Five Things We Learned From The USC-Ole Miss Game
posted by Scott Hood, Saturday, September 26, 2009
1. Eric Norwood Will Be A Rich Man Someday: Right now, Norwood might be the most talked about defensive player in college football. And for good reason, he was all over the field Thursday night with a game-high 10 tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, a partially blocked punt and two quarterback hurries. No wonder ESPN’s Craig James remarked after the game that the next time the network does a USC game in prime time, they should just go around and name Norwood the defensive MVP.
Do you think Norwood, a graduate of North Cobb High School in Acworth, Ga., would like to end his career at the Chick-fil-A Bowl in nearby Atlanta? Knowing him, he wants to play in the best bowl possible, but making a grand appearance before the home folks on New Year’s Eve has to make him smile.
2. Stephen Garcia Is Tougher Then We Thought: When last season ended, many Gamecock fans had to be questioning the physical and mental toughness of Garcia. But once he realized he would be ‘the man,’ he went to work and has been the consummate teammate since by his willingness to work hard. He offered gave us a preview of coming attractions in the Georgia game when he nearly led USC to a huge comeback victory.
But Thursday night’s win might have been his finest hour. He suffered bruised ribs in the first half on a quarterback sneak but sucked it up and continued to play, knowing that with top backup Reid McCollum ill with flu-like symptoms, there was no viable alternative for a game of that magnitude. He completely outplayed Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead even though his numbers (16-of-34, 222 yards, 1 TD) weren’t spectacular. Yet, he should have won the admiration of USC fans everywhere.
3. Ball Security Equals Victory: Besides the encouraging play of Stephen Garcia, are you looking for another reason why there is more optimism surrounding the USC offense than last year? Look no further than the lack of turnovers. In the first four games last season, the Gamecocks committed an astounding 12 turnovers and were already minus-7 in turnover margin one-third of the way through the schedule.
Twelve months later, USC is averaging one turnover per game and is plus-four in turnover margin. Life is difficult enough in the SEC but when you constantly give the ball away, it’s close to impossible to win consistently when you do so. Stephen Garcia has thrown only two interceptions in four games, none since early in the second quarter of the Georgia loss, a span of 10 full quarters. First-year quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus arrived in Columbia preaching ball security and Garcia has followed the mandate.
4. The Football Gods Are Out To Get Brad Lawing, Part II: Okay, he still gets to coach players like Cliff Matthews, Ladi Ajiboye, Clifton Geathers and Devin Taylor, however you still have feel a bit sympathetic for USC defensive line coach Brad Lawing. In the wake of going without Ladi Ajiboye for the first three games and Nathan Pepper for nearly two full games because of a high ankle sprain comes the news that DT Travian Robertson is out for the season with torn ligaments in his knee. Robertson is the second starter lost of the year since LB Rodney Paulk suffered a season-ending injury in the opener at NC State.
The tough-as-nails Lawing won’t curse his bad luck, though, or even think of waving the white flag. Come Monday, he’ll start preparing Melvin Ingram and Kenny Davis to play against S.C. State next Saturday night. And he’ll pray Ajiboye and Pepper will be able to play a lot of snaps.
5. The Running Back Position Is A Lot Like The Weather: If you don’t like what’s going on at running back, wait five minutes because it’s sure to change. One week it’s Brian Maddox (23 carries against NC State), then it’s Jarvis Giles (113 yards in win over Florida Atlantic). Now the rising star is Kenny Miles after the redshirt freshman led USC with 52 yards on 13 carries, registering 80 percent of USC’s rushing yards against Ole Miss while Giles, thought to be the top freshman back, had just two carries.
Through four games, it appears the strategy of Spurrier and running backs coach Jay Graham has been to find the hot back and stick with him as long as possible. Only once this season have two running backs received 10 or more carries in the same game. That was against Florida Atlantic when Giles (11-113) and Maddox (10-32) shared the load. One reason for that is the scrambling ability of Stephen Garcia, who has eight or more carries three times.
Honorable Mention:
Spencer Lanning Earned His Scholarship With One Play: There were several big plays in Thursday’s victory over Ole Miss but none was more important than Spencer Lanning’s shoe string tackle of punt returner Marshay Green just when it looked like he was going to go all the way for a momentum-changing touchdown. But Lanning dove and Green went down at the USC 31, preserving the 3-3 tie. Ole Miss ended up trying a fake field goal but failed, magnifying the importance of Lanning’s play. Lanning has connected on his last nine field goals but so far his tackle of Green should go down as the most remembered.
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It’s been less than 48 hours since South Carolina stunned No. 4 Ole Miss, 16-10, at William-Brice Stadium in Columbia. If you go by the national polls, it was the biggest win ever at the 75-year old facility. It was a huge win for the Gamecocks program, who have now positioned themselves for a big year.
1. Eric Norwood Will Be A Rich Man Someday: Right now, Norwood might be the most talked about defensive player in college football. And for good reason, he was all over the field Thursday night with a game-high 10 tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, a partially blocked punt and two quarterback hurries. No wonder ESPN’s Craig James remarked after the game that the next time the network does a USC game in prime time, they should just go around and name Norwood the defensive MVP.
Do you think Norwood, a graduate of North Cobb High School in Acworth, Ga., would like to end his career at the Chick-fil-A Bowl in nearby Atlanta? Knowing him, he wants to play in the best bowl possible, but making a grand appearance before the home folks on New Year’s Eve has to make him smile.
2. Stephen Garcia Is Tougher Then We Thought: When last season ended, many Gamecock fans had to be questioning the physical and mental toughness of Garcia. But once he realized he would be ‘the man,’ he went to work and has been the consummate teammate since by his willingness to work hard. He offered gave us a preview of coming attractions in the Georgia game when he nearly led USC to a huge comeback victory.
But Thursday night’s win might have been his finest hour. He suffered bruised ribs in the first half on a quarterback sneak but sucked it up and continued to play, knowing that with top backup Reid McCollum ill with flu-like symptoms, there was no viable alternative for a game of that magnitude. He completely outplayed Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead even though his numbers (16-of-34, 222 yards, 1 TD) weren’t spectacular. Yet, he should have won the admiration of USC fans everywhere.
3. Ball Security Equals Victory: Besides the encouraging play of Stephen Garcia, are you looking for another reason why there is more optimism surrounding the USC offense than last year? Look no further than the lack of turnovers. In the first four games last season, the Gamecocks committed an astounding 12 turnovers and were already minus-7 in turnover margin one-third of the way through the schedule.
Twelve months later, USC is averaging one turnover per game and is plus-four in turnover margin. Life is difficult enough in the SEC but when you constantly give the ball away, it’s close to impossible to win consistently when you do so. Stephen Garcia has thrown only two interceptions in four games, none since early in the second quarter of the Georgia loss, a span of 10 full quarters. First-year quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus arrived in Columbia preaching ball security and Garcia has followed the mandate.
4. The Football Gods Are Out To Get Brad Lawing, Part II: Okay, he still gets to coach players like Cliff Matthews, Ladi Ajiboye, Clifton Geathers and Devin Taylor, however you still have feel a bit sympathetic for USC defensive line coach Brad Lawing. In the wake of going without Ladi Ajiboye for the first three games and Nathan Pepper for nearly two full games because of a high ankle sprain comes the news that DT Travian Robertson is out for the season with torn ligaments in his knee. Robertson is the second starter lost of the year since LB Rodney Paulk suffered a season-ending injury in the opener at NC State.
The tough-as-nails Lawing won’t curse his bad luck, though, or even think of waving the white flag. Come Monday, he’ll start preparing Melvin Ingram and Kenny Davis to play against S.C. State next Saturday night. And he’ll pray Ajiboye and Pepper will be able to play a lot of snaps.
5. The Running Back Position Is A Lot Like The Weather: If you don’t like what’s going on at running back, wait five minutes because it’s sure to change. One week it’s Brian Maddox (23 carries against NC State), then it’s Jarvis Giles (113 yards in win over Florida Atlantic). Now the rising star is Kenny Miles after the redshirt freshman led USC with 52 yards on 13 carries, registering 80 percent of USC’s rushing yards against Ole Miss while Giles, thought to be the top freshman back, had just two carries.
Through four games, it appears the strategy of Spurrier and running backs coach Jay Graham has been to find the hot back and stick with him as long as possible. Only once this season have two running backs received 10 or more carries in the same game. That was against Florida Atlantic when Giles (11-113) and Maddox (10-32) shared the load. One reason for that is the scrambling ability of Stephen Garcia, who has eight or more carries three times.
Honorable Mention:
Spencer Lanning Earned His Scholarship With One Play: There were several big plays in Thursday’s victory over Ole Miss but none was more important than Spencer Lanning’s shoe string tackle of punt returner Marshay Green just when it looked like he was going to go all the way for a momentum-changing touchdown. But Lanning dove and Green went down at the USC 31, preserving the 3-3 tie. Ole Miss ended up trying a fake field goal but failed, magnifying the importance of Lanning’s play. Lanning has connected on his last nine field goals but so far his tackle of Green should go down as the most remembered.
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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 @.