Let me start by saying how awesome is our media/marketing team? This is the third game in 2 seasons that they have been able to get our fan-base fired up to the point we expect to win games that we don't quite belong in (Clemson last year, UGA this year and although we definitely should have won that UK game last year they completely sold that blackout and hype to get everyone far more excited than we should have been) so props to those guys for doing a hell of a job! The disappointment sucks but they know how to keep me coming back for more. Now on to the more serious stuff...
I'm very proud and I am going to hang my hat on the fight that our guys showed in the first half. Georgia hit us with a knockout blow right out of the gate that could have very well been the ballgame. It reminded me of 2012 when Damiere Byrd just took that 50/50 ball away from the UGa defender on the first play of the game that set the tone for that beating we delivered. A pick 6 on the first drive of a game with that kind of magnitude should have buried this team based on what I've seen in years past but these guys jumped right back into the boxing ring.
Building off of that last paragraph, if you are someone that thinks we never responded just look at the flow of the game. We no doubt should have gone into the locker room at halftime winning this game 21 to 17 or at least 18 to 17. We had the big interception on our own 40 that we should have capitalized on. I completely did not agree with going for that 4th and 8. We needed points in that situation so we should have kicked the field goal. later in the half we had the ball inside the 5 yard line and Jake took a sack and then threw it into the student section. You can't not score touchdowns in those situations and expect to win a ballgame.
On to the negatives that cost us this football game:
I understand the gameplan was that we have the advantage over their secondary so lets spread em out and throw the ball around. But why in the world are we splitting Rico out wide running a single set back field where it's obvious we are throwing the ball and UGA can sell out on stopping the pass? Rico has drops a ton of passes so I see no value in splitting him out wide. If nothing else put him in the backfield as an extra blocker.
We tried WAY too hard to force the ball to Deebo early. You want your playmaker to get his touches but come on guys, we looked like a horse with blinders on trying to get him the ball so much. Get guys like Shi Smith involved early to force UGA to take some of the attention off of Deebo and then go back to Deebo when they let off a little.
Obviously we have to catch the football. All week we heard about how great our receivers are and I think we dropped somewhere north of 100 passes yesterday. (Obviously the big one cost us a pick 6).
Joseph Charlton never gets recognized but he needs to be called out for his shanked punt before the half. You have one job. Kick it down the field and give UGa a lon field before the half. I honestly believe that field goal right before the half was the blow that did us in. If you can't punt the ball better than that in big situations, we have plenty of kickers that I am sure are more than capable.
To wrap up m thoughts, we aren't a bad football team, we are just lightyear's behind UGA talent wise right now. We have a very undersized D-line. The good news is that Zacch Pickens comes in next year and that will hopefully be the first of many SEC sized D linemen that can hold his own in the run game but also rush the passer off the edge. his program is trending in the right direction. As a fan base, we absolutely cannot let a loss to one of the most talented teams in CFB cloud our perception of where this team is heading. Once again, these guys fought their asses off in the first half but our depth issues took precedence in the second half. Muschamp and Co. are fixing that probably through recruiting and we will be ready for this stage sooner rather than later.
Hope everyone has a great week and we will see ya'll at the Marshall game on Saturday. We have a lot of ball left to play and a lot more games that we can win. Go Gamecocks!
I'm very proud and I am going to hang my hat on the fight that our guys showed in the first half. Georgia hit us with a knockout blow right out of the gate that could have very well been the ballgame. It reminded me of 2012 when Damiere Byrd just took that 50/50 ball away from the UGa defender on the first play of the game that set the tone for that beating we delivered. A pick 6 on the first drive of a game with that kind of magnitude should have buried this team based on what I've seen in years past but these guys jumped right back into the boxing ring.
Building off of that last paragraph, if you are someone that thinks we never responded just look at the flow of the game. We no doubt should have gone into the locker room at halftime winning this game 21 to 17 or at least 18 to 17. We had the big interception on our own 40 that we should have capitalized on. I completely did not agree with going for that 4th and 8. We needed points in that situation so we should have kicked the field goal. later in the half we had the ball inside the 5 yard line and Jake took a sack and then threw it into the student section. You can't not score touchdowns in those situations and expect to win a ballgame.
On to the negatives that cost us this football game:
I understand the gameplan was that we have the advantage over their secondary so lets spread em out and throw the ball around. But why in the world are we splitting Rico out wide running a single set back field where it's obvious we are throwing the ball and UGA can sell out on stopping the pass? Rico has drops a ton of passes so I see no value in splitting him out wide. If nothing else put him in the backfield as an extra blocker.
We tried WAY too hard to force the ball to Deebo early. You want your playmaker to get his touches but come on guys, we looked like a horse with blinders on trying to get him the ball so much. Get guys like Shi Smith involved early to force UGA to take some of the attention off of Deebo and then go back to Deebo when they let off a little.
Obviously we have to catch the football. All week we heard about how great our receivers are and I think we dropped somewhere north of 100 passes yesterday. (Obviously the big one cost us a pick 6).
Joseph Charlton never gets recognized but he needs to be called out for his shanked punt before the half. You have one job. Kick it down the field and give UGa a lon field before the half. I honestly believe that field goal right before the half was the blow that did us in. If you can't punt the ball better than that in big situations, we have plenty of kickers that I am sure are more than capable.
To wrap up m thoughts, we aren't a bad football team, we are just lightyear's behind UGA talent wise right now. We have a very undersized D-line. The good news is that Zacch Pickens comes in next year and that will hopefully be the first of many SEC sized D linemen that can hold his own in the run game but also rush the passer off the edge. his program is trending in the right direction. As a fan base, we absolutely cannot let a loss to one of the most talented teams in CFB cloud our perception of where this team is heading. Once again, these guys fought their asses off in the first half but our depth issues took precedence in the second half. Muschamp and Co. are fixing that probably through recruiting and we will be ready for this stage sooner rather than later.
Hope everyone has a great week and we will see ya'll at the Marshall game on Saturday. We have a lot of ball left to play and a lot more games that we can win. Go Gamecocks!
