Five Things We Learned From USC-Arkansas
posted by Scott Hood on Monday, November 05, 2007
1. THE USC DEFENSE MISSES JASPER BRINKLEY: I predicted last Friday that Arkansas would have less than 200 Yards Rushing against USC. Oops. Not only did Arkansas run through and around the Gamecocks defense all night long to the tune of 541 yards, the Razorbacks managed to set a new rushing record by a USC opponent. I attribute part of that to the absence of Jasper Brinkley, who went down with a season-ending knee injury in the LSU game. However, the fact I’ve barely mentioned Brinkley’s name since he went down is a credit to the performance of Marvin Sapp, who led all Gamecock tacklers with 12 stops on Saturday night. But, Brinkley is three inches taller and weighs about 35 pounds more than Sapp. I think USC could have used that size and strength against a large Arkansas offensive line on Saturday night. Don’t get me wrong, Sapp is doing a great job. All I’m saying is, matchup-wise, Brinkley may have been a better fit in terms of neutralizing the UA running game a little bit better. Would Arkansas have still run for a whole bunch of yards? Probably.
2. DION LECORN IS USC’S SECOND BEST WIDE RECEIVER: With Kenny McKinley firmly entrenched in the top spot, Lecorn may be the second reliable receiver the USC coaches have been searching for since the season started. Several players have received a look in that spot but none have worked out until Lecorn came along. The true freshman from Ocala, Fla. led USC with a career-high eight receptions for 109 yards. Most importantly, Lecorn has shown a knack for getting open, a vital skill in Spurrier’s scheme, and then catching the ball when it’s thrown his way. Sixteen of Lecorn’s 19 receptions have come in the last four games, so he’s getting hot at the right time. Hopefully, Lecorn can maintain his current pace and force opponents to think twice before double-teaming McKinley.
3. HOUSTON NUTT IS A GREAT COACH: Why? For refusing to cave in to pressure from many people within the Razorbacks athletic department and the State of Arkansas and simply allow Mitch Mustain to drop back and throw the ball 60 times a game. Nutt knew early on exactly what he had in Darren McFadden and Felix Jones – nothing short of the best 1-2 running back combination in the nation. He understood that with McFadden and Jones, running the football gave Arkansas the best chance to win. A strong running game has been a trademark of Arkansas since Nutt took over as head coach in the late 1990’s. So, when Mustain and his family went public with their complaints about Nutt and the conservative offense, he didn’t back down. He stayed committed to the running game. The result? Mustain transferred to Southern California along with a high school teammate who played wide receiver for one season with Arkansas. But Nutt’s insistence on standing his ground paid handsome dividends on Saturday night with one of the best performances by a pair of running backs in SEC history. Memo to delusional Arkansas fans: be careful for what you ask for because you just might get it.
4. IT’S POSSIBLE TO GAIN 500 YARDS OF OFFENSE AND STILL LOSE: How does that happen? When you defense surrenders 650 yards. Think about this – the USC offense has compiled 990 yards of offense in the last two games with little to show for it except for some nice newspaper headlines and a pair of losses. It proves yet again that defense, turnovers and third-down efficiency have just as much to do with winning as a high-octane offense. Texas Tech has one of the top offenses in the country but it never wins the Big 12 conference title. That’s because teams like Oklahoma and Texas play much better defense. While Arkansas ran for 541 yards, another key to their victory was the fact it converted 10 of 13 third downs against a defense that had allowed opponents to convert just 27 percent (37 of 136) of their third down chances. USC also had an opportunity to pick up a key turnover but the ball squirted out of the pile and was picked up by an Arkansas player (Peyton Hollis) who proceeded to gain an additional 14 yards. Moments later, Arkansas scored on a 40-yard run up the middle by Felix Jones. Has USC been able to recover the fumble, they would have trailed by only a 7-3 score with the ball near midfield.
5. SLOW STARTS CAN BE FATAL: For the third straight game, USC fell behind by double digits in the first half. The stretch began three weeks ago when the Gamecocks trailed, 17-0, to Vanderbilt in the first quarter. It continued in Knoxville two weeks ago when Tennessee led, 21-0, at halftime. Finally, Arkansas jumped out to a 21-3 lead before the end of the first quarter last Saturday night in Fayetteville. In my opinion, USC’s tendency to fall behind early is the most troubling trend during this current three-game losing streak. It is very difficult to keep playing from behind against good teams all the time. But that’s what USC has been doing. Granted, they’ve played well offensively in the second half of the last two contests with 623 total yards, but it’s been a case of too little, too late. Good teams will not surrender sizeable leads. They almost pulled it off at Tennessee, rallying to take the lead, but it wasn’t enough. One of the things I’ll be closely watching this week against Florida is how well USC plays in the first half. It could determine the outcome.
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South Carolina suffered its third loss in a row Saturday night with a 48-36 setback to Arkansas. Typically, you learn more about a team in defeat then when it wins. There were a number of important lessons to be taken from the defeat. Here are the five things we learned from the game:
1. THE USC DEFENSE MISSES JASPER BRINKLEY: I predicted last Friday that Arkansas would have less than 200 Yards Rushing against USC. Oops. Not only did Arkansas run through and around the Gamecocks defense all night long to the tune of 541 yards, the Razorbacks managed to set a new rushing record by a USC opponent. I attribute part of that to the absence of Jasper Brinkley, who went down with a season-ending knee injury in the LSU game. However, the fact I’ve barely mentioned Brinkley’s name since he went down is a credit to the performance of Marvin Sapp, who led all Gamecock tacklers with 12 stops on Saturday night. But, Brinkley is three inches taller and weighs about 35 pounds more than Sapp. I think USC could have used that size and strength against a large Arkansas offensive line on Saturday night. Don’t get me wrong, Sapp is doing a great job. All I’m saying is, matchup-wise, Brinkley may have been a better fit in terms of neutralizing the UA running game a little bit better. Would Arkansas have still run for a whole bunch of yards? Probably.
2. DION LECORN IS USC’S SECOND BEST WIDE RECEIVER: With Kenny McKinley firmly entrenched in the top spot, Lecorn may be the second reliable receiver the USC coaches have been searching for since the season started. Several players have received a look in that spot but none have worked out until Lecorn came along. The true freshman from Ocala, Fla. led USC with a career-high eight receptions for 109 yards. Most importantly, Lecorn has shown a knack for getting open, a vital skill in Spurrier’s scheme, and then catching the ball when it’s thrown his way. Sixteen of Lecorn’s 19 receptions have come in the last four games, so he’s getting hot at the right time. Hopefully, Lecorn can maintain his current pace and force opponents to think twice before double-teaming McKinley.
3. HOUSTON NUTT IS A GREAT COACH: Why? For refusing to cave in to pressure from many people within the Razorbacks athletic department and the State of Arkansas and simply allow Mitch Mustain to drop back and throw the ball 60 times a game. Nutt knew early on exactly what he had in Darren McFadden and Felix Jones – nothing short of the best 1-2 running back combination in the nation. He understood that with McFadden and Jones, running the football gave Arkansas the best chance to win. A strong running game has been a trademark of Arkansas since Nutt took over as head coach in the late 1990’s. So, when Mustain and his family went public with their complaints about Nutt and the conservative offense, he didn’t back down. He stayed committed to the running game. The result? Mustain transferred to Southern California along with a high school teammate who played wide receiver for one season with Arkansas. But Nutt’s insistence on standing his ground paid handsome dividends on Saturday night with one of the best performances by a pair of running backs in SEC history. Memo to delusional Arkansas fans: be careful for what you ask for because you just might get it.
4. IT’S POSSIBLE TO GAIN 500 YARDS OF OFFENSE AND STILL LOSE: How does that happen? When you defense surrenders 650 yards. Think about this – the USC offense has compiled 990 yards of offense in the last two games with little to show for it except for some nice newspaper headlines and a pair of losses. It proves yet again that defense, turnovers and third-down efficiency have just as much to do with winning as a high-octane offense. Texas Tech has one of the top offenses in the country but it never wins the Big 12 conference title. That’s because teams like Oklahoma and Texas play much better defense. While Arkansas ran for 541 yards, another key to their victory was the fact it converted 10 of 13 third downs against a defense that had allowed opponents to convert just 27 percent (37 of 136) of their third down chances. USC also had an opportunity to pick up a key turnover but the ball squirted out of the pile and was picked up by an Arkansas player (Peyton Hollis) who proceeded to gain an additional 14 yards. Moments later, Arkansas scored on a 40-yard run up the middle by Felix Jones. Has USC been able to recover the fumble, they would have trailed by only a 7-3 score with the ball near midfield.
5. SLOW STARTS CAN BE FATAL: For the third straight game, USC fell behind by double digits in the first half. The stretch began three weeks ago when the Gamecocks trailed, 17-0, to Vanderbilt in the first quarter. It continued in Knoxville two weeks ago when Tennessee led, 21-0, at halftime. Finally, Arkansas jumped out to a 21-3 lead before the end of the first quarter last Saturday night in Fayetteville. In my opinion, USC’s tendency to fall behind early is the most troubling trend during this current three-game losing streak. It is very difficult to keep playing from behind against good teams all the time. But that’s what USC has been doing. Granted, they’ve played well offensively in the second half of the last two contests with 623 total yards, but it’s been a case of too little, too late. Good teams will not surrender sizeable leads. They almost pulled it off at Tennessee, rallying to take the lead, but it wasn’t enough. One of the things I’ll be closely watching this week against Florida is how well USC plays in the first half. It could determine the outcome.
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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 @.