SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL

Gamecock Central breaks down what went right and what went wrong against Alabama.

Looking at the good and the bad from the loss to Alabama, it would be easy to simply say offense = good and defense = bad. And you wouldn’t be wrong. But you clicked on this story expecting to read more than forty-five words, so here goes.

Three Up

1. Ryan Hilinski

Hilinski wasn’t perfect, and he was no match for Tua Tagovailoa, but he didn’t let the magnitude of the game overwhelm him. Alabama is a much tougher test than Charleston Southern, especially when you’re the CBS marquee game of the week. But Hilinski didn’t show any nerves, and like he did last week, he kept the bad passes to a minimum. His one interception was off a poor throw into double coverage, but it also came in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach. Since we can’t talk to freshmen, who knows if he would have thrown it earlier in the game?

Hilinski finished the day 36-57 (which doesn’t account for several drops by his receivers) for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and the interception. He spread the ball around to nine different receivers, and South Carolina notched 31 first downs, tied for the most allowed by Alabama under Nick Saban. The 57 passing attempts were second most in Gamecock history, and the 36 completions were third-most.

When South Carolina went hurry-up, he was still able to run the offense and Alabama got caught unprepared several times. Hilinski was only sacked three times, but he took a few hits and kept getting back up. With a freshman, you're always thinking about the future, and Hilinski continues to provide a reason for optimism.

2. Offensive line

That last sentence needs repeating: South Carolina dropped back to pass 60 times, and only gave up three sacks. The offensive line didn’t always give Hilinski a lot of time to go deep, and it gave up a few hits, but that is still impressive. The line also opened holes for 135 yards rushing and averaged 5.8 yards per rush when adjusted for sacks. Rico Dowdle averaged 8.5 yards per rush and finished with 102 yards, just the 23rd 100-yard rushing performance Alabama has allowed in the last 15 seasons.

3. Playcalling

The ultra-conservative play-calling and game plan against North Carolina seems like another season entirely, doesn’t it? For the second game in a row, Will Muschamp installed an aggressive game plan and Bryan McClendon called a shrewd game. You can argue with some of the gambles (I thought the fake punt was a little too cute for its own good), but Muschamp knew South Carolina needed to come up with some surprises to hang with Alabama. Those surprises came oh-so-close to working.

“It’s all a calculated risk on what we want to do,” Muschamp said, noting that the Gamecocks started planning for the aggressive plays back during the summer. “We felt like the field goal fake was there. After the first field goal attempt, we saw their look and they don’t change it up. We got the look we wanted.”

Like last week, McClendon called a few safe passes early to help Hilinski settle in, and then quickly opened the playbook. Going up-tempo, the Gamecocks kept the Tide off-balance and Hilinski was able to pick apart the defense. But the margin for error against the Tide is next to nothing, and there were too many mistakes.

Three down

1. The secondary

Not a lot went right defensively on Saturday, but the secondary must shoulder most of the blame. The front seven didn’t get a lot of pressure on Tua Tagovailoa, but it did hold the Crimson Tide to 76 yards rushing (3.04 yards per carry), the first time the Tide have been held under 100 yards since 2014. The linebackers struggled to stay with receivers, especially backs out of the backfield, on crossing routes, but those are 5-10-yard catches.

The real problem was that the short receptions weren’t contained. Tagovailoa threw for 444 yards, but mostly threw slants, crossing routes, and swing passes to the flat. The idea for each was the same: a pinpoint pass to an elusive receiver in space and put the onus on the defense to make the tackle.

“Going into the game we knew they were going to complete some balls,” Muschamp said, “but limit the amount of explosive plays. They’re very elusive in space. It wasn’t the vertical balls down the field, it was the intermediate throws and being able to make people miss.”

J.T. Ibe, who got burned by a few missed tackles, including a really bad angle to give up a 42-yard DeVonta Smith touchdown, knows the secondary was a liability.

“We need to improve on our discipline and our focus on technique and alignment,” he said.

2. Special teams penalties

South Carolina did a lot of good things in the kicking game, but oh what could have been. It started on the opening kickoff, when Will Tommie, who normally booms touchbacks, had a short kick that bounced around the ten and then out of bounds near the five. It was the first of four special teams penalties. The others: a hold that wiped out a Parker White touchdown run on a fake field goal, an illegal shift that wiped out a 66-yard punt that was downed at the one, and an illegal touch on attempted onside kick.

You can make the excuse that crazy, unpredictable things happen on onside kicks. Or the Kyle Markway’s hold on the fake field goal wasn’t that egregious and he was just trying to spring White. But the illegal shift is inexcusable: after the rekick, Alabama started at its 35, a field position swing of 34 yards. And the kick out of bounds, from a player whose only responsibility is kicking off, is nearly as bad. It is too much to say those penalties cost South Carolina the game (*cough* defense *cough*), but clean up the special teams penalties and it would have been a lot closer.

3. Red zone offense

Offensively, South Carolina did a lot of good things, as mentioned above, but it continues to struggle as it nears the end zone. The red zone traditionally starts at the opponent’s 20-yard line, but South Carolina’s issues seem to start at the 30. There was the possession that began at the Alabama 30 with a chance to take the lead and ended with a punt. There was the debacle at the end of the first half that saw four snaps inside the five and no points. The opening drive of the third quarter, when South Carolina arguably needed a touchdown to stay in the game, stalled inside the ten. Hilinski’s only interception came on a snap from the Alabama 27.

The red zone problems aren’t new. They date back at least to last season, and even earlier. But that isn’t an excuse. The coaches need to figure something out. One option could be Dakereon Joyner. While the Gamecocks were struggling Saturday, it seemed like inserting the elusive Joyner for what would almost be a wildcat package could have been effective, and if nothing else just given the defense a new look.