough to bring down, has good vision, and I like the way he runs behind his pads in traffic. He is also showed decent speed today. I know everyone is excited about Jake Bentley, and rightfully so, but this kid is right up there with him.
I also thought Bentley played pretty well. He didn’t put up monster stats but that was because of the way South Carolina was running the ball. I thought his most impressive play of the night was when he was rolling to his right and threw on the run to Dowdle down the sideline. That was a big time throw. He also ran the ball more tonight then he has all season and looked good doing it.
Another offensive player that was injured last week that returned this week was A.J. Turner and he looked like he was back to his normal self. I thought he ran hard for the most part.
Deebo Samuel had another big game. He showed the speed on the kickoff return for the touchdown. The jet sweep play got him two more rushing touchdowns. He also made plays at receiver. He was impressive.
It was a bad performance for South Carolina on the other side of the ball. A lot of the things that hurt them last week continued this week. I think that is a bad sign with Clemson’s offense coming up next. The tackling was bad once again, defensive line struggled up front, and the secondary didn’t play well.
Western Carolina had two different rushers with over 75 yards rushing in the first half alone. One of them was the quarterback and he killed South Carolina’s defense on third down with his legs. It didn’t matter the distance on third down, the defense didn’t seem to account for his legs and he moved the chains.
South Carolina’s defense struggled tackling Western Carolina running back Detrez Newsome and struggled covering receiver Spearman Robinson.
The Clemson game is next and the defense has to be better than they have been the previous two weeks or Clemson will put up a lot of points in a hurry. I do think the offense can put up some points next week but the offensive line is a concern against Clemson’s defensive line. They are going to have to protect Bentley. South Carolina should play loose and throw the kitchen sink at them.
Now with all that said, that was a bad football team they just played. The offense did what they should do and that was flex their muscles and run the football. South Carolina had around 420 yards rushing and Rico Dowdle had a field day running the football. It was good to see that Dowdle is healthy after the way he exited the game last week. I’ve been saying this since his first game action this season, but he has the look to be a really good running back in the SEC. He is tough to bring down, has good vision, and I like the way he runs behind his pads in traffic. He is also showed decent speed today. I know everyone is excited about Jake Bentley, and rightfully so, but this kid is right up there with him.
I also thought Bentley played pretty well. He didn’t put up monster stats but that was because of the way South Carolina was running the ball. I thought his most impressive play of the night was when he was rolling to his right and threw on the run to Dowdle down the sideline. That was a big time throw. He also ran the ball more tonight then he has all season and looked good doing it.
Another offensive player that was injured last week that returned this week was A.J. Turner and he looked like he was back to his normal self. I thought he ran hard for the most part.
Deebo Samuel had another big game. He showed the speed on the kickoff return for the touchdown. The jet sweep play got him two more rushing touchdowns. He also made plays at receiver. He was impressive.
It was a bad performance for South Carolina on the other side of the ball. A lot of the things that hurt them last week continued this week. I think that is a bad sign with Clemson’s offense coming up next. The tackling was bad once again, defensive line struggled up front, and the secondary didn’t play well.
Western Carolina had two different rushers with over 75 yards rushing in the first half alone. One of them was the quarterback and he killed South Carolina’s defense on third down with his legs. It didn’t matter the distance on third down, the defense didn’t seem to account for his legs and he moved the chains.
South Carolina’s defense struggled tackling Western Carolina running back Detrez Newsome and struggled covering receiver Spearman Robinson.
The Clemson game is next and the defense has to be better than they have been the previous two weeks or Clemson will put up a lot of points in a hurry. I do think the offense can put up some points next week but the offensive line is a concern against Clemson’s defensive line. They are going to have to protect Bentley. South Carolina should play loose and throw the kitchen sink at them.
