USC/Kentucky Rewind and Preview of Mississippi State Bulldogs

One week after looking abysmal on offense versus Auburn, the Gamecocks hang half-a-hundred on Kentucky, and in the process rolled up 639 yards of total offense, the most in the Steve Spurrier era. The beneficiaries of the offensive explosion were newly anointed starting quarterback Connor Shaw, the skill position players and the defense. Carolina’s offense tallied 91 total plays averaging seven yards per play. The Carolina offense unveiled several different formations from the Hammer, where the o-line spread out wide like receivers, to the Wildcock with Marcus Lattimore taking direct snaps, as well as Bruce Ellington, who scored on a 61-yd TD run in the 4th quarter and a flea flicker, which resulted in a 25-yard pass completion from Shaw to Ace Sanders. It was vintage Steve Spurrier, and, unfortunately for Wildcats fans, a script all too familiar that they had witnessed from SOS’ days at Florida. Not to be outdone by the offense, Ellis Johnson and his stop troops turned in another brilliant effort against a clawless Kentucky offense. For the second time this season, USC’s defense held an SEC opponent under the century mark for total yards. Let’s look at the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly.

The Good:

→Connor Shaw: The sophomore completed 66% (26/39) of his passes, 311 passing yards, four touchdown passes, and ZERO interceptions! Remember UK entered the game ranked 11th in FBS Pass Defense.

→USC Passing Game: Three Carolina quarterbacks completed 30 passes to 10 different receivers for a total of 351 yards. The Tight Ends caught six passes for 92 yards & one TD; the Wide Receivers caught 20 passes for 245 yards and five TDs, while the Running Backs caught four passes for 14 yards.

→Running Wild: Lattimore had a very pedestrian performance with 22 rushes for 102 yards. With 00:50 left to play in the first quarter, the Duncan, SC native had two rushes for four yards. So over the last three quarters, he had 20 rushes for 98 yards. Bruce Ellington scampered 61 yards for a touchdown; Brandon Wilds had 45 yards on five rushes; Damiere Byrd had a 21-yard run; and the quarterbacks combined for 59 yards on 19 rushes and one TD. USC amassed 288 rushing yards on 48 attempts.

→LattiMORE: Marcus Lattimore recorded his eighth career 100-yard rushing game and Carolina improved to 10-0 when Lattimore rushes 20-plus times a game, per The State.

→Offensive Imagination: It was a pleasant surprise to see Spurrier open the playbook and unveil multiple formations that USC fans have not seen this season. I counted at least three unique formations with different personnel packages. The Hammer was unveiled in the 2nd quarter and led to two touchdown passes (Cunningham & Jeffery). The Wildcock with Lattimore taking the direct snap was utilized early in the 2nd quarter as Damiere Byrd took a hand-off from Lattimore on a Speed Sweep and gained 21 yards for his first career rush. In the 3rd quarter on 4th & 3, Connor Shaw executed the option and pitched to Lattimore for an 11-yard gain. Then early in the 4th quarter, USC executed a flea flicker as Shaw handed off to Lattimore, Lattimore pitched the ball back to Shaw, and Shaw threw a 25-yard pass to Ace Sanders into the red zone. Finally Bruce Ellington took a direct snap in the Wildcock around the right side and scampered 61 yards to pay dirt!

→Season TD Passes Doubled: In a little more than three quarters, Connor Shaw equaled former starter Stephen Garcia’s total touchdown pass production over 15 quarters, as the Flowery Branch, GA native tossed four TDs versus Kentucky.

→Possessions = Points: Carolina’s offense scored on 9 of 16 possessions!

→Half-a-Hundred Margin: USC won by 51 points, its largest margin of victory against an SEC opponent since a 52-14 win (38-point margin) over Vanderbilt in 1995, per The State.

→Half Century Mark: USC has eclipsed 50 points three times under Spurrier [’06 Middle Tennessee State (52 points), ’10 Troy (69 points), '11 East Carolina (56 points) and ’11 Kentucky (54 points)].

→High Five: Five USC players recorded their first career touchdowns on Saturday: Nick Jones, Bruce Ellington, Justice Cunningham, Andrew Clifford and Dylan Thompson, per The State.

→Garnet & Black “D” Attack: Since halftime of the Navy game, spanning 14 quarters, the USC defense has surrendered 29 total points (16 to Auburn), which equals about 8.25 points per game (including Navy second half), 645 total yards, 255 passing yards (Kentucky 17 total passing yards), which averages about 73 passing yards over 3 ½ games. The run defense has surrendered 390 total rushing yards (Auburn recorded 246 rushing yards & Navy accumulated only 61 rushing yards in the second half), which includes holding Vanderbilt to four rushing yards and equates to 111.5 rushing yards over the last 3 ½ games.

→Ballhawks: Over the last 14 quarters, USC’s defense has forced 14 turnovers (10 Interceptions & four fumble recoveries), which equates to one turnover per quarter.

→3rd-Down Conversion Rate: Kentucky only converted 2/13 third-down opportunities (15.4%)!

→Linebackers Lead: USC’s linebackers were the top four tacklers on Saturday, combining for 18 tackles.

→Half-a-Baker’s Dozen: The Gamecocks forced six turnovers (4 INTs & 2 Fumbles).

→ < 100: For the second time in three weeks, Carolina’s defense held an SEC opponent under 100 total yards of offense.

The Bad:

→Special Teams Miscues: USC only lost one fumble when Bruce Ellington fumbled the opening kickoff. But on two punt returns, the Gamecocks put the ball on the ground – fortunately, they were able to recover the pigskin both times. Moving forward, Special Teams Coach John Butler is going to have to clean up the mental lapses on Special Teams or the gaffes could come back to bite USC.

→Penalties: Carolina continually put itself in bad situations with undisciplined play. The Gamecocks had seven penalties for 45 yards. This must improve as Carolina begins a three-game road trek over the next four weeks.

→Sackless: Surprisingly, Carolina did not register a single sack versus Kentucky.

→Kentucky Offense: I thought Vanderbilt was bad, but Kentucky is right there with the Commodores when it comes to offensive ineptness! Six first downs, 17 total passing yards, four interceptions thrown by three different passers and two fumbles! In the first half, the Wildcats managed 1.7 yards per play, three turnovers, nine passing yards, four first downs and 57 total yards!

→Putrid Passing: Kentucky completed four passes in 26 attempts for 17 yards the entire game. UK quarterback Morgan Newton threw 12 straight incomplete passes during one stretch of the game from the latter stages of the first quarter, until the first play from scrimmage of the third quarter. Newton ended the game throwing five straight incomplete passes.

→Half-Dozen: UK ran only six plays in USC territory and those six plays were a result of Bruce Ellington fumbling the opening kick-off and Kentucky recovering at Carolina's 26-yard line. UK kicked a 26-yard FG.

The Ugly:

→Maxwell’s House of Horrors: Freshman Maxwell Smith entered the game in the 3rd quarter and promptly threw two interceptions on his first two pass attempts. He nearly threw his third INT on his third pass attempt, but DaMario Jeffery couldn’t corral the pass. So of Smith’s three total passes, two-thirds ended up in the hands of Gamecock defenders. Not very strong!

Mississippi State Preview:

Mississippi State came into 2011 with a lot of lofty expectations and ranked in the preseason Top 25. After opening the season impressively versus an underwhelmed Memphis team, the Bulldogs lost a heart breaker at the goal line against Auburn on the road. Mississippi State has since lost two more conference match-ups, 19-6 loss at home to LSU and a 24-10 setback at Georgia. This past Saturday, MSU found itself trailing 3-0 to UAB on the road before reeling off 21 straight points to win. The Bulldogs had to retool their front seven this year after losing five of seven starters. Chris Relf is a load at quarterback, and Vic Ballard is an impressive running back. So the Bulldogs will be seeking their first SEC win of the season and snap a five-game losing streak to USC on Saturday afternoon. After a successful start at home in conference play, Connor Shaw faces a whole new challenge (cow bells) in StarkVegas as the new trigger man for the Gamecocks.

My next blog will be Wednesday when I take a look at coaches on the Hot Seat, USC mid-term grades, my SEC Power Index and a little football recruiting update.

Go Gamecocks!

Top 10 College Football Must Watch Games

As Week Six falls upon us today, conference races really heat up in the SEC East, SEC West & Big 12. The eyes of the nation will be deep in the heart of Texas, the Ozark Mountains and Rocky Top. There are five very intriguing games this weekend and then a lot of dogs! So let’s take a look at 10 can’t-miss college football games today.

Oklahoma/Texas: The Red River Rivalry takes center stage at the Cotton Bowl with the backdrop being the Texas State Fair. The two teams enter the match-up with unblemished records for the second time in the last seven years, and the high stakes, High Noon showdown will finally bring attention to the Southwest Conference, I mean Big 8, I mean Big 12, I mean Big 12 minus 2 (Colorado & Nebraska), minus 1 (Texas A&M), and add 1 (TCU). Which game were we discussing before conference realignment began?
Prediction: Texas brands OU, 37-31.

Auburn @ Arkansas: Both of these teams are coming off come-from-behind road victories last week. The Auburn defense will be tested through the air, as Petrino’s pass-happy hogs will sound the air raid sirens. The Tigers will counter the aerial assault with a stout ground attack led by sophomore RB Michael Dyer, who touched the ball 42 times last week versus South Carolina.
Prediction: There will be no Pickled Pigs Paws on the menu for these Tigers, Hawgs wild 44-31.

Georgia @ Tennessee: Mark Richt brings his young pups deep in the Appalachian Mountains looking for Volunteers. Will Vince Dooley lead the Fightin’ Dooleys into Neyland Stadium against the silver & black? The last two trips to Rocky Top were Rocky Horror shows for UGA, and a third beat down would unleash the dawgs on Richt & Co. in Athens.
Prediction: Big Orange squeezes UGA, 31-27.

Miami @ Virginia Tech: Who kidnapped the Hokies last week? Will the real Virginia Tech please stand up in Blacksburg? In another lackluster A-She-She conference game, these two teams are trying to avoid an 0-2 conference start. Miami has simply been gashed in the running game by opposing teams, especially the last two games, surrendering 484 rushing yards. Sounds like the storm brewing in Blacksburg might not bring a golden opportunity for the Canes.
Prediction: Neither team can throw, so I like ground turkey, Virginia Tech 30-20.

Ohio State @ Nebraska: Well, with the return of Terrell Pryor, Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes squad ventures into Lincoln with at least a puncher’s chance. Oh wait, Jim Tressel is in the NFL, along with Terrell Pryor. Ironic how neither stayed around to face the music! OSU might have its worst team in years after tattoo gate. Is anyone crying for the Buckeyes? Me either! Fear the children of the corn, Ohio State!
Prediction: Nebraska shucks the Buckeyes back to Columbus, 31-13.

Air Force @ Notre Dame: Notre Dame begins its tour of duty this week with its annual contests with the service academies. Does anyone else think Notre Dame secretly wants inclusion into this Commander-in-Chief’s Cup race, since it’s the only hardware the Irish might bring home at year’s end.
Prediction: Notre Dame shoots down Air Force, 38-31.

Missouri @ Kansas State: The annual border bash to claim owner’s rights to Kansas City BBQ (I made this up…). Missouri brings a high-powered offense into the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) to face a surprising KSU team. Kansas State is coming off back-to-back nail-biting wins over Miami and Baylor. The scoreboard will get a workout tonight.
Prediction: In a cat fight, Mizzou claws KSU 43-42.

Florida @ LSU: The top-ranked Bayou Bengals welcome an ailing Gators’ team into Death Valley. Florida will start a true freshman, Jeff Driskell, at quarterback for the injured John Brantley. Talk about Tiger Bait! I predict gator on the menu in Baton Rouge.
Prediction: LSU sends the Gators packing, 34-13.

Kentucky @ USC: Well, if you like offense, you might want to watch another game. Coming into the game these two teams have not set the offensive record books on fire. Connor Shaw replaces the erratic Stephen Garcia at quarterback for the Gamecocks, hoping to revive a dormant offense. Potentially without standout DE Melvin Ingram, the Gamecocks will have to look elsewhere for TDs. Paging Mr. Clowney!
Prediction: In a shootout, USC leaves UK feeling blue, 17-13.

Wyoming @ Utah State: If you have not seen Utah State play this year, please take time to watch them. They have a fantastic running back (Turbin) and freshman quarterback (Keeton). Do you remember opening weekend when the Aggies almost beat Auburn? Utah State is 1-3, but the three losses have been by a combined eight points, all on the road. I promise Utah State will keep the game interesting on both sides of the ball.
Prediction: Utah State corrals the Cowboys, 31-27.

My next blog will be posted Monday as I review the USC/Kentucky game and peek ahead to Mississippi State.

Go Gamecocks!

Five Keys for a USC Victory over Kentucky

Since I last blogged, USC has a new starting quarterback and the sun has still risen all week long in Columbia, SC. The most obvious personnel decision was made Monday night, when Steve Spurrier announced, post-practice, that true sophomore Connor Shaw would replace Stephen Garcia at quarterback for the Gamecocks versus Kentucky. I was pulling for Garcia to turnaround his fortunes, but if Carolina is going to aspire to preseason goals then Spurrier could afford no more mulligans with his fifth-year senior quarterback. South Carolina’s season didn't end with a loss to Auburn. Was it discouraging? Yes! Did the loss derail USC’s chances to repeat as the SEC East representative in the Georgia Dome come early December? Nope! The Gamecocks still control their destiny in the SEC East race having already defeated UGA & Vanderbilt (divisional foes). Yes, our hopes of an undefeated season have come to a halt. Yes, our arch rivals in the Upstate are undefeated and smoked Auburn. All of USC’s preseason goals (I do not believe undefeated season was a realistic goal) are still attainable, but a loss to UK tomorrow at the cockpit would seriously derail the Gamecocks’ season. Let’s take a look at five factors that will determine the outcome of the divisional match-up Saturday afternoon.

Shawshank Redemption: Connor Shaw’s second start under center will be far less scrutinized then his first start earlier this season against ECU. When Spurrier made the surprise announcement back on September 1st, you would have thought the government was taking over healthcare (Oh wait! That already happened!) with all the public outrage by USC fans that the beloved Stephen Garcia would not start the 2011 season as the Gamecocks quarterback. Spurrier said Shaw beat out Garcia in the preseason quarterback derby and deserved to start versus ECU. Shaw quickly discovered the immense popularity USC fans bestow upon their beloved, dynamic #5. At the end of the first quarter and USC staring at a 17-0 deficit, Shaw meekly went to the bench (as planned) and watched Garcia quickly reverse USC’s fortunes (with LOTS of aid from ECU) and propel Carolina to a convincing win. Fast forward to Saturday, where Shaw once again is the starting quarterback, but with one caveat. Per Spurrier, Shaw will complete the game barring any injury. There will be no looking over his shoulder, no Garcia second guessing and teammates will be 100% behind Shaw versus the Wildcats (some questioned if all the players had Shaw’s back once Spurrier named Shaw the opening game starter). This opportunity is redemption for Shaw and if he is successful in protecting the football and completing passes, then the Connor Shaw era might not wait until 2012. Stephen Garcia has been given every single opportunity to improve his play this year. Unfortunately, however, he leads the FBS in interceptions with nine. Carolina fans should not expect miracles from Connor Shaw on Saturday and beyond. Shaw is young, playing behind a makeshift offensive line and an offensive coaching staff that quite frankly has coached very subpar so far this season. My advice to everyone on Saturday afternoon is to hope that Shaw can complete enough passes to loosen the UK defense which allows Marcus Lattimore more running room, manages the game, distributes the ball to playmakers and doesn’t force the ball where opportunities do not exist, i.e. turnovers.

Let’s Get Physical: As concerning as the deterioration of the quarterback play over the last eight quarters, coincidentally the offensive line has gotten its A$$ kicked the last two games! There is a reason why Garcia has thrown six interceptions the last two games and been running for his life– poor offensive line play! Vanderbilt and Auburn successfully devised a scheme for their defensive tackles to get penetration up field and disrupt running lanes for USC RB Marcus Lattimore. If you watch the three interior lineman for USC (LG: AJ Cann/Center: TJ Johnson/RG: Terrence Campbell) against UK this week, try and see if those three players get pushed back into Carolina’s backfield or create a surge that allows Lattimore room to pick a hole and run through it. The past two games those three players on USC’s o-line continuously got knocked into the backfield and, subsequently, Lattimore had no cutback lanes or openings to gain positive yards. Lattimore netted 143 rushing yards over the last two games after defenses stacked the box (placing 8 or 9 defenders no less than 8 yards from line of scrimmage) to halt the ground game. A stable running game can cure a lot of the ailments surrounding the USC offense. A running game starts up front with a physical offensive line. USC will be starting a new o-line this week: LT: Rokevious Watkins (switched from Right Tackle), LG: AJ Cann, Center: TJ Johnson, RG: Terrence Campbell, RT: Cody Gibson (new starter). The front five must keep Shaw upright in order for USC to win this game. UK is one of the best Pass Defenses, yielding 163 yards per game, in FBS but rank 100th in Run Defense, yielding 198 yards per game. If the o-line can give Shaw enough time to scan through his pass progressions and find his 2nd or 3rd receiver options, then the Wildcats will be forced to play honest defense (defend both pass & run) in which Lattimore will find more running lanes as the game evolves.

Dominant Defense: Carolina over the last ten quarters has only allowed 19 points and less than 450 yards of total offense (Navy, Vanderbilt & Auburn). Kentucky comes to Billy-Brice as the most inept offense in the SEC. Per ESPN, Kentucky is dead last in yards from scrimmage per game (255.6) and touchdowns (nine). UK Quarterback Morgan Newton has thrown six touchdowns to go along with his six interceptions. USC’s Pass Defense ranks 3rd in the FBS, but that is because opponents are finding more success running the ball on Carolina’s defense in 2011. Fortunately, rushing the football is not UK’s forte. South Carolina’s Secondary has been ball-hawkish this season, as they have registered eight INTs (Antonio Allen leads with three, while Melvin Ingram has two). Overall, the Gamecocks defense has been very opportunistic in 2011 recording 16 takeaways (8 fumble recoveries/8 interceptions), which ranks second in FBS rankings. The defense has tallied 13 sacks through five games, and against a beleaguered UK o-line the Carolina front four should get pressure on the Wildcats quarterback. As of today, senior defensive end Melvin Ingram is doubtful, so expect a heavy dose of Jadeveon Clowney and sophomore Chaz Sutton. With the UK offense being so anemic, IMHO, the front seven of USC should be able to handle and dictate what Kentucky does on offense.

1 loss does not = 2 losses: Even though Auburn ended dreams of an undefeated season, do not allow last week’s loss to linger into the Kentucky game. The Wildcats are a divisional opponent, and if USC wants to maintain its lead in the SEC East, it cannot afford a slip up versus a lowly Kentucky squad that has not beaten a Top 25 opponent on the road since 2002 (won at Louisville), per ESPN. Since 2002, Kentucky has lost 18 straight road contests versus ranked teams by almost three touchdowns, per ESPN. Losing to a divisional opponent does far more damage than losing to an SEC West team. Remember, the Gamecocks own the tie-breaker with UGA having beaten Georgia 45-42 in Athens. Georgia travels to Knoxville on Saturday in a key SEC East showdown at 7 p.m. If Carolina takes care of business against the Wildcats, then USC fans need to root hard for Tennessee to beat Georgia. The Gamecocks can’t afford a hiccup on Saturday and still have a legitimate chance to win the SEC East.

Revenge: Last year after five games Carolina was 4-1 and riding sky high after upsetting then #1 Alabama at home (oh, how a year later and one loss changes everything!). USC fans had all but written down a “W” in the win column, as Kentucky was already an afterthought. By halftime of the USC/UK game, Carolina led 31-10 after looking like a well-oiled machine on offense in Lexington, KY. Then the two teams switched jerseys at halftime, Lattimore suffers an ankle injury and UK’s defense holds Garcia & Co. to 103 total yards of offense in the 2nd half (49 came on the last drive of the 4th quarter). Mike Hartline and Randall Cobb capped a furious second-half rally (21 straight points) when the two connected with 1:15 left in the 4th quarter for the go-ahead touchdown and seconds later Cobb added the two-point conversion. The loss clearly affected South Carolina the following weekend in Nashville, as USC labored through a win versus Vanderbilt without starting freshman Marcus Lattimore. Every single USC player should seek payback against Kentucky on Saturday and avenge last year’s embarrassing second-half collapse!

Spurspective’s Prediction: Carolina wins UGLY 17-13.

My next blog will be Saturday morning when I will give my Top 10 college football “Must Watch” games Of Week Six.

Go Gamecocks!