5 Things We Learned From The Georgia Game
posted by Scott Hood, Sunday, September 13, 2009
1. Garcia Is Starting To Grow Up: While the final drive came up empty, the fact Garcia drove USC 79 yards from the USC 14 to the UGA 7 in the final pressure-packed minutes exhibits a new level of maturity. If Garcia continues to provide badly needed leadership for the USC offense and- just as importantly - continues to display an accurate throwing arm, USC’s prospects of beating teams like Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas brighten significantly.
Spurrier wanted a more offensive-oriented game plan, and he got it with 53 pass attempts. Garcia led all SEC quarterbacks by a wide margin in completions, attempts and passing yards. He also threw just one interception, continuing a welcoming trend from last season. After two games in 2008, USC quarterbacks had tossed six interceptions. This year, that number fell to two.
2. The Red Zone Offense Must Improve: In the first two games, USC has enjoyed a lot of success moving the ball between the 20 yards lines. Unfortunately, it’s been a different story when they penetrate the red zone. In the season opener, USC reached the NC State 10-yard line twice without scoring. Saturday night, the Gamecocks typically produced points when they drove into the red zone but they settled for field goals more often than not. Specifically, four of USC’s five field goals came after moving into the red zone. When time finally expired, those lost opportunities loomed large.
3. They’re Called ‘Special’ For A Reason: The performance by the USC’s special teams Saturday night boiled down to this one simple fact: when Spencer Lanning wasn’t kicking it (five field goals) or faking a punt (running for a first down), bad things happened. The kickoff coverage unit should be declared a federal disaster area after surrendering three long returns (one for a TD) in the first half that led directly to three UGA touchdowns that kept the home team in the game. When the two teams are evenly matched, special teams usually provide the difference and Saturday’s game is Exhibit A for that. Surrendering a 100-yard return for a TD should absolutely not happen to SEC teams. The Gamecocks might have paid a steep price for putting so many young players on special teams.
Then there was the missed extra point, which is unequivocally inexcusable. Again, that is something that should never happen. Unfortunately, it marked the second time in three trips to Athens that a missed extra point had proven pivotal. The final drive would have probably ended differently if USC needed just three points to tie the game and force overtime.
4. The Football Gods Are Out To Get Brad Lawing : Has any assistant football coach in the country gone through what USC’s defensive line coach Brad Lawing has endured over the last month? USC has played the first two games without Ladi Ajiboye, who must sit out one more game as part of his suspension before he’ll be allowed to return to active duty. Ajiboye is without question one of the top two defensive linemen on the roster. The other? Nathan Pepper, who suffered a sprained ankle in Saturday’s game and is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks.
As a result, the defensive tackle rotation for this week’s Florida Atlantic game will feature Travian Robertson, Melvin Ingram and Kenny Davis. That’s not what Lawing had in mind when the season began. Pepper’s absence is another key loss for the defensive front seven. USC will play the FAU game without its top two defensive tackles as well as linebacker Rodney Paulk, out for the season with torn knee ligaments. His replacement, sophomore Shaq Wilson, had only one tackle in Saturday’s game as he tried to find his way around UGA’s huge offensive linemen in his first career start.
5. Kenny Miles Is Buried On The Depth Chart: Did redshirt running back Kenny Miles do something to make running backs coach Jay Graham mad? Maybe not. But there must be a reasonable explanation why Miles hasn’t carried the ball once in the first two games. Even walk-on Bryce Sherman got an opportunity on Saturday night while Miles watched from the sidelines. We were told in pre-season camp Miles was doing well. In fact, he rushed for more than 100 yards in a scrimmage, seemingly solidifying his spot in the running back rotation. But once the games started, Miles has slid to the backup while others have shared the spotlight. The opener was dominated by Brian Maddox, while Jarvis Giles was the ‘featured’ back in Athens. With upcoming games against Florida Atlantic and S.C. State, Miles figures to get his chance. Will he?
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
For the third time in Steve Spurrier’s tenure, South Carolina suffered a crushing defeat to Georgia. Again, the opportunity to win the game in the fourth quarter was there, but they failed to make plays in crunch time and lost, 41-37. Here are five things we learned from the game:
1. Garcia Is Starting To Grow Up: While the final drive came up empty, the fact Garcia drove USC 79 yards from the USC 14 to the UGA 7 in the final pressure-packed minutes exhibits a new level of maturity. If Garcia continues to provide badly needed leadership for the USC offense and- just as importantly - continues to display an accurate throwing arm, USC’s prospects of beating teams like Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas brighten significantly.
Spurrier wanted a more offensive-oriented game plan, and he got it with 53 pass attempts. Garcia led all SEC quarterbacks by a wide margin in completions, attempts and passing yards. He also threw just one interception, continuing a welcoming trend from last season. After two games in 2008, USC quarterbacks had tossed six interceptions. This year, that number fell to two.
2. The Red Zone Offense Must Improve: In the first two games, USC has enjoyed a lot of success moving the ball between the 20 yards lines. Unfortunately, it’s been a different story when they penetrate the red zone. In the season opener, USC reached the NC State 10-yard line twice without scoring. Saturday night, the Gamecocks typically produced points when they drove into the red zone but they settled for field goals more often than not. Specifically, four of USC’s five field goals came after moving into the red zone. When time finally expired, those lost opportunities loomed large.
3. They’re Called ‘Special’ For A Reason: The performance by the USC’s special teams Saturday night boiled down to this one simple fact: when Spencer Lanning wasn’t kicking it (five field goals) or faking a punt (running for a first down), bad things happened. The kickoff coverage unit should be declared a federal disaster area after surrendering three long returns (one for a TD) in the first half that led directly to three UGA touchdowns that kept the home team in the game. When the two teams are evenly matched, special teams usually provide the difference and Saturday’s game is Exhibit A for that. Surrendering a 100-yard return for a TD should absolutely not happen to SEC teams. The Gamecocks might have paid a steep price for putting so many young players on special teams.
Then there was the missed extra point, which is unequivocally inexcusable. Again, that is something that should never happen. Unfortunately, it marked the second time in three trips to Athens that a missed extra point had proven pivotal. The final drive would have probably ended differently if USC needed just three points to tie the game and force overtime.
4. The Football Gods Are Out To Get Brad Lawing : Has any assistant football coach in the country gone through what USC’s defensive line coach Brad Lawing has endured over the last month? USC has played the first two games without Ladi Ajiboye, who must sit out one more game as part of his suspension before he’ll be allowed to return to active duty. Ajiboye is without question one of the top two defensive linemen on the roster. The other? Nathan Pepper, who suffered a sprained ankle in Saturday’s game and is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks.
As a result, the defensive tackle rotation for this week’s Florida Atlantic game will feature Travian Robertson, Melvin Ingram and Kenny Davis. That’s not what Lawing had in mind when the season began. Pepper’s absence is another key loss for the defensive front seven. USC will play the FAU game without its top two defensive tackles as well as linebacker Rodney Paulk, out for the season with torn knee ligaments. His replacement, sophomore Shaq Wilson, had only one tackle in Saturday’s game as he tried to find his way around UGA’s huge offensive linemen in his first career start.
5. Kenny Miles Is Buried On The Depth Chart: Did redshirt running back Kenny Miles do something to make running backs coach Jay Graham mad? Maybe not. But there must be a reasonable explanation why Miles hasn’t carried the ball once in the first two games. Even walk-on Bryce Sherman got an opportunity on Saturday night while Miles watched from the sidelines. We were told in pre-season camp Miles was doing well. In fact, he rushed for more than 100 yards in a scrimmage, seemingly solidifying his spot in the running back rotation. But once the games started, Miles has slid to the backup while others have shared the spotlight. The opener was dominated by Brian Maddox, while Jarvis Giles was the ‘featured’ back in Athens. With upcoming games against Florida Atlantic and S.C. State, Miles figures to get his chance. Will he?
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Previous Blog Entries
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 @.