Five Things We Learned From The USC-LSU Game
posted by Scott Hood, Sunday, October 19, 2008
1. Winning Teams Win The Second Half: We’ve seen in the last two weeks examples of the football principle that the team that dominates the second half will usually win the game. Two weeks ago, USC battered Kentucky over the final 30 minutes and pulled out a key road win. This week, USC had the tables turned on them when LSU’s defense became more aggressive in the second half and came after USC QB Stephen Garcia. The strategy worked and the Gamecocks’ offense accomplished little in the final two quarters. The LSU offense picked up the intensity, as well, with a pair of touchdown drives, including an 11-play, 83-yard drive for the game-winning score with 4:16 left. Success on first down fueled the possession as LSU was never faced with a third-and-long situation. Great teams know that even if they struggle in the first half, they have plenty of time to turn it around. In short, they don’t get rattled even when things don’t go as planned in the first half. LSU was patient and cranked it up when they had to.
2. The Running Game Needs A Blood Transfusion: USC has 191 rushing yards in the last three games. The Gamecocks entered the LSU game last in the SEC in rushing offense and after accumulating just 39 yards against the Tigers, there’s a 1,000 percent chance they’ll stay there for at least one more week. So, who should get the blame for the rushing game misery? The running backs? The offensive line? The coaches? The play calling? All of the above? Bet on the latter. It appears that, publicly at least, Spurrier won’t criticize any one player or coach. Two weeks ago, Spurrier proclaimed the running game had grown stale and needed some new plays. But nothing appears to have changed in the short term. Well, we’re waiting. One thing we do know is USC lacks a big-time SEC running back that scares opposing defenses. Mike Davis has had a good career and could finish among the Top 10 rushers in school history. But his most productive season came as a freshman in 2005. Right now, there is nothing about USC’s running game terrifies opposing defensive coordinators.
3. Stephen Garcia Will Be An Outstanding Quarterback Someday: We’ve now seen Garcia for nine quarters spread out over four games. Saturday night was the second extended look for the home fans. Right now, all signs point to Garcia developing into an outstanding quarterback. He has all the skill sets required to compete at this level – a strong throwing arm, mobility, intelligence, tenacity. Heck, Spurrier had enough confidence in him to formulate a game plan with Garcia being the centerpiece. What does he need to take the next step? A good spring practice, an excellent summer throwing to the wide receivers and a strong fall camp next August. Seven weeks ago, Spurrier wouldn’t have dreamed that Garcia would get this much playing time. In my opinion, he was hoping Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley would each get some snaps while Garcia watched and learned from the sidelines. Saturday night was his baptism by fire after leading USC to a comeback win at Kentucky. In terms of the number of quality athletes staring at him from across the line of scrimmage, LSU may be the best defense he faces all season. But it won’t get much easier when Tennessee comes to town in two weeks.
4. The Gamecocks Must Still Learn How To Win: Recruiting, signing and developing SEC quality players isn’t enough to win consistently in college football’s toughest conference. As I’ve said in the past, winning is as much a mindset as it about physical talent. Saturday night represented the third time (Vanderbilt and Georgia were the other occasions) this season USC had led at halftime against a SEC opponent and lost the game. Ironically, they won both conference games in which they trailed at halftime. So, in every Gamecock football game this season the secret recipe for winning has been simple: don’t lead at halftime. But USC needs to finish games. With the score tied at 17-17 in the fourth quarter on Saturday night and the game in balance, LSU drove 83 yards for a touchdown. I understand the defense was probably dog tired by then because they had received little help from the offense throughout the second half, but that’s a spot where you need to make a stop and give the ball back to your offense with a chance to win the game.
5. Turnover Margin Is The Most Important Statistic In Football, The Sequel Of The Sequel: We’ve seen time and again this season the importance of turnovers. As the talent levels between schools shrink to all-time lows, college football has increasingly become more like the NFL – the team with the fewest turnovers has the best chance to win. But it’s not just the number of turnovers that matter, it’s where they occur on the field, as well. Saturday night, Eric Baker fumbled at the LSU 41 on the play after Kenny McKinley had caught an 18-yard pass to move the ball into Tiger territory. It was the first of three USC turnovers. Later, Stephen Garcia was stripped at the LSU 42 on the ninth play of a promising drive to begin the third quarter. Both turnovers killed scoring chances. LSU, meanwhile, had just one turnover, an interception by Carlos Thomas that led to a touchdown right before the end of the first half. So, their turnover hurt too, but the key was they had only one. After eight games, USC has committed 23 turnovers, an obnoxiously high number. That’s nearly three per game. Cut that number in half and the Gamecocks should have six or seven wins right now.
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South Carolina battled No. 13 LSU hard for four quarters on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium, but fell short in a 24-17 loss to the defending national champions. The Gamecocks led by seven points at halftime before LSU rallied with a pair of touchdowns in the final 16 minutes of the game. Here are five things we learned from that game.
1. Winning Teams Win The Second Half: We’ve seen in the last two weeks examples of the football principle that the team that dominates the second half will usually win the game. Two weeks ago, USC battered Kentucky over the final 30 minutes and pulled out a key road win. This week, USC had the tables turned on them when LSU’s defense became more aggressive in the second half and came after USC QB Stephen Garcia. The strategy worked and the Gamecocks’ offense accomplished little in the final two quarters. The LSU offense picked up the intensity, as well, with a pair of touchdown drives, including an 11-play, 83-yard drive for the game-winning score with 4:16 left. Success on first down fueled the possession as LSU was never faced with a third-and-long situation. Great teams know that even if they struggle in the first half, they have plenty of time to turn it around. In short, they don’t get rattled even when things don’t go as planned in the first half. LSU was patient and cranked it up when they had to.
2. The Running Game Needs A Blood Transfusion: USC has 191 rushing yards in the last three games. The Gamecocks entered the LSU game last in the SEC in rushing offense and after accumulating just 39 yards against the Tigers, there’s a 1,000 percent chance they’ll stay there for at least one more week. So, who should get the blame for the rushing game misery? The running backs? The offensive line? The coaches? The play calling? All of the above? Bet on the latter. It appears that, publicly at least, Spurrier won’t criticize any one player or coach. Two weeks ago, Spurrier proclaimed the running game had grown stale and needed some new plays. But nothing appears to have changed in the short term. Well, we’re waiting. One thing we do know is USC lacks a big-time SEC running back that scares opposing defenses. Mike Davis has had a good career and could finish among the Top 10 rushers in school history. But his most productive season came as a freshman in 2005. Right now, there is nothing about USC’s running game terrifies opposing defensive coordinators.
3. Stephen Garcia Will Be An Outstanding Quarterback Someday: We’ve now seen Garcia for nine quarters spread out over four games. Saturday night was the second extended look for the home fans. Right now, all signs point to Garcia developing into an outstanding quarterback. He has all the skill sets required to compete at this level – a strong throwing arm, mobility, intelligence, tenacity. Heck, Spurrier had enough confidence in him to formulate a game plan with Garcia being the centerpiece. What does he need to take the next step? A good spring practice, an excellent summer throwing to the wide receivers and a strong fall camp next August. Seven weeks ago, Spurrier wouldn’t have dreamed that Garcia would get this much playing time. In my opinion, he was hoping Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley would each get some snaps while Garcia watched and learned from the sidelines. Saturday night was his baptism by fire after leading USC to a comeback win at Kentucky. In terms of the number of quality athletes staring at him from across the line of scrimmage, LSU may be the best defense he faces all season. But it won’t get much easier when Tennessee comes to town in two weeks.
4. The Gamecocks Must Still Learn How To Win: Recruiting, signing and developing SEC quality players isn’t enough to win consistently in college football’s toughest conference. As I’ve said in the past, winning is as much a mindset as it about physical talent. Saturday night represented the third time (Vanderbilt and Georgia were the other occasions) this season USC had led at halftime against a SEC opponent and lost the game. Ironically, they won both conference games in which they trailed at halftime. So, in every Gamecock football game this season the secret recipe for winning has been simple: don’t lead at halftime. But USC needs to finish games. With the score tied at 17-17 in the fourth quarter on Saturday night and the game in balance, LSU drove 83 yards for a touchdown. I understand the defense was probably dog tired by then because they had received little help from the offense throughout the second half, but that’s a spot where you need to make a stop and give the ball back to your offense with a chance to win the game.
5. Turnover Margin Is The Most Important Statistic In Football, The Sequel Of The Sequel: We’ve seen time and again this season the importance of turnovers. As the talent levels between schools shrink to all-time lows, college football has increasingly become more like the NFL – the team with the fewest turnovers has the best chance to win. But it’s not just the number of turnovers that matter, it’s where they occur on the field, as well. Saturday night, Eric Baker fumbled at the LSU 41 on the play after Kenny McKinley had caught an 18-yard pass to move the ball into Tiger territory. It was the first of three USC turnovers. Later, Stephen Garcia was stripped at the LSU 42 on the ninth play of a promising drive to begin the third quarter. Both turnovers killed scoring chances. LSU, meanwhile, had just one turnover, an interception by Carlos Thomas that led to a touchdown right before the end of the first half. So, their turnover hurt too, but the key was they had only one. After eight games, USC has committed 23 turnovers, an obnoxiously high number. That’s nearly three per game. Cut that number in half and the Gamecocks should have six or seven wins right now.
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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 @.