SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL
In Saturday’s 28-0 loss to Virginia, the tone was set early for South Carolina’s offensive philosophy and how it would work against the Cavaliers.
On the team’s first drive, they opted to go for it on fourth and inches with Bryan McClendon calling a play action rollout that got Rico Dowdle open but Bentley threw the ball high and the pass fell incomplete.
That started the Gamecocks’ rough offensive showing in the Belk Bowl as they were shutout for the first time under Will Muschamp and for the first time since 2006.
“I think we got in situations where you’re down 21-0 in the second half it's a difficult game to call from that standpoint,” Muschamp said about the game plan. “I felt like, in a 21-0 game, instead of kick the field goal go for the touchdown in that situation and to be aggressive and try and score.”
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South Carolina had 11 drives Saturday with six of those reaching Virginia territory. The Gamecocks walked away with no points in those six drives, after getting as deep as the Virginia 11-yard line.
Jake Bentley threw two interceptions with the Gamecocks driving in enemy territory and Parker White missed a 45-yard field goal on the UVA 28.
The other three drives were turnovers on downs—the first drive on a failed fourth and inches, one to end the half and again at the end of the third quarter with Bentley and Chavis Dawkins miscommunicating on a throw to the end zone on fourth down.
On all but one of those drives, the Gamecocks were trailing and Muschamp said he and the offense chose to go for touchdowns instead of kicking field goals on the majority of them.
“Certainly, we’re not pleased with any points but there were situations where we could have put points on the board but I didn’t think that was going to help us win the ballgame,” he said.
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One of the biggest turnovers on downs was the drive before halftime with the Gamecocks trailing 14-0 and needed some sort of positive momentum heading into the break.
Bentley, thanks to a few big plays, got the Gamecocks down to the Virginia 35 facing a fourth and one with six seconds left and the clock stopped after Chavis Dawkins ran out of bounds after a 13-yard catch.
The Gamecocks called a timeout to talk things over and now couldn’t stop the clock if they picked up a first down. Instead of trying for a quick throw to pick up the first, Muschamp said he wanted to take a shot to the end zone.
Bentley was sacked for a loss of seven and the half ended there.
“Before halftime we had a timeout but knew they were going to trap the flat. I didn’t think we could get the ball out of bounds without no timeouts,” Muschamp said. “They knew we didn’t have any timeouts and would trap the flat in that situation. We tried to get a throw to the end zone in that situation.”
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South Carolina gained a season-low 261 yards and were shutout for the first time since 2006 when the Gamecocks lost 18-0 to Georgia.
Playing without All-SEC receiver Deebo Samuel, who opted not to play to prepare for the NFL Draft, the offense struggled to get anything going consistently, averaging just 4.4 yards per play against UVA.
The shutout came as a huge shock to players, who said they weren’t concerned having to play without Samuel.
“I was never worried without Deebo,” K.C. Crosby said. “We have a lot of guys on this team that can make plays. It’s just frustrating we go out there and get 28 hung on us.”
