And We'll Have Run, Run, Run

posted by Scott Hood on Tuesday, August 21, 2007

As I listened Monday night to Steve Spurrier describe South Carolina’s passing woes following practice, I was afraid he was going to metamorphosize into Chuck Knox before my eyes.

Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of what Spurrier told the media – running game good, passing game bad.

It’s not the first time, of course, Spurrier has spoken those words. He spent the entire Gamecock Club tour telling fans USC could be a run-dominated team in 2007.

There are two reasons why: Cory Boyd and Mike Davis.

Spurrier has high regard for his backfield duo, calling them one of the best tandems in the country.

Heck, Boyd thinks he and Davis are pretty good, too, telling reporters at SEC Media Days four weeks ago that he could equal Darren McFadden’s numbers if he ran behind Arkansas’ offensive line.

Now, does Spurrier wish USC’s offensive line was a little further along, and capable of blocking SEC quality defensive linemen on a consistent basis? Yes.

But Spurrier isn’t stupid. Far from it. Instead, he’s quite pragmatic. He’ll play with the hand he’s dealt.

So, if that means USC must run the ball to win games this season, he’ll do it. That’s because Spurrier is all about one thing and one thing only: winning.

He’ll adapt to his environment.

If the perception that Spurrier is a throw-first, run-second coach is dented a bit in the process, so be it. Spurrier doesn’t care.

Here’s the bottom line: the offensive line has 11 days to find a solution to whatever’s plaguing it. Will it happen? I don’t know. Right now, I’m leaning towards the negative side.

If the offensive line doesn’t get squared away, Spurrier will simply tell Boyd and Davis to fire up their engines.

Although the season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette won’t be played until Sept. 1, I’m willing to predict right now that USC will run the ball about 70 percent of the time against the Ragin’ Cajuns, and most of the passing plays will be fairly conservative.

That strategy would serve two purposes.

First, Boyd and Davis are currently the two most productive players on USC’s offense. Second, Spurrier wants to save some of the best “ballplays” for Georgia on Sept. 8.

Hey, you can’t offer the Bulldogs too much to look at, especially with a lot riding on the outcome of that game.

Here’s the kicker: if Spurrier employs a run-first strategy early in the season, it won’t be out of character for the HBC. As you probably know, Florida ran the ball about 50 percent of the time during his 12-year tenure as the Gators head coach.

That trend has continued with the Gamecocks. In 2005, with Boyd suspended and Davis just a freshman, USC ran the ball 365 times and attempted 355 passes. That means USC relied on the ground game nearly 51 percent of the time.

The run-pass gap was even larger last season. With Boyd back in the fold, the Gamecocks ran the ball 414 times while attempting 389 passes, close to a 52%-48% margin in favor of the run game.

Blake Mitchell grabbed most of the headlines over the last 18 quarters last season for his renaissance after being benched for seven games following the Georgia loss, and deservingly so considering his staggering numbers.

However, one of the reasons Mitchell was able to become successful throwing the ball was an effective running game behind Boyd and Davis, along with superior protection from the offensive line.

In the final four games, USC totaled 686 rushing yards on 132 attempts, an average of 171.5 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.

That’s pretty good.

With Boyd and Davis, and possibly even freshman Brian Maddox, showing the way, I expect USC will post similar rushing game numbers in the first part of this season until Spurrier gains greater confidence in the offensive line.

Days before fall camp began, Spurrier put a priority on finding the right combination of offensive linemen as quickly as possible.

Until that happens, the Gamecocks should take the advice of Pink Floyd and just run like hell.

- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home

---