Five USC/ECU Storylines Saturday Night

At around 7:08 p.m. EST, Gamecocks fans will finally get to see the most anticipated football team in garnet and black history kick-off the season versus the East Carolina Pirates in Charlotte, NC. It’s been 52 years (1959) since USC last played in the Queen City, losing to Wake Forest 43-20 (thanks to JC Shurburtt of TheBigSpur.com for the history tidbit). Let’s hope the return trip to Charlotte brings a better result for USC this time. The Gamecocks have won six straight season openers under Spurrier by an average of 19 points. The East Carolina Pirates, out of Conference USA, are one of college football’s most prolific scoring offenses, but somewhere between his time in Lubbock, Texas (home of Texas Tech University) and when he arrived in Greenville, NC, Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeil forgot how to coach defense, as the Pirates ranked 120th in NCAA last year in total defense. I don’t anticipate ECU’s fortunes on defense have changed that much since their bludgeoning at the hands of Maryland last year (52-20) in their bowl game, plus, East Carolina has changed its defensive philosophies during the off-season going to a 3-4 defense from a 4-3 defense.
As you can expect, ECU’s defense, or lack thereof, will play a role in my storylines of this game.

Storyline #1: USC Quarterback Drama
Let me be perfectly clear when I say this. I don’t care who starts at QB for Carolina as long as we win! South Carolina finally has two competent QBs on its roster that can win games in the SEC. Tommy Beecher isn’t in the huddle “aiding & abetting” the other team, Dondrial Pinkins won’t be running the dive play three consecutive snaps, and Antonio Hefner won’t be burning our entire allotment of timeouts in the first half of a game before he EVEN SNAPS THE FOOTBALL!! Now, let me turn off my CAPS and stop shouting. It’s 2011, and I trust the ‘visor’ when it comes to quarterback decisions. I have full confidence in either Shaw or Garcia in control of our offense Saturday night. The keys to this “offensive Porsche” that SOS is trotting out there Saturday night is in good hands. We now know it will be Shaw, so let’s rally around him and not fret over the decision. Garcia will be given a chance to win back the starter’s job on Saturday night, and would it be a Steve Spurrier team if there wasn’t a little QB drama?

Storyline #2: Carolina Secondary Concerns
I heard USC Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson say on Thursday that he did not think he had five players ready to play a football game Saturday night. That’s not a comforting thought versus such a prolific passing team. USC is devoid of talent in the defensive backfield whether it be injury (Brison Williams & Akeem Auguste) or suspension (Martay Maddox, Devonte Holloman & Victor Hampton). Expect an aerial assault from Pirates QB Dominique Davis. The senior QB helped set 29 offensive records last year running the same offense that Mike Leach executed at Texas Tech. USC’s secondary will have to be “sure tacklers” in the open field, as ECU likes quick passes. The Pirates do not have a vertical passing game a la Arkansas. I would compare East Carolina to Southern Miss or Troy in terms of offensive philosophy. USC must avoid injury in the secondary, and absolutely must communicate better than the unit did in 2010, or else it could make the outcome of this game a lot closer.

Storyline #3: Gamecocks Kicking Game
Carolina will enter Saturday’s contest with a completely untested kicking game. Senior Jay Wooten, a UNC transfer, played sparingly last year behind Spencer Lanning. Reports from practice are that Wooten has been very accurate within 50 yards (max) on Field Goals. Wooten also handles Extra Points and kick-offs. IMHO the Gamecocks will be scoring more TDs than FGs on Saturday night, so Wooten probably won’t be testing his FG accuracy a whole lot. Time will tell if Wooten is a capable replacement of Lanning, but we won’t be absolutely sure after this game. The punting chores fall on the right foot of walk-on Joey Scribner-Howard. Never heard of him? Me either! I doubt he gets much of a workout on Saturday night, because I do not expect ECU’s defense to stop Carolina’s offense much. Let’s just hope Scribner-Howard doesn’t shank anything setting up an easy ECU score late in the game when the starters have long been out of the game.

Storyline #4: Clowney Factor
Is it just me or hasn’t this guy already played a full two seasons at Carolina? I guess the single-most hyped recruit ever to sign with USC finally gets to live up to the accolades bestowed upon him. I expect #7 to be early and often at Bank of America Stadium. This game will mark a homecoming of sorts for Clowney since he grew up just across the border in Rock Hill. I warn everyone to temper their expectations for this young man! Don’t expect Paul Bunyan type numbers (sacks, tackles for loss) in this game, because the ECU offense is predicated on quick passes and little priority on the running game. Clowney will be disruptive IMHO in getting his hands up in the passing lanes of the QB and flustering QB Davis out of his comfort zone in the pocket. I cannot wait to see Lawrence Taylor 2.0, but temper expectations just slightly. The encore next weekend versus UGA between the hedges promises to be Clowney’s official coming-out party!

Storyline #5: Keep the Foot on the GAS!!!
USC is a three-touchdown favorite leading up to this game. I anticipate Spurrier will want to send a volley over the bow to the rest of the SEC in this game with a statement. How does half-a-hundred sound in the opening game? I’ll make a prediction right now. The over/under on how many offensive plays it takes for USC to score its first touchdown: five! I have little respect for ECU’s defense. The Pirates surrendered 226 rushing yards a game (117th in NCAA) last year and 480 total yards on defense. USC’s offensive plan is simple---balance! ECU will not be able to stop any facet of Carolina’s offense, and I expect SOS will have his full offensive arsenal clicking on all cylinders Saturday night. It’s easy to expect the Lattimores and Jeffereys to get their TDs, but tomorrow night we will get a glimpse of the future with RB Shon Carson, WR Damiere Byrd, WR Bruce Ellington, TE Rory Anderson and WR Ace Sanders. Gamecock fans, I believe we finally have an offense that will score a lot of points this season. For what it’s worth, there might be more points scored in the football game Saturday night combined than the Carolina Panthers score all season in eight home games!

Final score:
USC – 55
ECU – 20

My next blog will post on Saturday morning, when SPURspective will give its Top 10 college football games of the initial weekend. Please let me know via comments your top 10 games as well.

Go Gamecocks!!