USC/UGA Review and Look Forward to Carolina/Navy Match-Up

What a barn burner in Athens, Georgia Saturday evening! IMHO, Georgia was the better team Saturday night, but sometimes the more opportunistic team comes out ahead on the scoreboard. I will give props to the Bulldogs. IMHO Georgia outplayed USC and was the more physical team for three quarters. I was thoroughly impressed with QB Aaron Murray and return specialist Brandon Boykin. What competitors! Murray took some serious shots from the Gamecocks defense throughout the game but kept getting up off the turf and keeping UGA in the ballgame. Boykin continually flipped the field position battle in UGA’s favor for most of the game on kick & punt returns. I underestimated UGA’s potential after week one. The Bulldogs played like a wounded animal backed into a corner and came out fighting. My prediction of a 37-17 USC victory was grossly insulting to Bulldog nation. I thought UGA played physical at the point of attack on offense in the running game and carved up the Gamecocks secondary when opportunities were available. On defense, the Dawgs stacked the box to stop Lattimore and forced Garcia to make plays which, for about three quarters, worked successfully. As well as UGA rebounded from their opening week’s performance, I thought Carolina overcame several obstacles to gut out a win in Sanford Stadium. Big-time players make big-time plays when the game is on the line. This game came down to a handful of plays, and Carolina now has difference makers on both sides of the ball. Two years ago, USC lost a similar game in Athens, 41-37, where USC rolled up over 500-plus yards of offense but could not overcome a 15-point deficit and deficiencies in the Special Teams play. On Saturday evening, Carolina won the turnover battle, negated UGA’s special team’s advantage and made critical fourth quarter plays with the outcome of the game in the balance.
The Gamecocks, for only the third time under Spurrier in seven years, begin the season 2-0, for the second year in a row. The barometer for a successful Gamecocks’ season usually starts with a “W” versus Georgia; the annual border battle this year provided fans on both sides with an instant classic. There were eight lead changes (The State newspaper), and, after a slow scoring first half, both teams combined for 60 second-half points, and Carolina manufactured three more nonoffensive touchdowns. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives from Carolina’s SEC opener between the hedges.

Ex'SPUR'llents

1. Non-offensive touchdowns are becoming a common theme in 2011. Carolina scored three more touchdowns the unconventional way on Saturday. Melvin Ingram’s 68-yard TD run was a highlight as he hurdled multiple UGA tacklers on his way to the end zone. Antonio Allen made it back-to-back weekends scoring a touchdown as he stepped in front of an Aaron Murray pass in the 3rd quarter and returned it 25 yards for a ”pick six”. The last unconventional score gave USC its biggest lead of the game, 45-35, when Jadeveon Clowney recorded his second sack of the game, separating the ball from QB Murray, allowing USC teammate Melvin Ingram to scoop up the loose ball and score his second TD of the game. In two games, the Carolina defense and special teams have combined to score 35 points, per The State newspaper.

2. This team has difference makers that step up and make plays when their number is called: Spur Antonio Allen (two scores in two weeks), DE Melvin Ingram (two scores versus UGA, one on special teams and one on defense), and Kicker Jay Wooten nails his first field goal of the season in a pressure-cooker situation! How about a 49-yarder in hostile territory right down the middle with room to spare! RB Marcus Lattimore rose up again versus UGA after a slow start. The sophomore from Duncan, SC gained 94 of his 176 yards in the 4th quarter (per Pete Thamel of the NY Times) and had a key 36-yard run to setup USC’s final offensive touchdown. Lattimore is a STUD!! QB Stephen Garcia was very sluggish in the first half with multiple overthrown passes and a couple of near interceptions. His best first half throw was the incredible TD pass to Jefferey in the back of the end zone to give Carolina a 7-6 lead. Then in the second half with the game on the line, Garcia makes two key throws. The first was an 8-yard slant to Jefferey on 4th-and-3 to setup Jay Wooten’s 49-yard field goal. Later in the 4th quarter, Garcia rolled out towards the USC bench and threw a perfect strike to Ace Sanders for about a 30-plus yard gain. A few plays later, Lattimore gashes the UGA defense on a long run and a couple of plays later Lattimore plowed into the end zone.

3. Special Teams play was pivotal in the outcome of this game and the pendulum swung in USC’s favor throughout the game. The first key play was the on-side kick recovered by UGA that was negated by an off-sides penalty on Georgia’s Baccari Rambo. The Gamecocks sputtered on the drive following the botched on-side kick, but USC punter Joey Scribner-Howard boomed a 59-yard punt, which finally flipped the field in USC’s favor (Scribner-Howard averaged 44.5 yards per punt). Carolina got the ball back near midfield and scored in five plays on a 34-yard TD pass from Garcia to Jefferey giving USC a 7-6 lead. As halftime approached, USC setup a punt formation and called for a fake punt. Melvin Ingram took a direct snap, avoided two tacklers and outran the UGA specialists en route to a 68-yard TD run. In the third quarter, Kicker Jay Wooten gave USC a 31-28 lead after nailing a 49-yard field goal with plenty of room to spare. Clutch kick in an intimidating atmosphere! The big factor was that UGA only managed two field goals off special teams. The Bulldogs all-American kicker Blair Walsh was 2-3 on FGs. The difference in the game - a Field Goal! Also, USC kept UGA’s Brandon Boykin out of the end zone even though he had several nice returns on seven kickoff attempts. New Special Teams Coach John Butler has invigorated the special teams play at Carolina so far this year.

4. USC not only handled Georgia but also the zebra stripes on Saturday. I don’t blame the referees often, but the no-calls on several blatant UGA holds were unbelievable! Devin Taylor was held numerous times in the backfield, as were Clowney and Ingram. I don’t know if the fix was in or not for Richt, but the zebras kept the yellow hankies to themselves on several obvious offensive holds.

We highlighted the positives now let’s look at the not-so-'SPUR'fect.

1. Lack of offensive focus in back-to-back games to start the 2011 season. USC looked lackadaisical throughout the entire first half on offense and must correct slow starts if the Gamecocks want to avoid pitfalls down the road.

2. Secondary Swiss cheese is becoming a weekly adjective to describe the Gamecocks backfield defenders. #15 Jimmy Legree better learn how to tackle this week, because, through two games, his play at free safety has been abysmal. Legree was toasted in the 2nd quarter on a Murray TD pass and then missed a tackle in the open field early in the 4th quarter allowing UGA to tie the score at 28-28. Through two games this year, the defense has given up eight passing TDs.

3. The front seven on USC’s defense must be more disciplined in their gap control responsibilities. Too often, UGA’s running backs took advantage of Carolina’s aggressiveness and over pursuit to the ball carrier, and Crowell & company would cutback through running lanes left exposed by the Gamecocks’ defenders. Assignment football and run lane accountability must be preached this week versus Navy.

4. Was the offense - especially the wide receivers - overhyped in preseason? IMHO, yes! I have not seen a second WR step forward yet. Ace Sanders is trying, but he has not cemented himself yet. Garcia continues to lock onto #1. Now the wide receivers must get separation to get open, and possibly the UGA defensive backs covered better than expected, but this WR unit must begin to step out from behind Jefferey’s shadow and elevate the unit’s production as the season grows longer.

5. Speaking of overhype, were we misled on the potential of this defense? IMHO, this defense is not better than it was in 2010. After two games the USC defense is giving up almost 40 points per game. The secondary is still an enigma, the defensive line was manhandled by an underachieving UGA OL for much of the game, and, to me, the linebackers looked slow moving to the ball. Rodney Paulk, in particular, still looks hampered by his multiple knee operations. I know we played without LB Damario Jefferey, but I was disappointed by the play of the linebackers in filling the running lanes, the physicality of the defensive line and the overall poor tackling of the entire defense especially the defensive backs.
There is the good and the bad. We are 2-0 atop the SEC East and return to Williams-Brice for four straight home games. This week’s match-up will be a tough draw for the Gamecocks. I am skeptical five days away from kick-off based on our defensive performance through two games. IMHO, our offense will have to outscore Navy for us to win, because I seriously doubt our ability to stop a run-heavy behemoth in Navy. Do not underestimate Navy this Saturday night, Carolina fans! Just ask Notre Dame!

My next post will be Wednesday when we'll look ahead to recruiting visitors for the Navy game, Spurspective's SEC Power Index and tidbits about Navy.
Go Gamecocks!