Five Takeaways: Big games still too much
After wasting another opportunity for a signature victory, South Carolina continues to be an enigma. As always, we’ll take a look at five things we learned.
1. The spotlight is still too strong
The Gamecocks are two separate football teams. They win consistently against most average teams and lose consistently against ranked opponents. But more than just winning and losing, the team looks completely lost in significant matchups, especially those against rivals. Yet again, South Carolina wasn’t the same team we see in the majority of its games.
In eight games against Clemson, Georgia and Kentucky under Will Muschamp, South Carolina has had multiple turnovers in six of them. In 22 other games, South Carolina has had multiple turnovers just five times. Like against Georgia, the Gamecocks came in over-hyped, unfocused, tense or something of that nature. South Carolina again failed to control its emotions, committing 11 penalties — four after the whistle.
The offense dropped passes, the defense missed tackles. It’s not just competition level. If South Carolina had come out relaxed and composed and played as if they were facing Vanderbilt, this would have been a competitive game.
2. The Wildcats (and big games in general) are in their heads
South Carolina came out as flat as it did last year against Kentucky. In that game, Jake Bentley missed two sure touchdowns and South Carolina made a plethora of mistakes including drops, questionable coaching decisions and missed kicks.
This season was almost a repeat, except that South Carolina didn’t jump out to a lead. Jake Bentley threw three interceptions — including one that should have been a touchdown to Rico Dowdle — and five of his on-target passes were dropped. South Carolina’s first two possessions combined for a total of -3 yards and a fumble.
South Carolina failed to make routine plays we saw them make just a week ago. It’s almost as if the Gamecocks would have been more competitive if the players were simply told they were actually playing Vanderbilt or Arkansas.
3. South Carolina rarely has to adjust strategies
Georgia game aside, South Carolina’s defense plays better in the second half in these big games. Kentucky was held to just 75 yards and 0 points after halftime. Almost unsurprisingly, Muschamp revealed after the game that his defense made no strategic adjustments.
In other words, the game plan was unchanged, the defense simply executed. We won’t have exact numbers until later this week, but the Gamecocks missed at least a dozen tackles in the first half. When the tackling improved and South Carolina kept contain, Kentucky was bottled up. Yet again, the strategy was sound, South Carolina just failed to execute until it was down three scores.
In some ways, that makes these losses more difficult to swallow. If it were a matter of tweaking X’s and O’s, the big-game struggles would be easier to overcome. Instead, the team — and fans — are left wondering how the Gamecocks can get out of the funk.
4. Don’t blame the play calling
The way Bryan McClendon called this game, it’s almost impossible to believe South Carolina scored only 10 points. Over and over again, South Carolina put itself in great situations and failed.
AJ Turner tripped while breaking away on a perfectly executed zone play, Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards dropped big gainers on third downs, Bentley underthrew Edwards on a perfectly designed double move, and South Carolina committed three completely avoidable turnovers.
South Carolina’s playmakers didn’t break tackles and South Carolina’s offensive line struggled to block Josh Allen, even when they slid protection and schemed against him. McClendon put his players in a position to succeed, much like he has in all five games as offensive coordinator. Of course, there’s a call or two he’d probably like to have back, but overall this was a lack of execution, not X’s and O’s.
5. Somebody needs to step up
South Carolina is fond of catchy one-liners like “So What? Now What?” and “Next Man Up”. It goes without saying, but those only work if someone exemplifies it. Bentley said after the game that the team was waiting to be energized by a play that never came.
While the Gamecocks can’t afford to wait for that play each game, they do need someone to energize the team and back it up. Whether that’s Shi Smith — who again played well — or somebody else, the Gamecocks need a spark. It shouldn’t have to be against a Missouri or Tennessee, but South Carolina should have plenty of opportunities to make an impression later this season.
