I'll keep these fairly brief today...
- The biggest surprise to me of the season has been the defense in the first half of the UNC/Kentucky games and the entire game against UGA. The second halves against UNC/Kentucky gave hope that the defense was capable of being a strong unit, particularly the Kentucky game in which the Wildcats didn't get a first down until halfway through the fourth quarter. Against Georgia, however, the Gamecock defense looked like it didn't belong on the same field most of the time. Quite honestly, that was surprising to me. Georgia is the most top to bottom talented offensive team USC has played through three games when you count what they have up front and at the skill positions. From that standpoint I thought the Dawgs would move the ball, break some big plays, and put up some points. I certainly did not anticipate what we saw last night, though.
- Having Greyson Lambert look like the best quarterback in the country was unacceptable. Take nothing away from his performance, but the majority of his throws were just pitch and catch situations. He had plenty of protection and Georgia had backs, receivers, and tight ends open with little resistance much of the night. That makes a quarterback's job much easier, obviously.
- UGA dominated up front with their offensive line and USC lost the first down battle. Giving Georgia big chunks of yardage on first down is a recipe for disaster because of their ability to run it, run play action, or the short passing game that was working and it happened all night long. UGA had just four third down situations all night long, which is probably the most telling statistic of the game.
- I didn't understand the defensive game plan although of course it's easy in hindsight to pick apart something that did not work. If USC had utilized the same game plan and fit the run better, tackled better, actually challenged receivers, perhaps the outcome would be different in some manner. The defense did not look prepared because they did not play well, and it seemed like it was a combination of mental and physical errors and just everything that could have gone wrong in execution. Judging by Jon Hoke's comments after the game, it seems that he was upset with how USC did not challenge the receivers in the short passing game. Again, Georgia's receivers had plenty of space to operate with not a lot of resistance in the short game. I think USC is really missing Chris Lammons in that regard, but the defensive backs struggled overall. I just don't think USC should be having a worse defensive performance than Vanderbilt against the Dawgs.
- Offensively, UGA has athletes all over the field and they just looked faster and more talented at times on defense than USC was on offense. USC made some plays here and there but didn't do enough and needed more production than it got to beat a team like this on the road.
- There were a few bright spots for the Gamecocks; won't make anyone feel any better about the game or the season outlook but they deserve mention. The special teams were good once again, whether it was Kelly's punting or Fry hitting a long field goal or the coverage teams. Shon Carson had some space in the return game and had a long return on a kickoff. Lorenzo Nunez was very intriguing. I thought USC should have kept him in the game more. There was some success with him running the ball and utilizing some of the option type game for the Gamecocks with Pharoh Cooper and the running backs. I don't think he will be able to give USC a great deal in the downfield passing game, but USC doesn't necessarily need that to succeed on offense.
- Really nice catch early in the game by DJ Neal. USC's most talented guys at receiver are the youngsters: Samuel (although it would be a positive to see him finish some plays that he's been close to finishing this season), Neal, Googer.
- USC's schedule is one of the most difficult in the country and that would be the case if USC was an excellent team this year. Anyone would look at this schedule and see several very tough games, so when you add to the fact that USC looks below average through three games that makes the outlook fairly bleak for the rest of the year. USC played very poorly against a Georgia team that may very well turn out to be good (maybe they underperformed in the first couple weeks), so there is room for improvement. I don't know what the answers are defensively. Offensively, USC could change some things around by utilizing Nunez more, etc. But the defense has to improve in a hurry to have any shot this season at winning some games.
Also see: Josh Low's Instant Analysis
Wes Mitchell's Game Thoughts
- The biggest surprise to me of the season has been the defense in the first half of the UNC/Kentucky games and the entire game against UGA. The second halves against UNC/Kentucky gave hope that the defense was capable of being a strong unit, particularly the Kentucky game in which the Wildcats didn't get a first down until halfway through the fourth quarter. Against Georgia, however, the Gamecock defense looked like it didn't belong on the same field most of the time. Quite honestly, that was surprising to me. Georgia is the most top to bottom talented offensive team USC has played through three games when you count what they have up front and at the skill positions. From that standpoint I thought the Dawgs would move the ball, break some big plays, and put up some points. I certainly did not anticipate what we saw last night, though.
- Having Greyson Lambert look like the best quarterback in the country was unacceptable. Take nothing away from his performance, but the majority of his throws were just pitch and catch situations. He had plenty of protection and Georgia had backs, receivers, and tight ends open with little resistance much of the night. That makes a quarterback's job much easier, obviously.
- UGA dominated up front with their offensive line and USC lost the first down battle. Giving Georgia big chunks of yardage on first down is a recipe for disaster because of their ability to run it, run play action, or the short passing game that was working and it happened all night long. UGA had just four third down situations all night long, which is probably the most telling statistic of the game.
- I didn't understand the defensive game plan although of course it's easy in hindsight to pick apart something that did not work. If USC had utilized the same game plan and fit the run better, tackled better, actually challenged receivers, perhaps the outcome would be different in some manner. The defense did not look prepared because they did not play well, and it seemed like it was a combination of mental and physical errors and just everything that could have gone wrong in execution. Judging by Jon Hoke's comments after the game, it seems that he was upset with how USC did not challenge the receivers in the short passing game. Again, Georgia's receivers had plenty of space to operate with not a lot of resistance in the short game. I think USC is really missing Chris Lammons in that regard, but the defensive backs struggled overall. I just don't think USC should be having a worse defensive performance than Vanderbilt against the Dawgs.
- Offensively, UGA has athletes all over the field and they just looked faster and more talented at times on defense than USC was on offense. USC made some plays here and there but didn't do enough and needed more production than it got to beat a team like this on the road.
- There were a few bright spots for the Gamecocks; won't make anyone feel any better about the game or the season outlook but they deserve mention. The special teams were good once again, whether it was Kelly's punting or Fry hitting a long field goal or the coverage teams. Shon Carson had some space in the return game and had a long return on a kickoff. Lorenzo Nunez was very intriguing. I thought USC should have kept him in the game more. There was some success with him running the ball and utilizing some of the option type game for the Gamecocks with Pharoh Cooper and the running backs. I don't think he will be able to give USC a great deal in the downfield passing game, but USC doesn't necessarily need that to succeed on offense.
- Really nice catch early in the game by DJ Neal. USC's most talented guys at receiver are the youngsters: Samuel (although it would be a positive to see him finish some plays that he's been close to finishing this season), Neal, Googer.
- USC's schedule is one of the most difficult in the country and that would be the case if USC was an excellent team this year. Anyone would look at this schedule and see several very tough games, so when you add to the fact that USC looks below average through three games that makes the outlook fairly bleak for the rest of the year. USC played very poorly against a Georgia team that may very well turn out to be good (maybe they underperformed in the first couple weeks), so there is room for improvement. I don't know what the answers are defensively. Offensively, USC could change some things around by utilizing Nunez more, etc. But the defense has to improve in a hurry to have any shot this season at winning some games.
Also see: Josh Low's Instant Analysis
Wes Mitchell's Game Thoughts
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