The 5 Things We Learned From USC-Tennessee
posted by Scott Hood on Sunday, October 28, 2007
1. BIG PLAYS AND TURNOVERS TRUMP BIG STATS: By now, I’m sure most of you have seen the statistics from Saturday night’s game in which USC dominated nearly every major category. Unfortunately, it marked the second straight year USC has won the statistical battle but lost the war on the scoreboard.
How does that happen? Easy. Tennessee has forced turnovers and made big plays when they had to. Last year, it was an interception return for a touchdown and a key punt return by Jonathan Hefney.
This year, Tennessee turned a critical fumble by Freddie Brown into a 52-yard return inside the USC 5-yard line. Several USC players had an opportunity to tackle the returner but didn’t do it.
Later, with the game on the line, here’s what happened: 1) a kickoff return to the UT 47; 2) two fumbles recovered by the Tennessee offense when a recovery by USC in either situation would have ended the game and 3) a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left to tie the score. Tennessee made the plays, USC didn’t.
Overall, USC committed four turnovers to one by Tennessee. Rarely does a team that’s minus-3 in turnover margin win a football game.
2. THE FIRST HALF COUNTS TOO: While the final two minutes of regulation and overtime will dominate the conversation for years, USC may have won had it not dug itself such a huge hole in the first half. The Gamecocks failed to execute in nearly every phase of the game during the opening 30 minutes. Here’s what happened in the first half:
-- Brian Maddox committed an illegal block in the back penalty on a punt return following the first series of the game;
-- A roughing the kicker penalty on Cliff Matthews kept a Tennessee drive alive and allowed the Vols to run five more plays before punting again.
-- Wide receiver Freddie Brown fumbled after making a catch at the UT 44. The loose ball was scooped up by Tennessee’s Eric Berry and returned 52 yards to the USC 4. To add insult to injury, a face mask penalty on QB Chris Smelley moved the ball to the 2-yard line.
-- Smelley throws an interception right into the arms of Berry on the first play of the second quarter.
-- A pass interference penalty against on Captain Munnerlyn on fourth-and-1 gave UT a first-down at the USC 30. The Vols went on to score a touchdown.
-- A personal foul penalty on Garrett Anderson neutralized a 12-yard pass to Kenny McKinley that had moved the ball into UT territory.
That’s far too many mistakes for a single half of football. In the end, those plays helped cost USC the game because the Gamecocks could have put some points on the board in the first half or prevented Tennessee from scoring points.
3. CORY BOYD IS A WARRIOR: This is more of a reminder than a news flash. But Boyd again showed his warrior mentality on Saturday night. His 29-yard TD run late in the third quarter was a thing of beauty.
Boyd, who finished with 160 rushing yards on 20 carries for an average of 8.0 yards per rush, ran with anger in the second half. He looked visibly upset over the way the Gamecocks had played in the first half.
He nearly willed USC to victory with 95 rushing yards in the second half. Boyd also had six receptions for 25 yards.
There’s no question Boyd is the inspirational leader of the Gamecocks. Players listen to him because he has a ton of credibility. USC will need his leadership over the final three weeks of the season.
One thing is for sure: Boyd won’t bury his head and feel sorry for himself following two straight losses.
4. BLAKE MITCHELL IS BACK: As we saw in the second half of Saturday night’s game, when Blake Mitchell is given adequate protection by the offensive line, he’s able to pick out the open receivers.
Mitchell’s performance rallying the troops was similar to last year’s outing against Arkansas when he came on for Syvelle Newton after halftime and nearly led USC to a stunning comeback win over the Razorbacks. In many ways, his second half performance in Saturday’s game was better than the one he had against Arkansas last year.
Mitchell was 24 of 36 for 234 yards and one touchdown in the second half against the Vols. But here’s the key stat – he wasn’t sacked a single time.
Given his experience, if the offensive line continues to perform like it did in the second half, the final three weeks of the regular season could be fun with Mitchell under center.
It appears USC may have finally found an OL combination that clicks with Heath Batchelor and Seaver Brown, both redshirt freshman, at guard.
Could we witness a repeat of 2006? If you’re a USC fan, you hope so.
5. SPECIAL TEAMS ARE CRITICAL: After more than 59 minutes of action, Saturday’s game essentially came down to a 48-yard field goal attempt by Tennessee’s Daniel Lincoln.
He nailed the kick to send the game into overtime. Moments later, Lincoln made a 27-yarder in OT and USC’s Ryan Succop badly missed a 40-yarder. Game over.
What put Tennessee in position to send the game into overtime? A 37-yard kickoff return helped by poor pursuit angles by USC’s coverage team.
Lincoln’s game-tying kick and LaMarcus Coker’s kickoff return showed again that great special teams play can neutralize any statistical advantage one team holds over the other.
Tennessee’s special teams outperformed USC’s throughout the night. They averaged over three yards more per punt, and placed four punts inside the 20-yard line.
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When you lose in the fashion South Carolina did on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, it’s difficult to realize there are lessons to be learned from the experience. As painful as the loss was, here’s the five top things we learned from the 27-24 overtime setback:
1. BIG PLAYS AND TURNOVERS TRUMP BIG STATS: By now, I’m sure most of you have seen the statistics from Saturday night’s game in which USC dominated nearly every major category. Unfortunately, it marked the second straight year USC has won the statistical battle but lost the war on the scoreboard.
How does that happen? Easy. Tennessee has forced turnovers and made big plays when they had to. Last year, it was an interception return for a touchdown and a key punt return by Jonathan Hefney.
This year, Tennessee turned a critical fumble by Freddie Brown into a 52-yard return inside the USC 5-yard line. Several USC players had an opportunity to tackle the returner but didn’t do it.
Later, with the game on the line, here’s what happened: 1) a kickoff return to the UT 47; 2) two fumbles recovered by the Tennessee offense when a recovery by USC in either situation would have ended the game and 3) a 48-yard field goal with five seconds left to tie the score. Tennessee made the plays, USC didn’t.
Overall, USC committed four turnovers to one by Tennessee. Rarely does a team that’s minus-3 in turnover margin win a football game.
2. THE FIRST HALF COUNTS TOO: While the final two minutes of regulation and overtime will dominate the conversation for years, USC may have won had it not dug itself such a huge hole in the first half. The Gamecocks failed to execute in nearly every phase of the game during the opening 30 minutes. Here’s what happened in the first half:
-- Brian Maddox committed an illegal block in the back penalty on a punt return following the first series of the game;
-- A roughing the kicker penalty on Cliff Matthews kept a Tennessee drive alive and allowed the Vols to run five more plays before punting again.
-- Wide receiver Freddie Brown fumbled after making a catch at the UT 44. The loose ball was scooped up by Tennessee’s Eric Berry and returned 52 yards to the USC 4. To add insult to injury, a face mask penalty on QB Chris Smelley moved the ball to the 2-yard line.
-- Smelley throws an interception right into the arms of Berry on the first play of the second quarter.
-- A pass interference penalty against on Captain Munnerlyn on fourth-and-1 gave UT a first-down at the USC 30. The Vols went on to score a touchdown.
-- A personal foul penalty on Garrett Anderson neutralized a 12-yard pass to Kenny McKinley that had moved the ball into UT territory.
That’s far too many mistakes for a single half of football. In the end, those plays helped cost USC the game because the Gamecocks could have put some points on the board in the first half or prevented Tennessee from scoring points.
3. CORY BOYD IS A WARRIOR: This is more of a reminder than a news flash. But Boyd again showed his warrior mentality on Saturday night. His 29-yard TD run late in the third quarter was a thing of beauty.
Boyd, who finished with 160 rushing yards on 20 carries for an average of 8.0 yards per rush, ran with anger in the second half. He looked visibly upset over the way the Gamecocks had played in the first half.
He nearly willed USC to victory with 95 rushing yards in the second half. Boyd also had six receptions for 25 yards.
There’s no question Boyd is the inspirational leader of the Gamecocks. Players listen to him because he has a ton of credibility. USC will need his leadership over the final three weeks of the season.
One thing is for sure: Boyd won’t bury his head and feel sorry for himself following two straight losses.
4. BLAKE MITCHELL IS BACK: As we saw in the second half of Saturday night’s game, when Blake Mitchell is given adequate protection by the offensive line, he’s able to pick out the open receivers.
Mitchell’s performance rallying the troops was similar to last year’s outing against Arkansas when he came on for Syvelle Newton after halftime and nearly led USC to a stunning comeback win over the Razorbacks. In many ways, his second half performance in Saturday’s game was better than the one he had against Arkansas last year.
Mitchell was 24 of 36 for 234 yards and one touchdown in the second half against the Vols. But here’s the key stat – he wasn’t sacked a single time.
Given his experience, if the offensive line continues to perform like it did in the second half, the final three weeks of the regular season could be fun with Mitchell under center.
It appears USC may have finally found an OL combination that clicks with Heath Batchelor and Seaver Brown, both redshirt freshman, at guard.
Could we witness a repeat of 2006? If you’re a USC fan, you hope so.
5. SPECIAL TEAMS ARE CRITICAL: After more than 59 minutes of action, Saturday’s game essentially came down to a 48-yard field goal attempt by Tennessee’s Daniel Lincoln.
He nailed the kick to send the game into overtime. Moments later, Lincoln made a 27-yarder in OT and USC’s Ryan Succop badly missed a 40-yarder. Game over.
What put Tennessee in position to send the game into overtime? A 37-yard kickoff return helped by poor pursuit angles by USC’s coverage team.
Lincoln’s game-tying kick and LaMarcus Coker’s kickoff return showed again that great special teams play can neutralize any statistical advantage one team holds over the other.
Tennessee’s special teams outperformed USC’s throughout the night. They averaged over three yards more per punt, and placed four punts inside the 20-yard line.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.