M
Matt OBrien
Guest
Hey guys, I shared my views following the loss to Kentucky and figured I'd do the same following a Gamecock victory. Here are some of my thoughts about what South Carolina did well last game, areas they'll need to improve in, and some quick points on how I expect the matchup with A&M to play out.
Play Calling: Count me as one of the people who disliked the South Carolina play-calling in the early part of the season. I did, however, like what I saw from the coaches on Saturday. For the most part, I thought the offense had better rhythm, kept the defense off-balance, and did a good job at controlling the clock when dictated. The best example of the first two of those points came on the Gamecocks’ second touchdown drive. The deep pass to Edwards over the middle forced the Louisiana Tech defense back up just a little, which helped blockers provide the lane for TySon Williams to explode through for the next play - a rushing score. On that play call, there are two main things to highlight. The first was having the tight end, Hayden Hurst, pull away from the run lane, which caused the linebackers to flow with Hurst and put themselves out of position. The second was the guard, Donnell Stanley getting to the second level and sealing the play-side linebacker to the inside, which gave Williams with nothing but green. There were some plays that I didn’t agree with, but overall, I liked the game plan, and if it weren’t for some poor execution early on, the offense likely would have put up at least 2 to 3 more touchdowns.
Tight End Blocking: More so than in past games, I saw some real poor blocking by the Gamecock tight ends; specifically, Jacob August and Hayden Hurst. One example of a good play call that was executed poorly was the two-back sweep to A.J. Turner. With Mon Denson as lead blocker on the corner, all Turner needed was a block on the primary point defender to scoot up the sideline, which Hurst didn’t attack. Instead, Hurst went for the safety, which allowed the defender to easily stop Turner for the 2-yard gain. It was also Hurst’s missed block that allowed the Louisiana Tech defender to blindly hit TySon Williams for a fumble, which was recovered by Louisiana Tech. I say “blindly” there because when a runner has a blocker in front, he assumes that the blocker will take the first defender, and will then look to the second level to anticipate his next running move. Again, early in the 4th quarter on 3rd and 1, Rico Dowdle received the inside handoff with good blocking by the interior linemen. It should have been an easy 5-6 yard gain, but Dowdle instead barely made the first down due to the missed block by August on the defensive end. Earlier on the drive, August was also bull rushed by the defensive end, who sacked Bentley for a loss of 5 yards. I know listing Tight End Blocking as a negative part of the game may seem nitpicky, but when South Carolina starts facing better defensive ends and linebackers, the tight ends will need to step up in this facet of the game.
If I call out the bad for Hurst and August, I must call out the good. August made one real nice catch on a high third-down throw from Bentley late in the game, to extend the Gamecock drive and keep the team in play to win the game. Hurst also made a few nice catches, including a short pass late in the game that he plucked near the ground and ran up the sideline and over a defender, to set up a short 3rd down for the offense. That third down was the very same that I discussed above; Dowdle first down run. If Hurst doesn’t run over that defender and gain that extra yard, I don’t believe Dowdle would have been able to make the first down on the next play (assuming the coaches would make the same call, of course.)
Jake Bentley: Again, we saw Bentley miss some open throws downfield that should have been easy touchdowns. Bentley also seemed to be on different pages with his receivers on some plays; looking specifically at the interception he threw to Hurst. Hurst ran a stop route, while Bentley threw an out-route. Another example was the 3rd and 3 in the 4th quarter where Bentley missed Shi Smith along the sideline. It looked like Bentley expected Shi Smith to either veer to the sideline or run a corner route, but instead it fell incomplete and stopped the Gamecock possession. Those were the negatives for Bentley, but the positives for him in this game outshine those in my opinion. Bentley’s ability to stay in the moment and not lose composure is impressive. Bentley helped lead the offense to 17 points in the fourth quarter, and made several tough plays look easy. The best example of what Bentley can do is his third down scramble for 25 yards. Not only did Bentley escape from pressure and pick up a first down, but he also kept his composure to run the next, set play instead of spiking the ball. This led to a big downfield throw and catch to Bryan Edwards, which helped set up the game-winning field goal by Parker White.
Parker White: I felt proud of this kid for keeping his cool and redeeming his misses with a game-winning field goal at home in Willy-B; a kicker’s dream and moment White will never forget. What gave White the confidence to do this, in my opinion, were the two extra points he made on the previous couple of drives. In past games, White was called into the game, amongst a rotation of two kickers, to try to hit 50+ yarders – talk about being thrown into the fire. Then, White missed two easy field goal attempts early this past Saturday. I respect Coach Muschamp’s decision to stick with one kicker in this game, and it ended up paying off. The Field Goal and Extra Point game still should be a concern for the Gamecocks, but hopefully this game-winner helped White shake off his nerves.
Bryan Edwards: I mentioned last week that I believed Bryan Edwards was underutilized, and it seems the coaches made a point to get him the ball as much as possible against Louisiana Tech. Edwards caught 6 passes for 122 yards; an astounding 20.3 yards-per-catch average. The crazy thing is Edwards could have had a 200-yard receiving game if it weren’t for a couple of broken up passes, that I believe Edwards is capable of catching, including a deep pass in the end zone. Earlier in the game, Jake Bentley also missed a wide-open Edwards up the sideline which could have been another 6 points. With the emergence of another future star receiver in OrTre Smith, the Gamecocks have a pair of big receivers on the perimeter that could do some serious damage for the offense.
#21 – Amik Robertson: I mentioned above two broken up passes that Edwards “should” or could have caught, but what I didn’t mention was who was defending him. Amik Robertson, the true freshman corner for Louisiana Tech played one heckuva game on Saturday. At 5’9” and 170-pounds, Robertson was given the tough task on matching up with the bigger Bryan Edwards and OrTre Smith for most of the game; on the road in the SEC no less. Robertson broke up two passes on Edwards and made several nice tackles in space, and even put pressure on Jake Bentley on a blitz. The bulk of Edwards receptions were not made against Robertson, and I believe other teams will be smart to keep their top receivers away from him in the future, as well. I watched this game three times, and I don’t know if I’ve been as impressed with a true freshman corner as much as Robertson in some time. This kid is one to watch for many years to come.
TySon Williams: Almost as if the coaches heard SC fans yelling, “where is TySon?!” last game, it seemed to only be TySon for the Gamecock offense on the first drive of the game. Williams touched the ball 9 times on the opening drive, and finished the game with 7.3 yards per carry, 109 total yards, and 1 touchdown. Williams did have a poorly timed lost fumble late in the game (which I don’t believe was completely his fault) but he showed that he is capable of being a true featured back in the SEC. Williams gives the Gamecock coaches the ability to have confidence in creating a consistent rotation at the running back position.
Offensive Line: After Cory Helms left the game with an injury on Saturday, that left the Gamecock offensive line looking nothing like it did in week one against NC State. However, I don’t necessarily think this new look OL is a bad thing moving forward. I was impressed with how the players looked along the line of scrimmage when you consider a few of them were making their first starts or getting their first hints of playing time at a specific position. I thought the guard play by Donnell Stanley and Sadarius Hutcherson was solid-to-good, and the only real errors a saw from the interior line was from the center position. I also liked the athleticism displayed by offensive tackles Malik Young and Dennis Daley. Quarterback Jake Bentley was sacked 3 times on Saturday, but you could argue that none of them were due to poor offensive line protection. The first was given up because of bad snap by the center, the second by a bad read by the running back, and the final by a tight end getting bull-rushed into Bentley’s legs. When Helms and the injured Zack Bailey, who is the best offensive lineman on the team, return, it will be interesting to see what the coaches do to field the best possible offensive line.
Defense: Overall, I thought the defense had a good game when you consider the type of offense that Louisiana Tech runs and the lack of points put on the board by the South Carolina offense through the first three quarters. Louisiana Tech tried to eat of a lot of clock to shorten the game, which worked for the most part and almost brought them a road victory in the SEC. There are some real concerns about the South Carolina defense, mainly the lack of pass rush and inconsistencies on third downs, but any time you can hold an opponent to 16 points, you are giving the team a chance.
JaMarcus King: King had one of his better performances for the Gamecocks on Saturday. He had one interception, that gave SC some much-need momentum, and would have also made two more if the footballs were more accurately placed by the Louisiana Tech quarterback. What made King so good on Saturday was his ability to break downhill fast on the intermediate sideline routes, which comes from good tape studying. Where I believe future opponents will attack King, especially given this past game’s tape, is on stop-and-go routes along the sideline. Teams will play into his want to break downhill, have the receiver hesitate briefly and then fly up the field, which will cause King to either get beat by a couple yards or force King to put his hands on the receiver to slow him down. To neutralize this, I would have King play more coverage at the line of scrimmage, which should help him focus on his receiver only and not get fooled by stop-and-go’s.
Jamyest Williams: I believe Jam Williams will be a star in the SEC. Williams has the skills, the athleticism, and the confidence to go out and compete no matter who is lining up across from him. I don’t know if I’ve seen any SC defensive back with as much swagger as Williams since Victor Hampton, and before him, the leader in on-field swagger, D.J. Swearinger. What I like most about Williams is his ability and willingness to be effective in taking on blockers in the run game and on screens, which helps free up safeties to make one-on-one tackles. All that said, I believe Williams will continue to get targeted on vertical routes, where he has shown the unfortunate early habit to get handsy with receivers, which draws penalties. Opponents will start to move to their number one receivers into the slot to take advantage of Williams in this facet, and I look for this to start right away against Texas A&M with Christian Kirk. If you haven’t watched Kirk play, he reminds me of a slightly faster Pharoh Cooper. To counter this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the SC coaches start utilizing Chris Lammons more in the slot against 3 receiver sets, and dropping Williams back to play deep middle safety – which happened on multiple occasions against Louisiana Tech.
Skai Moore: Nothing much more to say than Moore is an absolute beast for the Gamecock defense. Moore had 12 tackles on Saturday, with a handful coming on third downs. The most impressive play Moore made on Saturday came on Louisiana Tech’s third-to-last possession of the game, on third down. Tech came out in an empty set and Moore lined up deep at safety. When the back motioned from the slot into the backfield, Moore ran down into the box and exploded through an open gap when that back took the handoff, and made a nice tackle in the backfield. It was truly a great play, and could not have come at a better time. This led to a Tech punt, which gave the ball back to the offense and ultimately led to a two-play scoring drive capped off by the Williams rush touchdown.
Pass Rush: Given how the defense played against Kentucky and Louisiana Tech, I expect to see much of the same in terms of defensive sets from the Gamecocks: three-man rushes with more defenders in coverage. I do, however, expect to see more blitzes with the BUCK position; specifically, with Daniel Fennell. #35 did a nice job at creating pressure several times, including a key sack off a blitz stunt where Fennell began standing a yard behind the defensive end. Fennell and D.J. Wonnum will need to bring their A-games on Saturday if the Gamecock defense wants to get pressure on the A&M quarterback.
Defensive Line Stopping the Run: A lot the discussion surrounding this game is wrapped up in how the Gamecocks will stop the Aggie passing attack, and rightfully so. But, I believe one of the main focuses of Coach Muschamp’s game plan for the defensive line will be in winning their one-on-one matchups in the run game. If the defensive line is not able to break off their blocks and make tackles near the line of scrimmage, it could be a long day for the Gamecock defense. Against an offense with top-end perimeter speed, the SC linebackers will be forced to align a little wider, which will make them less effective in consistently stopping the inside run plays before getting to 5 yards. These consecutive runs will take time off the clock, as well as help the Aggies convert successfully in third and manageable situations. Texas A&M also has the best running back South Carolina will have faced all season, in Trayveon Williams. I trust in Skai Moore and T.J. Brunson’s abilities to make one-on-one tackles with running backs, but since they’ll likely be aligned wider, the big bodies up front will need to create some real disruption to slow the Aggies backs at the line of scrimmage.
Texas A&M will no doubt be tough to beat on the road, but this should in no way, shape or form be written off as a loss. The SC defense will need to limit the A&M explosive plays, including in the run game with Trayveon Williams, and create turnovers when the Aggies reach the red zone. Offensively, the Gamecocks shouldn't be intimidated by the Aggie defense. It will be loud and the play calls will have to come in quickly for the offense to get set properly, but if Jake Bentley can execute at a high level and limit his mistakes, there are some glaring holes on the Aggie defense that the Gamecocks can take advantage. Aside from looking to run the ball consistently, I expect the Gamecocks to try to win with the bigger receivers on the perimeter. I don't believe the Gamecocks would otherwise be able to matchup with the Aggies if the SC offense tries to play small ball and control the clock all game.
Play Calling: Count me as one of the people who disliked the South Carolina play-calling in the early part of the season. I did, however, like what I saw from the coaches on Saturday. For the most part, I thought the offense had better rhythm, kept the defense off-balance, and did a good job at controlling the clock when dictated. The best example of the first two of those points came on the Gamecocks’ second touchdown drive. The deep pass to Edwards over the middle forced the Louisiana Tech defense back up just a little, which helped blockers provide the lane for TySon Williams to explode through for the next play - a rushing score. On that play call, there are two main things to highlight. The first was having the tight end, Hayden Hurst, pull away from the run lane, which caused the linebackers to flow with Hurst and put themselves out of position. The second was the guard, Donnell Stanley getting to the second level and sealing the play-side linebacker to the inside, which gave Williams with nothing but green. There were some plays that I didn’t agree with, but overall, I liked the game plan, and if it weren’t for some poor execution early on, the offense likely would have put up at least 2 to 3 more touchdowns.
Tight End Blocking: More so than in past games, I saw some real poor blocking by the Gamecock tight ends; specifically, Jacob August and Hayden Hurst. One example of a good play call that was executed poorly was the two-back sweep to A.J. Turner. With Mon Denson as lead blocker on the corner, all Turner needed was a block on the primary point defender to scoot up the sideline, which Hurst didn’t attack. Instead, Hurst went for the safety, which allowed the defender to easily stop Turner for the 2-yard gain. It was also Hurst’s missed block that allowed the Louisiana Tech defender to blindly hit TySon Williams for a fumble, which was recovered by Louisiana Tech. I say “blindly” there because when a runner has a blocker in front, he assumes that the blocker will take the first defender, and will then look to the second level to anticipate his next running move. Again, early in the 4th quarter on 3rd and 1, Rico Dowdle received the inside handoff with good blocking by the interior linemen. It should have been an easy 5-6 yard gain, but Dowdle instead barely made the first down due to the missed block by August on the defensive end. Earlier on the drive, August was also bull rushed by the defensive end, who sacked Bentley for a loss of 5 yards. I know listing Tight End Blocking as a negative part of the game may seem nitpicky, but when South Carolina starts facing better defensive ends and linebackers, the tight ends will need to step up in this facet of the game.
If I call out the bad for Hurst and August, I must call out the good. August made one real nice catch on a high third-down throw from Bentley late in the game, to extend the Gamecock drive and keep the team in play to win the game. Hurst also made a few nice catches, including a short pass late in the game that he plucked near the ground and ran up the sideline and over a defender, to set up a short 3rd down for the offense. That third down was the very same that I discussed above; Dowdle first down run. If Hurst doesn’t run over that defender and gain that extra yard, I don’t believe Dowdle would have been able to make the first down on the next play (assuming the coaches would make the same call, of course.)
Jake Bentley: Again, we saw Bentley miss some open throws downfield that should have been easy touchdowns. Bentley also seemed to be on different pages with his receivers on some plays; looking specifically at the interception he threw to Hurst. Hurst ran a stop route, while Bentley threw an out-route. Another example was the 3rd and 3 in the 4th quarter where Bentley missed Shi Smith along the sideline. It looked like Bentley expected Shi Smith to either veer to the sideline or run a corner route, but instead it fell incomplete and stopped the Gamecock possession. Those were the negatives for Bentley, but the positives for him in this game outshine those in my opinion. Bentley’s ability to stay in the moment and not lose composure is impressive. Bentley helped lead the offense to 17 points in the fourth quarter, and made several tough plays look easy. The best example of what Bentley can do is his third down scramble for 25 yards. Not only did Bentley escape from pressure and pick up a first down, but he also kept his composure to run the next, set play instead of spiking the ball. This led to a big downfield throw and catch to Bryan Edwards, which helped set up the game-winning field goal by Parker White.
Parker White: I felt proud of this kid for keeping his cool and redeeming his misses with a game-winning field goal at home in Willy-B; a kicker’s dream and moment White will never forget. What gave White the confidence to do this, in my opinion, were the two extra points he made on the previous couple of drives. In past games, White was called into the game, amongst a rotation of two kickers, to try to hit 50+ yarders – talk about being thrown into the fire. Then, White missed two easy field goal attempts early this past Saturday. I respect Coach Muschamp’s decision to stick with one kicker in this game, and it ended up paying off. The Field Goal and Extra Point game still should be a concern for the Gamecocks, but hopefully this game-winner helped White shake off his nerves.
Bryan Edwards: I mentioned last week that I believed Bryan Edwards was underutilized, and it seems the coaches made a point to get him the ball as much as possible against Louisiana Tech. Edwards caught 6 passes for 122 yards; an astounding 20.3 yards-per-catch average. The crazy thing is Edwards could have had a 200-yard receiving game if it weren’t for a couple of broken up passes, that I believe Edwards is capable of catching, including a deep pass in the end zone. Earlier in the game, Jake Bentley also missed a wide-open Edwards up the sideline which could have been another 6 points. With the emergence of another future star receiver in OrTre Smith, the Gamecocks have a pair of big receivers on the perimeter that could do some serious damage for the offense.
#21 – Amik Robertson: I mentioned above two broken up passes that Edwards “should” or could have caught, but what I didn’t mention was who was defending him. Amik Robertson, the true freshman corner for Louisiana Tech played one heckuva game on Saturday. At 5’9” and 170-pounds, Robertson was given the tough task on matching up with the bigger Bryan Edwards and OrTre Smith for most of the game; on the road in the SEC no less. Robertson broke up two passes on Edwards and made several nice tackles in space, and even put pressure on Jake Bentley on a blitz. The bulk of Edwards receptions were not made against Robertson, and I believe other teams will be smart to keep their top receivers away from him in the future, as well. I watched this game three times, and I don’t know if I’ve been as impressed with a true freshman corner as much as Robertson in some time. This kid is one to watch for many years to come.
TySon Williams: Almost as if the coaches heard SC fans yelling, “where is TySon?!” last game, it seemed to only be TySon for the Gamecock offense on the first drive of the game. Williams touched the ball 9 times on the opening drive, and finished the game with 7.3 yards per carry, 109 total yards, and 1 touchdown. Williams did have a poorly timed lost fumble late in the game (which I don’t believe was completely his fault) but he showed that he is capable of being a true featured back in the SEC. Williams gives the Gamecock coaches the ability to have confidence in creating a consistent rotation at the running back position.
Offensive Line: After Cory Helms left the game with an injury on Saturday, that left the Gamecock offensive line looking nothing like it did in week one against NC State. However, I don’t necessarily think this new look OL is a bad thing moving forward. I was impressed with how the players looked along the line of scrimmage when you consider a few of them were making their first starts or getting their first hints of playing time at a specific position. I thought the guard play by Donnell Stanley and Sadarius Hutcherson was solid-to-good, and the only real errors a saw from the interior line was from the center position. I also liked the athleticism displayed by offensive tackles Malik Young and Dennis Daley. Quarterback Jake Bentley was sacked 3 times on Saturday, but you could argue that none of them were due to poor offensive line protection. The first was given up because of bad snap by the center, the second by a bad read by the running back, and the final by a tight end getting bull-rushed into Bentley’s legs. When Helms and the injured Zack Bailey, who is the best offensive lineman on the team, return, it will be interesting to see what the coaches do to field the best possible offensive line.
Defense: Overall, I thought the defense had a good game when you consider the type of offense that Louisiana Tech runs and the lack of points put on the board by the South Carolina offense through the first three quarters. Louisiana Tech tried to eat of a lot of clock to shorten the game, which worked for the most part and almost brought them a road victory in the SEC. There are some real concerns about the South Carolina defense, mainly the lack of pass rush and inconsistencies on third downs, but any time you can hold an opponent to 16 points, you are giving the team a chance.
JaMarcus King: King had one of his better performances for the Gamecocks on Saturday. He had one interception, that gave SC some much-need momentum, and would have also made two more if the footballs were more accurately placed by the Louisiana Tech quarterback. What made King so good on Saturday was his ability to break downhill fast on the intermediate sideline routes, which comes from good tape studying. Where I believe future opponents will attack King, especially given this past game’s tape, is on stop-and-go routes along the sideline. Teams will play into his want to break downhill, have the receiver hesitate briefly and then fly up the field, which will cause King to either get beat by a couple yards or force King to put his hands on the receiver to slow him down. To neutralize this, I would have King play more coverage at the line of scrimmage, which should help him focus on his receiver only and not get fooled by stop-and-go’s.
Jamyest Williams: I believe Jam Williams will be a star in the SEC. Williams has the skills, the athleticism, and the confidence to go out and compete no matter who is lining up across from him. I don’t know if I’ve seen any SC defensive back with as much swagger as Williams since Victor Hampton, and before him, the leader in on-field swagger, D.J. Swearinger. What I like most about Williams is his ability and willingness to be effective in taking on blockers in the run game and on screens, which helps free up safeties to make one-on-one tackles. All that said, I believe Williams will continue to get targeted on vertical routes, where he has shown the unfortunate early habit to get handsy with receivers, which draws penalties. Opponents will start to move to their number one receivers into the slot to take advantage of Williams in this facet, and I look for this to start right away against Texas A&M with Christian Kirk. If you haven’t watched Kirk play, he reminds me of a slightly faster Pharoh Cooper. To counter this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the SC coaches start utilizing Chris Lammons more in the slot against 3 receiver sets, and dropping Williams back to play deep middle safety – which happened on multiple occasions against Louisiana Tech.
Skai Moore: Nothing much more to say than Moore is an absolute beast for the Gamecock defense. Moore had 12 tackles on Saturday, with a handful coming on third downs. The most impressive play Moore made on Saturday came on Louisiana Tech’s third-to-last possession of the game, on third down. Tech came out in an empty set and Moore lined up deep at safety. When the back motioned from the slot into the backfield, Moore ran down into the box and exploded through an open gap when that back took the handoff, and made a nice tackle in the backfield. It was truly a great play, and could not have come at a better time. This led to a Tech punt, which gave the ball back to the offense and ultimately led to a two-play scoring drive capped off by the Williams rush touchdown.
Pass Rush: Given how the defense played against Kentucky and Louisiana Tech, I expect to see much of the same in terms of defensive sets from the Gamecocks: three-man rushes with more defenders in coverage. I do, however, expect to see more blitzes with the BUCK position; specifically, with Daniel Fennell. #35 did a nice job at creating pressure several times, including a key sack off a blitz stunt where Fennell began standing a yard behind the defensive end. Fennell and D.J. Wonnum will need to bring their A-games on Saturday if the Gamecock defense wants to get pressure on the A&M quarterback.
Defensive Line Stopping the Run: A lot the discussion surrounding this game is wrapped up in how the Gamecocks will stop the Aggie passing attack, and rightfully so. But, I believe one of the main focuses of Coach Muschamp’s game plan for the defensive line will be in winning their one-on-one matchups in the run game. If the defensive line is not able to break off their blocks and make tackles near the line of scrimmage, it could be a long day for the Gamecock defense. Against an offense with top-end perimeter speed, the SC linebackers will be forced to align a little wider, which will make them less effective in consistently stopping the inside run plays before getting to 5 yards. These consecutive runs will take time off the clock, as well as help the Aggies convert successfully in third and manageable situations. Texas A&M also has the best running back South Carolina will have faced all season, in Trayveon Williams. I trust in Skai Moore and T.J. Brunson’s abilities to make one-on-one tackles with running backs, but since they’ll likely be aligned wider, the big bodies up front will need to create some real disruption to slow the Aggies backs at the line of scrimmage.
Texas A&M will no doubt be tough to beat on the road, but this should in no way, shape or form be written off as a loss. The SC defense will need to limit the A&M explosive plays, including in the run game with Trayveon Williams, and create turnovers when the Aggies reach the red zone. Offensively, the Gamecocks shouldn't be intimidated by the Aggie defense. It will be loud and the play calls will have to come in quickly for the offense to get set properly, but if Jake Bentley can execute at a high level and limit his mistakes, there are some glaring holes on the Aggie defense that the Gamecocks can take advantage. Aside from looking to run the ball consistently, I expect the Gamecocks to try to win with the bigger receivers on the perimeter. I don't believe the Gamecocks would otherwise be able to matchup with the Aggies if the SC offense tries to play small ball and control the clock all game.
