Muschamp wants Gamecocks 'hardheaded' in running game
South Carolina spent the build-up to Saturday’s showdown with Georgia preaching running the ball but, when the game started, the Gamecock run game was almost non-existent.
Moving forward, Will Muschamp said the Gamecocks should have leaned more on the ground game and will be “hardheaded” running the football moving forward.
“We needed to stay with it. That’s something (offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon) and I talked about this morning. We needed to stay with the run more and be more creative running the football,” Muschamp said. “We have to be hardheaded about the run game and stay with it.”
Also see: What Will Muschamp said in his Sunday teleconference
The Gamecocks had a huge discrepancy between their passing numbers and rushing attempts in the 41-17 loss to the Bulldogs.
They threw the ball 48 times Saturday compared to just 20 rushing attempts despite Muschamp saying Georgia wasn’t stacking the box, giving the Gamecocks better opportunities to run the ball.
“They played a lot of split safety coverage and left a six-man box and we had some better run lanes than we had against them,” Muschamp said. “I think it’s going to help our team and it makes them try to add one to the box and creates more issues outside with them.”
Also see: How the Gamecocks graded out in Saturday's loss
South Carolina’s run game struggled to find any consistency in a 24-point loss to Georgia.
The Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1 SEC) rushed for just 54 yards, the fewest they’ve had since picking up 54 in a loss to Kentucky last season.
After 14 attempts for 32 yards in the first half, they rushed just six times over 22 second-half offensive plays for just 22 yards for an average of 3.7 yards per carry.
“I think at times we should have kept running it but our throwing game seemed to be working at times,” lineman Zack Bailey said. “It’s the coaches’ decisions, not mine. I think we need to get more push up front.”
Also see: Breaking down some big stats on why the Gamecocks lost this week
Saturday’s rushing attack was a complete 180-degree flip from the season opener where the Gamecocks ran for 263 yards and averaged 6.9 yards a carry.
After having four players with at least 20 yards rushing last weekend, only Ty’Son Williams eclipsed that mark against Georgia with 26 yards.
Bailey said it’s up to the offensive line to get more push, obviously, and that could be as easy as scripting more plays into the middle of the offensive line.
“I think we did a lot of outside stuff but I think we need to run a little bit more inside and move people off the ball,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. Offensive line, we take responsibility for the run game. That’s our job. When you look at the stats, it’s disappointing.”
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