After another nail-biter, the Gamecocks are 5-3 and likely on their way to a bowl game. Here are five things we learned from Saturday’s 48-44 victory over Ole Miss.
1. The roster is where it's expected to be
South Carolina, at one point, was down to its sixth and seventh-string safeties Saturday against one of the top offenses in the SEC after Steven Montac, R.J. Roderick, Javon Charleston and Jamyest Williams all went out at various parts of the game with injuries. Already missing J.T. Ibe and Nick Harvey, the Gamecocks were forced to play every defensive back that traveled.
That’s a lot for any team to overcome.
There’s no need to panic about the defense’s performance, as most teams would have struggled in that situation. That being said, the truly elite teams have far better depth than South Carolina. That’s to be expected as the Gamecocks are trying to rebuild the roster. South Carolina’s roster looks like it is in Year 3 of a rebuild.
2. The Gamecocks are building for the future
South Carolina’s schedule might be difficult next season, but the Gamecocks are on the way up. By my unofficial count, seven freshmen played on defense during key moments of the fourth quarter. The Rebels failed to score on their last four drives. Three Gamecock freshmen had career-highs in tackles and Rick Sandidge recorded his first sack. Jaycee Horn continued his incredible freshman season.
Offensively, Dylan Wonnum played well for a second-straight game while Josh Vann scored his first career touchdown.
When the freshmen are outplaying the upperclassmen, it’s usually an indication that recruiting is picking up. This is no exception as the Gamecocks are showing glimpses of what could be a very good football team in the years to come.
3. This is a good second half team
The Gamecocks came back from 10 points down to win for the third time this season. After trailing by double digits in four straight games, the Gamecocks tied or took the lead in all of them.
South Carolina is now 14-4 in 1-score games under Will Muschamp. This season, the Gamecocks have outscored opponents in the fourth quarter, 51-38 and in the second half, 137-85. Ole Miss started the fourth quarter with the ball on the South Carolina 2 and subsequently punched it in for six. After that, the Rebels ran 17 plays for 16 total yards, ending three drives with a punt and a fourth with a turnover on downs.
This time, the coaching staff did make some adjustments defensively, moving to man coverage from the zone, despite the inexperience in the secondary. The Gamecocks have played four close games in conference and won three of them.
4. Jake Bentley played his best game of the season
The Rebel run defense is porous, allowing at least 210 yards on the ground to every SEC team it has faced this season. But when Ty’Son Williams and Rico Dowdle went down with early injuries, the Gamecocks were forced to air it out.
Bentley responded with 363 passing yards and two touchdowns — good for 11.3 yards per attempt. The Gamecock signal caller hit several deep balls and was accurate on all deep attempts (A Shi Smith drop was the lone deep incompletion). Bentley added the game-winning touchdown run on a third and goal late in the fourth quarter.
When South Carolina needed a spark, Bentley provided it, leading the Gamecock offense to an SEC season-high 48 points and 510 yards, or 7.4 yards per play.
I can’t always project Pro Football Focus ratings, but this might be the second-straight week that Bentley takes home the highest game score of any offensive player.
5. A lack of depth hurts, but cross-training doesn’t
Instead of picking six takeaways, I’ll work two into this header. The Gamecock offensive line was once again effective. Bentley was sacked twice, once when he broke the pocket and once when a back missed a block. Ignoring sack yardage and kneel downs, the Gamecocks averaged five yards a carry and scored 41 offensive points.
Malik Young went down early in the second half, forcing Blake Camper off the bench and into an unfamiliar position. Camper, a senior, had taken 686 snaps on offense in his four years at South Carolina; exactly one came at left tackle, according to PFF’s detailed snaps by position. Likewise, Rashad Fenton was forced to play a couple snaps at safety, a position he hadn’t played at South Carolina.
Muschamp puts a heavy emphasis on “cross-training” or having players practice at a variety of positions. It’s what allowed Bryson Allen-Williams to fill in for D.J. Wonnum and why Jamyest Williams has been able to play in place of Ibe and Harvey. Versatility helps offset the lack of depth.
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