5 Things We Learned From The Alabama Game
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, October 19, 2009
1. A Penalty Can Be The Biggest Play Of The Game: Trying to determine what the biggest play of the Alabama game was? My vote goes to a play that technically never happened. USC was trailing, 13-6, late in the third quarter and had driven from their own 16 to the UA 41. USC faced third-and-10. Garcia dropped back and hit Weslye Saunders for a 19-yard gain down to the UA 22. It appeared USC was close to tying up the game. But a flag flew. Right tackle Hutch Eckerson was called for holding, nullifying the pass. USC was pushed back to its 49 and eventually punted.
The penalty loomed large as the fourth quarter wore on, especially when Alabama scored a TD with just under five minutes left to take a 20-6 lead. Had USC been able to tie the score on that drive, the fourth quarter would have played out differently, in my opinion, and ratcheted up the pressure on the Tide.
2. USC Can Play With The Big Boys: Question is, can they beat them? USC had opportunities to seize the momentum in the Alabama game but failed to capitalize. Defensively, USC held their own against an offense that relies on playing punishing, mistake-free football. The Gamecocks forced four turnovers from the Tide, though one of those was an interception by C.C. Whitlock that he fumbled after gaining possession for a moment or two.
In my opinion, the fact USC engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the No. 2 team (and one that some people believe is the best team in the nation) is the major reason USC fell just one spot in the national polls. Even Alabama head coach Nick Saban afterwards credited USC and was quoted as saying they were better than the No. 22 team in the country. USC has shown a tendency in the Spurrier Era to play up or down depending on the perceived level of competition. That’s why most games have been close, even the ones where a significant talent gap between the two clubs existed. So, you can expect close, hard fought battles in each of the last five games.
3. Defense Wins Championships: Gamecocks everywhere saw a good example of what it takes to win a SEC Championship on Saturday night. One thing you don’t need is a high-octane offense. But an essential ingredient is a dominating defense that can shut opponents down and keep them out of the end zone. And that’s exactly what the Alabama defense accomplished, holding USC to a couple of field goals.
The USC defense is very good but now must take the next step to reach the dominating stage where teams like Alabama and Florida reside. This Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt should be a good test of where the defense stands on the domination-o-meter. The Vandy offense is poor. USC needs to come out and immediately enforce its will upon the Commodores offense and make it a goal to keep Vandy out of the end zone.
4. Stephen Garcia Is Still Learning To Playing Smart: Every week you see Stephen Garcia making progressing and learning a little bit more about what it takes to play quarterback in the SEC. But he’s still prone to making mistakes such as holding onto the ball too long when he’s pressured. One sack in particular really hurt the Gamecocks. It occurred on the final play of the third quarter when USC faced a third-and-10 from the UA 28. At that point, they were within Spencer Lanning’s range. But Garcia was dropped for a five-yard loss back to the UA 33 and, you guessed it, Lanning’s field goal attempt to make it a 13-9 game fell a couple of yards short.
Garcia must still learn to throw the ball away in certain situations. Hopefully, that will come with experience. Spurrier pointed the finger at himself and the USC coaches for not doing a good enough job teaching Garcia to get rid of the ball when the play breaks down. Under the rules, when he escapes the pocket all he has to do is throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. He’ll be tested by good defenses over the next two weeks against Vanderbilt and Tennessee, so it will be interesting to see where Garcia stands heading to Arkansas.
5. Having A Stud Running Back And A Solid Offensive Line Really Helps: In the always-physical SEC, teams that are successful running the football typically enjoy the most success. Teams make it a priority to try and stop the run, as O-Line coach and run game coordinator Eric Wolford has discovered. USC has a good stable of running backs but certainly none of them are as productive as Alabama’s Mark Ingram, who ran roughshod over the Gamecocks throughout the night.
USC’s lack of a stud running back and a punishing offensive line was painfully evident late in the second quarter when USC had first-and-goal from the UA 5. Rather than punching it across the goal line, USC elected to throw three straight fade passes to Alshon Jeffery into the end zone. But all three fell incomplete and the Gamecocks had to settle for a field goal that made it 10-3.
Spurrier summed it up the best after the game: “Hopefully someday we can run it in from the five-yard line. We just didn’t think we could. We didn’t think we had a play where we could run it in. Obviously, I guess we should have tried. But that’s the way it happened.”
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South Carolina suffered a 20-6 loss to No. 2 Alabama Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Gamecocks stayed in the game until the very end when they drove down the field until being stopped at the five-yard line. USC played well enough that they dropped only one spot in the two national polls to No. 23. They are No. 24 in the first edition of the BCS standings.
1. A Penalty Can Be The Biggest Play Of The Game: Trying to determine what the biggest play of the Alabama game was? My vote goes to a play that technically never happened. USC was trailing, 13-6, late in the third quarter and had driven from their own 16 to the UA 41. USC faced third-and-10. Garcia dropped back and hit Weslye Saunders for a 19-yard gain down to the UA 22. It appeared USC was close to tying up the game. But a flag flew. Right tackle Hutch Eckerson was called for holding, nullifying the pass. USC was pushed back to its 49 and eventually punted.
The penalty loomed large as the fourth quarter wore on, especially when Alabama scored a TD with just under five minutes left to take a 20-6 lead. Had USC been able to tie the score on that drive, the fourth quarter would have played out differently, in my opinion, and ratcheted up the pressure on the Tide.
2. USC Can Play With The Big Boys: Question is, can they beat them? USC had opportunities to seize the momentum in the Alabama game but failed to capitalize. Defensively, USC held their own against an offense that relies on playing punishing, mistake-free football. The Gamecocks forced four turnovers from the Tide, though one of those was an interception by C.C. Whitlock that he fumbled after gaining possession for a moment or two.
In my opinion, the fact USC engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the No. 2 team (and one that some people believe is the best team in the nation) is the major reason USC fell just one spot in the national polls. Even Alabama head coach Nick Saban afterwards credited USC and was quoted as saying they were better than the No. 22 team in the country. USC has shown a tendency in the Spurrier Era to play up or down depending on the perceived level of competition. That’s why most games have been close, even the ones where a significant talent gap between the two clubs existed. So, you can expect close, hard fought battles in each of the last five games.
3. Defense Wins Championships: Gamecocks everywhere saw a good example of what it takes to win a SEC Championship on Saturday night. One thing you don’t need is a high-octane offense. But an essential ingredient is a dominating defense that can shut opponents down and keep them out of the end zone. And that’s exactly what the Alabama defense accomplished, holding USC to a couple of field goals.
The USC defense is very good but now must take the next step to reach the dominating stage where teams like Alabama and Florida reside. This Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt should be a good test of where the defense stands on the domination-o-meter. The Vandy offense is poor. USC needs to come out and immediately enforce its will upon the Commodores offense and make it a goal to keep Vandy out of the end zone.
4. Stephen Garcia Is Still Learning To Playing Smart: Every week you see Stephen Garcia making progressing and learning a little bit more about what it takes to play quarterback in the SEC. But he’s still prone to making mistakes such as holding onto the ball too long when he’s pressured. One sack in particular really hurt the Gamecocks. It occurred on the final play of the third quarter when USC faced a third-and-10 from the UA 28. At that point, they were within Spencer Lanning’s range. But Garcia was dropped for a five-yard loss back to the UA 33 and, you guessed it, Lanning’s field goal attempt to make it a 13-9 game fell a couple of yards short.
Garcia must still learn to throw the ball away in certain situations. Hopefully, that will come with experience. Spurrier pointed the finger at himself and the USC coaches for not doing a good enough job teaching Garcia to get rid of the ball when the play breaks down. Under the rules, when he escapes the pocket all he has to do is throw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. He’ll be tested by good defenses over the next two weeks against Vanderbilt and Tennessee, so it will be interesting to see where Garcia stands heading to Arkansas.
5. Having A Stud Running Back And A Solid Offensive Line Really Helps: In the always-physical SEC, teams that are successful running the football typically enjoy the most success. Teams make it a priority to try and stop the run, as O-Line coach and run game coordinator Eric Wolford has discovered. USC has a good stable of running backs but certainly none of them are as productive as Alabama’s Mark Ingram, who ran roughshod over the Gamecocks throughout the night.
USC’s lack of a stud running back and a punishing offensive line was painfully evident late in the second quarter when USC had first-and-goal from the UA 5. Rather than punching it across the goal line, USC elected to throw three straight fade passes to Alshon Jeffery into the end zone. But all three fell incomplete and the Gamecocks had to settle for a field goal that made it 10-3.
Spurrier summed it up the best after the game: “Hopefully someday we can run it in from the five-yard line. We just didn’t think we could. We didn’t think we had a play where we could run it in. Obviously, I guess we should have tried. But that’s the way it happened.”
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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 @.