Wanted: A Few Good Playmakers
posted by Scott Hood on Monday, November 26, 2007
When you begin, you’re full of enthusiasm and energy. Things go well for a while. Things are cruising along.
Then, you hit a few roadblocks. A few problems arise. Frustration soon sets in. Finally, you throw you hands up in the air and wonder why you started the project in the first place.
When USC was 6-1 and No. 6 in the BCS rankings, I believed USC was headed towards an unbelievable season.
It turned out I was right.
The last five games were unbelievably frustrating.
What happened? A lot of things. Most of them bad.
Run defense. Third down conversions by the opponents. Poor starts to games. Effort. You name it, it bombed.
Watching USC try to compete against Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson over the last four games has convinced me the Gamecocks still require a significant talent upgrade before they can realistically believe they can contend for the conference championship.
Has the talent level increased since Steve Spurrier took over as head coach? Yes. But it’s not enough. That’s why, in my opinion, the current recruiting cycle is just as important, if not more so, than last year’s.
While Spurrier often preaches patience by saying USC’s best recruiting class came last year, he’s smart enough to know it takes more than one class to prevail in the rugged SEC. You need to do it once, twice, then again and again.
That’s how you build a successful program in the SEC. There are absolutely no shortcuts. Lou Holtz tried that route by signing a lot of junior college players, but the strategy backfired when the players failed to develop.
I realize expectations for this season were raised when Spurrier asserted before the start of fall camp that one of USC’s goals was to contend for the SEC Championships.
Of course, some media and fans misinterpreted Spurrier’s words as saying he was guaranteeing a title. That’s not true (my Mike Gundy moment).
But there’s no question Spurrier was expecting a lot more than a 6-6 record.
But something funny happens when you become the hunted rather than the hunter, as someone reminded me today. With a conference mark well below .500 since they joined the SEC, the Gamecocks have typically been the hunter trying to slay the so-called “big boys” of the SEC.
But, by becoming the hunted, USC got their opponents’ best shot every week. Sometimes they handled it, sometimes they didn’t, particualrly inthe last five games, all losses.
Three sets of numbers exemplify USC’s downfall. First, USC’s opponents fumbled 22 times this season. The Gamecocks recovered just seven of them. That’s a recovery percentage of 31.8 percent.
I’m not sure how that stacks up with the other 11 SEC teams because the league doesn’t keep that statistic, but I’m willing to bet a significant (OK, $5.00) amount that’s one of the lowest recovery percentages in the conference.
Second, the USC defense was atrocious on third downs in the final three games. To be fair, Clemson was just 6-of-15 overall, but 4-of-7 in the first half while building a 17-7 halftime lead.
Over a 10-quarter span beginning with the opening kickoff of the Arkansas game, USC allowed the opponents to convert 26 of 36 third down opportunities.
Finally, USC surrendered 989 rushing yards in the last three games, an average of 329.7 yards per game. The Gamecocks had a scant 273 yards on the ground over the same stretch, exactly 91.0 yards per game.
Anyone who has played or watched football will tell you that your chances to win are near zero when you’re outrushed by nearly a 4-to-1 margin.
The rushing defense is enough of a concern that Spurrier mentioned after the game that USC won’t take the next step unless they start stopping the run. That didn’t happen very often this season.
Heck, I won’t even mention USC was outscored, 110-37, in the first half of the last five games, or that they had three punts blocked in the final two contests, including two by Clemson.
What do these jumble of statistics tell us? USC lacks playmakers.
Talking with defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix after the game Saturday night, he didn’t even try to hide his disappointment over his unit’s failure to make plays in key situations.
USC allowed Clemson to escape a third-and-18 situation on the final drive, failing to cover wide receiver Aaron Kelly closely enough, and giving him the room necessary to make two clutch catches on third and fourth downs.
Once USC finds some playmakers, that won’t happen anymore.
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The 2007 season for South Carolina was a lot like that home improvement project you started several months ago.
When you begin, you’re full of enthusiasm and energy. Things go well for a while. Things are cruising along.
Then, you hit a few roadblocks. A few problems arise. Frustration soon sets in. Finally, you throw you hands up in the air and wonder why you started the project in the first place.
When USC was 6-1 and No. 6 in the BCS rankings, I believed USC was headed towards an unbelievable season.
It turned out I was right.
The last five games were unbelievably frustrating.
What happened? A lot of things. Most of them bad.
Run defense. Third down conversions by the opponents. Poor starts to games. Effort. You name it, it bombed.
Watching USC try to compete against Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson over the last four games has convinced me the Gamecocks still require a significant talent upgrade before they can realistically believe they can contend for the conference championship.
Has the talent level increased since Steve Spurrier took over as head coach? Yes. But it’s not enough. That’s why, in my opinion, the current recruiting cycle is just as important, if not more so, than last year’s.
While Spurrier often preaches patience by saying USC’s best recruiting class came last year, he’s smart enough to know it takes more than one class to prevail in the rugged SEC. You need to do it once, twice, then again and again.
That’s how you build a successful program in the SEC. There are absolutely no shortcuts. Lou Holtz tried that route by signing a lot of junior college players, but the strategy backfired when the players failed to develop.
I realize expectations for this season were raised when Spurrier asserted before the start of fall camp that one of USC’s goals was to contend for the SEC Championships.
Of course, some media and fans misinterpreted Spurrier’s words as saying he was guaranteeing a title. That’s not true (my Mike Gundy moment).
But there’s no question Spurrier was expecting a lot more than a 6-6 record.
But something funny happens when you become the hunted rather than the hunter, as someone reminded me today. With a conference mark well below .500 since they joined the SEC, the Gamecocks have typically been the hunter trying to slay the so-called “big boys” of the SEC.
But, by becoming the hunted, USC got their opponents’ best shot every week. Sometimes they handled it, sometimes they didn’t, particualrly inthe last five games, all losses.
Three sets of numbers exemplify USC’s downfall. First, USC’s opponents fumbled 22 times this season. The Gamecocks recovered just seven of them. That’s a recovery percentage of 31.8 percent.
I’m not sure how that stacks up with the other 11 SEC teams because the league doesn’t keep that statistic, but I’m willing to bet a significant (OK, $5.00) amount that’s one of the lowest recovery percentages in the conference.
Second, the USC defense was atrocious on third downs in the final three games. To be fair, Clemson was just 6-of-15 overall, but 4-of-7 in the first half while building a 17-7 halftime lead.
Over a 10-quarter span beginning with the opening kickoff of the Arkansas game, USC allowed the opponents to convert 26 of 36 third down opportunities.
Finally, USC surrendered 989 rushing yards in the last three games, an average of 329.7 yards per game. The Gamecocks had a scant 273 yards on the ground over the same stretch, exactly 91.0 yards per game.
Anyone who has played or watched football will tell you that your chances to win are near zero when you’re outrushed by nearly a 4-to-1 margin.
The rushing defense is enough of a concern that Spurrier mentioned after the game that USC won’t take the next step unless they start stopping the run. That didn’t happen very often this season.
Heck, I won’t even mention USC was outscored, 110-37, in the first half of the last five games, or that they had three punts blocked in the final two contests, including two by Clemson.
What do these jumble of statistics tell us? USC lacks playmakers.
Talking with defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix after the game Saturday night, he didn’t even try to hide his disappointment over his unit’s failure to make plays in key situations.
USC allowed Clemson to escape a third-and-18 situation on the final drive, failing to cover wide receiver Aaron Kelly closely enough, and giving him the room necessary to make two clutch catches on third and fourth downs.
Once USC finds some playmakers, that won’t happen anymore.
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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 @.