I delayed posting this for a week because after the game, we had a solid few days of just noise and I figured it would do well to let everyone (myself included) settle down a bit. Now that I have settled down, I can confidently say that the A&M game was one of the worst football games I've seen us play in a long time. So let's look at it.
The Opponent
A&M is a good football team. They may be teetering on the brink of being called a great one. They should not have beat us like that. There's no excuse for it. The picture floating around where they had 450 or so yards of offense to our 6 is just pathetic. A&M is not THAT more talented than us. They aren't Alabama. I'm reminded of two games, 1 in 2019 against Alabama, 1 in 2018 against Clemson. Alabama was Alabama and infinitely more talented than us. Clemson was also infinitely more talented than us, and won the national title that year. I've been harping on the importance of being competitive even in losses; those games were not competitive. But the scores at the end of the first quarter? Alabama: 14-10, Clemson: 14-7. Those are normal 1st quarter scores. Meanwhile, A&M was up 14-0 and about to score again. Of course, Tennessee was up 28-0 so I guess that's improvement. All that to say, none of our games should be completely unwinnable after the first quarter. It's not a talent issue and we've got to be better than that to move forward as a program.
The Offense
Jeez, what can I say that hasn't been said every day for the last month? I won't pretend to be an offensive coordinator; I don't know what the problem is. Apparently neither does Marcus Satterfield. Is the scheme too complex? Are we trying to do too much? Are the plays just not smart? I don't know... my best guess is that it's a combination. It's strange because I actually thought the Vandy game was a decent step forward for Satt. I know that people look at the final score and judge, but that was mostly due to turnover issues and execution. Then we go to A&M, and look like the worst offense I've ever seen. The play calls make no sense half the time, we're still throwing 2 yard passes on 4th and 5. I just don't understand what our offensive scheme is supposed to be except for bad. Sometimes Zeb had 2 seconds to throw the ball, sometimes Zeb had all the time he wanted, and the play would be designed for a throw behind the line of scrimmage. The one thing Zeb excels at is deep passes, and we throw like 3 of them the entire game. And no I don't want to hear about how we called more but didn't hit them... we didn't. Almost all of our plays are either runs that go nowhere or passes that (if caught) net us 2 or 3 yards. It's bad bad bad bad. For many many reasons, Satt needs to go. I get there's a talent issue, but again, there isn't THAT big of a talent issue. We shouldn't look that bad. If Beamer is going to roll the dice on keeping him another year, he better get lucky and have Satt suddenly become a star, because it could really crash and burn. If I was him, I wouldn't take that risk.
The Defense
I like the defense.... sue me. This was their worst game, but I still have a soft spot for them. A&M pretty much ran for 8 yards almost every play and we had no idea how to stop them. But I really do think that some of that can be attributed to the offense. I think you see this a lot with terrible offensive teams. First, the defense is obviously on the field most of the game. Second, it's hard to get them to play with full fire during a loss. Once A&M went up 21-0 (7 of those points off a punt return), we all knew it was over. The defense knows that too, and I think it effected their play. The fact of the matter is that they've looked a lot better in close games this year, and I continue to think that if we can actually have a close game against a good opponent, they'll look like a much more competent unit.
The Quarterbacks
Honestly, I have very few issues with how Zeb performed. It's the offense we're running that's to blame. Zeb played 3 quarters, he's a pocket passer who excels at throwing deep balls.... he threw 12 passes in 3 quarters yesterday. Average yardage was 2.5. I mean, he was 7/12 and threw no interceptions against a really good A&M defense. It just wasn't his fault, plain and simple.
Yes, when we put Jason in, he did better. He was playing against backups, walkons, and waterboys who saw spare pads lying around. And against that group, Jason looked good, to a point. However, y'all expecting Jason to come in and look like Tim Tebow need to rein it in. He was 3rd string for a reason, and that reason showed itself again. He just doesn't make good decisions. He had 2 interceptions (again, against backups) and they were both bad. He threw one pass well behind the receiver, which was tipped and intercepted. That's as much his fault as it was Hilinski's fault when he would do it every game. Throwing passes like that leads to INT's. The interception in the end zone was awful. He stared down his receiver, saw he was in double covered, and lobbed it where only an A&M player could possibly come up with it. I think you do start him on Saturday, because he has the highest upside if he could clean that stuff up, but I just think it's a lot to ask to expect him to figure that out while also simultaneously fixing the fact that we call stupid plays. But nonetheless, I'll be rooting for him and I promise that I too will have visions of him slinging it all over the field in a 40 point performance. We'll just have to see.
The Gators
So, what kind of team is Florida? Definitely the type that will blow us out if we play like last saturday, but that isn't saying much. They are a really good offensive team, don't let the Georgia game fool you (Georgia does that to everybody). Florida is #11 in the country in yards per game. Now, they are #47 in points per game, averaging 31 (that drops to 24 when you only count power 5 teams). So what's the disconnect? Florida has thrown more interceptions than anybody else in the country (14 INTs). Florida has been swapping QBs, but both of them have an interception problem. You can combine that with the fact that we are tied for the most fumbles in the country (10 fumbles) and perhaps imagine a sloppy sloppy game. We'll see which team can fix or limit this problem on Saturday.
Their defense has been very similar to ours. They have games where they look pretty good, they games (like the LSU game for example) where they look like junk. They are close to dead last in the country (#123 in turnover margin). That is both because they throw a ton of INT's (14 on the year) and because they get very few themselves (6 on the year). Compare that to our 11 INTs and you may give a slight edge to our defense over theirs.
Ultimately, I see this as a very winnable game IF (and this is a big if, like it is every week) we don't come out and do our same old routine on offense. We have got to change and evolve. Florida is a 4-4 team, just like us. They just aren't that good. They have a coach on the hot seat, and just took a spanking to Georgia. This is a game I circled in the offseason as a game that comes in a really good spot and has potential for a defining win for Beamer. That's still the case. Let's finally start proving some people wrong, and maybe get another Florida coach fired (although hopefully this time we won't hire him in a few years). Go Gamecocks! Beat Florida!
The Opponent
A&M is a good football team. They may be teetering on the brink of being called a great one. They should not have beat us like that. There's no excuse for it. The picture floating around where they had 450 or so yards of offense to our 6 is just pathetic. A&M is not THAT more talented than us. They aren't Alabama. I'm reminded of two games, 1 in 2019 against Alabama, 1 in 2018 against Clemson. Alabama was Alabama and infinitely more talented than us. Clemson was also infinitely more talented than us, and won the national title that year. I've been harping on the importance of being competitive even in losses; those games were not competitive. But the scores at the end of the first quarter? Alabama: 14-10, Clemson: 14-7. Those are normal 1st quarter scores. Meanwhile, A&M was up 14-0 and about to score again. Of course, Tennessee was up 28-0 so I guess that's improvement. All that to say, none of our games should be completely unwinnable after the first quarter. It's not a talent issue and we've got to be better than that to move forward as a program.
The Offense
Jeez, what can I say that hasn't been said every day for the last month? I won't pretend to be an offensive coordinator; I don't know what the problem is. Apparently neither does Marcus Satterfield. Is the scheme too complex? Are we trying to do too much? Are the plays just not smart? I don't know... my best guess is that it's a combination. It's strange because I actually thought the Vandy game was a decent step forward for Satt. I know that people look at the final score and judge, but that was mostly due to turnover issues and execution. Then we go to A&M, and look like the worst offense I've ever seen. The play calls make no sense half the time, we're still throwing 2 yard passes on 4th and 5. I just don't understand what our offensive scheme is supposed to be except for bad. Sometimes Zeb had 2 seconds to throw the ball, sometimes Zeb had all the time he wanted, and the play would be designed for a throw behind the line of scrimmage. The one thing Zeb excels at is deep passes, and we throw like 3 of them the entire game. And no I don't want to hear about how we called more but didn't hit them... we didn't. Almost all of our plays are either runs that go nowhere or passes that (if caught) net us 2 or 3 yards. It's bad bad bad bad. For many many reasons, Satt needs to go. I get there's a talent issue, but again, there isn't THAT big of a talent issue. We shouldn't look that bad. If Beamer is going to roll the dice on keeping him another year, he better get lucky and have Satt suddenly become a star, because it could really crash and burn. If I was him, I wouldn't take that risk.
The Defense
I like the defense.... sue me. This was their worst game, but I still have a soft spot for them. A&M pretty much ran for 8 yards almost every play and we had no idea how to stop them. But I really do think that some of that can be attributed to the offense. I think you see this a lot with terrible offensive teams. First, the defense is obviously on the field most of the game. Second, it's hard to get them to play with full fire during a loss. Once A&M went up 21-0 (7 of those points off a punt return), we all knew it was over. The defense knows that too, and I think it effected their play. The fact of the matter is that they've looked a lot better in close games this year, and I continue to think that if we can actually have a close game against a good opponent, they'll look like a much more competent unit.
The Quarterbacks
Honestly, I have very few issues with how Zeb performed. It's the offense we're running that's to blame. Zeb played 3 quarters, he's a pocket passer who excels at throwing deep balls.... he threw 12 passes in 3 quarters yesterday. Average yardage was 2.5. I mean, he was 7/12 and threw no interceptions against a really good A&M defense. It just wasn't his fault, plain and simple.
Yes, when we put Jason in, he did better. He was playing against backups, walkons, and waterboys who saw spare pads lying around. And against that group, Jason looked good, to a point. However, y'all expecting Jason to come in and look like Tim Tebow need to rein it in. He was 3rd string for a reason, and that reason showed itself again. He just doesn't make good decisions. He had 2 interceptions (again, against backups) and they were both bad. He threw one pass well behind the receiver, which was tipped and intercepted. That's as much his fault as it was Hilinski's fault when he would do it every game. Throwing passes like that leads to INT's. The interception in the end zone was awful. He stared down his receiver, saw he was in double covered, and lobbed it where only an A&M player could possibly come up with it. I think you do start him on Saturday, because he has the highest upside if he could clean that stuff up, but I just think it's a lot to ask to expect him to figure that out while also simultaneously fixing the fact that we call stupid plays. But nonetheless, I'll be rooting for him and I promise that I too will have visions of him slinging it all over the field in a 40 point performance. We'll just have to see.
The Gators
So, what kind of team is Florida? Definitely the type that will blow us out if we play like last saturday, but that isn't saying much. They are a really good offensive team, don't let the Georgia game fool you (Georgia does that to everybody). Florida is #11 in the country in yards per game. Now, they are #47 in points per game, averaging 31 (that drops to 24 when you only count power 5 teams). So what's the disconnect? Florida has thrown more interceptions than anybody else in the country (14 INTs). Florida has been swapping QBs, but both of them have an interception problem. You can combine that with the fact that we are tied for the most fumbles in the country (10 fumbles) and perhaps imagine a sloppy sloppy game. We'll see which team can fix or limit this problem on Saturday.
Their defense has been very similar to ours. They have games where they look pretty good, they games (like the LSU game for example) where they look like junk. They are close to dead last in the country (#123 in turnover margin). That is both because they throw a ton of INT's (14 on the year) and because they get very few themselves (6 on the year). Compare that to our 11 INTs and you may give a slight edge to our defense over theirs.
Ultimately, I see this as a very winnable game IF (and this is a big if, like it is every week) we don't come out and do our same old routine on offense. We have got to change and evolve. Florida is a 4-4 team, just like us. They just aren't that good. They have a coach on the hot seat, and just took a spanking to Georgia. This is a game I circled in the offseason as a game that comes in a really good spot and has potential for a defining win for Beamer. That's still the case. Let's finally start proving some people wrong, and maybe get another Florida coach fired (although hopefully this time we won't hire him in a few years). Go Gamecocks! Beat Florida!
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