Key plays, game balls, and the burning question following South Carolina’s 16-10 loss to Kentucky.
Three Key Plays
1. Third down conversion
South Carolina was just 3-12 on third downs. Two came on the same possession: the first drive of the third quarter. The first, a third and four, came on a nice pass from Luke Doty to Josh Vann right at the first down marker. The second was a third and three where Doty found Nick Muse open over the middle for a 25-yard catch and run. It was no coincidence that the drive ended with South Carolina’s only touchdown.
2. First fourth down drop
Trailing 13-7 early in the fourth quarter, South Carolina faced fourth and five from the Kentucky 25. South Carolina (which punted from the Kentucky 40 in the first half), went for the first down instead of kicking a 42-yard field goal. Doty found an open Jalen Brooks for the first down, but Brooks dropped the pass.
“I’ve got to make that play,” Brooks said. “There’s nothing going around it.”
Shane Beamer said if he could have the decision back, he would probably kick a field goal.
“We were trying to be aggressive,” he said. “Hindsight being 20/20 we would have kicked a field goal.”
3. Second fourth down drop
South Carolina forced a fumble and got the ball back, but again stalled and faced a fourth and three at the Kentucky 40. Because South Carolina still trailed by six, and now with less than ten minutes left, Beamer felt they had to go for it. He explained that he didn’t want to rely on the defense to bail the offense out again.
“At some point we’ve got to convert a freaking fourth down,” he said.
Doty rolled right, away from pressure, and threw to Dakereon Joyner in the flat. Joyner was near the first down line, not as clear of a first down as the previous play, but it didn’t matter because he dropped the pass. The deflated Gamecocks allowed a field goal on the ensuing drive, essentially ending the game.
Two Game Balls
Jabari Ellis
Ellis was credited with four tackles and half a tackle for loss, but he did much more than that (including a sack taken away by a penalty). Ellis was disruptive in the middle of the line and he was a big reason South Carolina was able to get pressure on Will Levis and hold Kentucky to just 102 yards passing.
Carlins Platel
The graduate transfer was all over the field. He forced two fumbles and was in on a fourth quarter tackle for loss to help force a field goal. The only thing he didn’t do was recover one of those fumbles, even though it bounced right to him.
“Our defense played their butts off and gave us a chance to win the game,” Beamer said.
One Burning Question
What can be done to fix the offense?
“There was a lot of ugliness tonight,” Beamer said after the game.
He wasn’t lying. The Gamecocks were just 3-12 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down. They managed just 58 yards rushing on 28 carries, with a long run of 10 yards. They ran just 51 plays and had only 12 first downs. They managed just 80 yards of offense in the first half.
The offensive line continues to struggle. The receivers continue to have trouble making plays. Penalties continue to derail positive plays. There are too many negative plays that the offense can’t overcome.
If there was a glimmer of hope against Kentucky, it was that Doty made some good passes. He finished the game 17-25 for 158 yards and a touchdown. That’s a modest stat line, but between drops and the lack of a running game, he didn’t get much help.
“I thought he did a good job. He was poised and he was able to communicate well between series,” Beamer said of Doty. “Does he need to play better? Yes, but Luke gave us a chance to win tonight.”
Is it enough to build on?
Doty pointed out that South Carolina eliminated the pre-snap offensive penalties. That’s a start. The playcalling needs to be more creative, but it’s hard to get into the playbook when you keep going three and out. Troy won’t present the same level of defense next week, so maybe South Carolina can get something going that it can carry over. Otherwise it’s going to be a very long season.
