Five Things We Learned From The Bowl Game
posted by Scott Hood, Sunday, January 03, 2010
1. Football Is A Game Of Passion, Energy And Emotion: Unfortunately, all three intangibles were in short supply on USC’s side of the field Saturday. Senior Garrett Anderson summed it up best following the game – some Gamecock players thought that since they were a SEC team and UConn was a Big East team, USC was ‘entitled’ to win simply by throwing their helmets on the field. In essence, USC took UConn too lightly and paid a heavy price. They didn’t expend the necessary effort it typically takes to beat a BCS school. Frankly, UConn played harder, smarter and with more discipline. Considering USC’s history, how any Gamecock player could take any opponent lightly is beyond silly. Then again, you’re dealing with 18 and 19 year old men and sometimes they do bizarre things.
2. Football Is Played In Cold Weather Too: Sometimes, players in the SEC can be mesmerized (or spoiled) by the weather in the southeastern region of the country, especially in November and December. But it can get cold too, as Saturday showed. Temperatures were in the 30’s for most of the contest, and it got downright frigid when the shadows started covering the field. Without question, some USC players acted like they wanted nothing to do with playing football in that environment. Here’s the twist: the last time I checked the NFL still had franchises in Green Bay, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New England. If you want to play in “The League,” you’d better learn how to perform in cold weather.
3. New Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliott Has His Hands Full: The much maligned offensive line gave their critics more fuel for the fire with Saturday’s mediocre performance. Of course, they weren’t the only unit that struggled (how many dropped passes did USC’s receivers have?). Pass blocking was poor all season and the Gamecocks ended up surrendering close to 40 sacks, one of the highest totals in the SEC. Without question, the line made progress under Eric Wolford but it was sometimes measured in baby steps. Elliott should move quickly to put his stamp on the offensive line. He’ll need to, since the line must continue to improve if the offense truly wants to break into the top half of the conference in total offense. Two hundred five (205) total yards against a Big East defense that came into the game ranked in the bottom half of the NCAA in total defense is unacceptable.
4. The Tone Of A Football Game Can Be Set Early: Sometimes it’s difficult to get a feel for a football game in the early stages but that wasn’t the case Saturday. USC went three-and-out on four of their first five possessions and by the early stages of the second quarter you knew it was going to be a long day at the office for the Gamecocks’ offense unless they snapped out of it. They never did. Well, they scored a TD late in the fourth quarter but it was far too little, far too late. The nadir came in the third quarter when USC held the ball for 10 plays, picked up two first downs and netted a grand total of five yards. Ouch. When was the last time you saw a 10-play, 5-yard drive? Probably on one of those NFL Follies tapes. The defense played respectable for some stretches but even they struggled at times to wrap up and make tackles. Bottom line, USC didn’t show up ready to play and UConn did. That's why the Huskies won in convincing fashion.
5. Jarvis Giles Is Either Hurt Or Buried Deep In the Doghouse: The final statistics say RB Jarvis Giles finished third on the team in rushing with 277 yards but he was practically invisible the second half of the season with only 13 carries in the last eight games. The promise of last spring when he showcased quick feet and lightning speed through the hole is only a distant memory now. Somehow, all that talent didn’t translate into production on game day. We were told he was nursing a couple of injuries and had to work on some things. But two tendencies hurt Giles tremendously: running backwards when he encountered problems at the line and slipping when he tried to cut. The final straw for Spurrier may have come against Arkansas when Giles was inserted into the game on a short-yardage situation. He slipped and didn’t pick up enough yardage for the first down. He was barely heard from again. By this point, you have to believe Giles is contemplating a transfer, especially if Marcus Lattimore signs with USC. But where would he go? He’ll have to sit out a year if he moves to another Div. I school. If Giles stays, it will be intriguing to see what happens in spring practice.
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Saturday’s 20-7 loss to Connecticut in the Papajohns.com Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham marked South Carolina’s second straight forgettable bowl outing. Hopefully, though, the Gamecocks learned some valuable lessons that can help them in the future as they continue to climb the ladder in the SEC. What did we learn from the game? Here are five things:
1. Football Is A Game Of Passion, Energy And Emotion: Unfortunately, all three intangibles were in short supply on USC’s side of the field Saturday. Senior Garrett Anderson summed it up best following the game – some Gamecock players thought that since they were a SEC team and UConn was a Big East team, USC was ‘entitled’ to win simply by throwing their helmets on the field. In essence, USC took UConn too lightly and paid a heavy price. They didn’t expend the necessary effort it typically takes to beat a BCS school. Frankly, UConn played harder, smarter and with more discipline. Considering USC’s history, how any Gamecock player could take any opponent lightly is beyond silly. Then again, you’re dealing with 18 and 19 year old men and sometimes they do bizarre things.
2. Football Is Played In Cold Weather Too: Sometimes, players in the SEC can be mesmerized (or spoiled) by the weather in the southeastern region of the country, especially in November and December. But it can get cold too, as Saturday showed. Temperatures were in the 30’s for most of the contest, and it got downright frigid when the shadows started covering the field. Without question, some USC players acted like they wanted nothing to do with playing football in that environment. Here’s the twist: the last time I checked the NFL still had franchises in Green Bay, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New England. If you want to play in “The League,” you’d better learn how to perform in cold weather.
3. New Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliott Has His Hands Full: The much maligned offensive line gave their critics more fuel for the fire with Saturday’s mediocre performance. Of course, they weren’t the only unit that struggled (how many dropped passes did USC’s receivers have?). Pass blocking was poor all season and the Gamecocks ended up surrendering close to 40 sacks, one of the highest totals in the SEC. Without question, the line made progress under Eric Wolford but it was sometimes measured in baby steps. Elliott should move quickly to put his stamp on the offensive line. He’ll need to, since the line must continue to improve if the offense truly wants to break into the top half of the conference in total offense. Two hundred five (205) total yards against a Big East defense that came into the game ranked in the bottom half of the NCAA in total defense is unacceptable.
4. The Tone Of A Football Game Can Be Set Early: Sometimes it’s difficult to get a feel for a football game in the early stages but that wasn’t the case Saturday. USC went three-and-out on four of their first five possessions and by the early stages of the second quarter you knew it was going to be a long day at the office for the Gamecocks’ offense unless they snapped out of it. They never did. Well, they scored a TD late in the fourth quarter but it was far too little, far too late. The nadir came in the third quarter when USC held the ball for 10 plays, picked up two first downs and netted a grand total of five yards. Ouch. When was the last time you saw a 10-play, 5-yard drive? Probably on one of those NFL Follies tapes. The defense played respectable for some stretches but even they struggled at times to wrap up and make tackles. Bottom line, USC didn’t show up ready to play and UConn did. That's why the Huskies won in convincing fashion.
5. Jarvis Giles Is Either Hurt Or Buried Deep In the Doghouse: The final statistics say RB Jarvis Giles finished third on the team in rushing with 277 yards but he was practically invisible the second half of the season with only 13 carries in the last eight games. The promise of last spring when he showcased quick feet and lightning speed through the hole is only a distant memory now. Somehow, all that talent didn’t translate into production on game day. We were told he was nursing a couple of injuries and had to work on some things. But two tendencies hurt Giles tremendously: running backwards when he encountered problems at the line and slipping when he tried to cut. The final straw for Spurrier may have come against Arkansas when Giles was inserted into the game on a short-yardage situation. He slipped and didn’t pick up enough yardage for the first down. He was barely heard from again. By this point, you have to believe Giles is contemplating a transfer, especially if Marcus Lattimore signs with USC. But where would he go? He’ll have to sit out a year if he moves to another Div. I school. If Giles stays, it will be intriguing to see what happens in spring practice.
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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 @.