By the numbers: Gamecocks' loss to Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, MISS.—Riding high after a win against Vanderbilt, the South Carolina Gamecocks were brought back to reality Saturday, getting beat 27-14 by Mississippi State.

In this new weekly feature, GamecockCentral.com will delve into stats that tell the story of how the Gamecocks won or lost that week’s game, starting this week against the Bulldogs.

The Great Wall of Bulldog

Last week, the Gamecocks had success running the ball with A.J. Turner slicing through the ‘Dore defense for 70 yards. Saturday, the lanes weren’t there. A mixture of offensive line struggles and the fortitude of Mississippi State’s defensive line, the Gamecocks averaged only 1.1 yards per carry and their leading rusher was Turner with 32 yards on 16 carries.

Mississippi State had 45 carries for 290 yards, led by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald’s 195 yards on the ground.

Sackin’

Along with getting no push up front blocking, the offensive line also didn’t handle the Mississippi State pass rush with ease. The Bulldogs broke through for four sacks totaling 33 yards. They also hurried the quarterback six quarterback hurries. Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain were both scrambling all night trying to evade pressure while Fitzgerald wasn’t sacked and only hurried twice all game.

Losing the field position battle

It’s hard to score for a team when it constantly has to travel 80-plus yards for a touchdown. The Gamecocks found that out the hard way Saturday. Their average starting field position was inside their own 20 yard-line in three quarters and the best starting field position they had was the South Carolina 28 yard-line. Mississippi State’s average starting field positon was past its own 20 yard-line in all four quarters and at past its own 30 yard-line in three quarters.

Switching into third gear

Gamecocks seem to thrive in third and fourth gear. They just get stuck and stall in first and second. In the first half Saturday Mississippi State outgained the Gamecocks 324 to 90 in the first half. The South Carolina offense looked hapless, mustering only 12 rushing yards. Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards went missing in the first 30 minutes: Samuel had two receptions for 30 yards and Edwards didn’t have a catch. T.J. Holloman said it’s hard to win in the SEC when teams start slow, and the Gamecocks are going to have to start better if they want to win.

Red-zoning

Just like it’s hard to score when a team start deep in its own territory, it’s also pretty hard to put up points when it doesn’t get close to the goal line. Again, South Carolina found that out the hard way. The Gamecocks were only in the red zone twice while the Bulldogs got inside the opponent’s 20 yard-line eight times. Granted, the Gamecocks scored on both trips, but Mississippi State was 5-for-8 in their red zone trips, including three touchdowns.