Reviewing the Outback Bowl: Why We Lost and Other Thoughts

by Gamecock Man on Jan 1, 2009 4:41 PM EST in Football Comment 20 comments

First of all, congrats to the Iowa Hawkeyes, who played a hell of a game. While I hated seeing them run it on us, the Hawkeyes' offense was truly a thing of beauty. They perfectly balanced their running and passing game, eating up large chunks on Shonn Greene's legs and throwing in occasional play-action passes to mix things up. The yardage Greene gets after the catch is unreal and Ricky Stanzi certainly knows how to execute a play fake and then hit an open receiver ten yards down field. Although we certainly didn't make them work too hard for it in the first half with all the turnovers and penalties, the Iowa defense also lived up to its great reputation. While it will come as a small consolation to Gamecocks fans, I came away from this game feeling that Iowa is probably good enough to be an 11-1 or 10-2 team but lost a couple of heart breakers to end up with their actual record. Suffice it to say that we didn't get a good match-up in this game--we weren't really a New Year's Day bowl team this year, and the Hawkeyes could have been a BCS bowl team with a little luck.

That said, there are plenty of good reasons to be upset about this game. With a month to prepare, Stephen Garcia looked worse than ever. Amazingly, his accuracy dipped far below Chris Smelley levels. Smelley and Garcia now share the dubious honor of managing to throw a number of passes over Jared Cook's reach, quite a feat considering that Cook is 6'5 and has really long arms. It's hard to know what to make of Garcia's troubles. In earlier games, he appeared to be a very accurate passer that just needed to learn how to read a defense better. Today, though, he looked just as mistake-prone as Smelley and Blake Mitchell, a scary thought if Garcia is this team's best hope for the future. Garcia had obviously been working on a few aspects of his game. His pocket presence was improved; he seemed to have a better idea about when to tuck it and run and when to check down his receivers. There's good reason to believe that he'll be much better with after getting a Spring training under his belt. His performance today, though, makes me wonder if his ceiling is truly as high as we think it is or if he's going to be just as inconsistent as Chris and Blake.

As for Chris, I'll give him credit for coming in and playing pretty well. If anything, his performance reminded me that he's capable of playing at a high level from time to time, even if it's usually in garbage time when he comes off the bench. It should also be clear to the crowd that has blindly championed Garcia that Spurrier's choice between Garcia and Smelley has not been as clear cut as they would like to think; despite Garcia's promise, he's just not obviously better than Chris. Period. Needless to say, Smelley's chances of leading this team did not die with his horrible game against Clemson. The QB battle between these two will continue into Spring training. I hope that Garcia takes the position, as that would mean that he markedly improves his game. We know what we're getting with Chris, and that's a sometimes decent but oftentimes horrible QB. While I'd love to see Chris improve, the fact is that he's a red-shirt sophomore and in most cases QBs with as much experience as he has don't magically get better overnight.

While it would be easy to lay all of the blame on Garcia, other players deserve their share as well. Captain Munnerlyn's performance, which was littered with poor decisions in coverage and a couple of cheap penalties, was a joke. Why NFL scouts think this guy will be a first-day pick after the season he's had is beyond me.
Jared Cook also turned in a below par performance. Cook did catch a touchdown pass and in his defense we probably didn't go to him enough, but he also dropped a couple of passes. I came away from this game thinking that Munnerlyn and Cook are set on leaving for the NFL and didn't care very much about helping the Gamecocks win this game. If this is true, it's sad that these two great athletes don't have more pride in their team's performance.

Cook and Munnerlyn would do well to take a look at how Eric Norwood and Kenny McKinley, two guys that are also headed to the NFL (probably, in Norwood's case), performed. McKinley left it all out on the field and reminded us one last time that he's a great player that loves the Gamecocks. Norwood, despite the fact that there's a pretty good chance that he will opt out of his senior season and head for the pros, also put forth a lot of effort. Whatever decision Norwood makes, I'll always remember his time here fondly. He seems like a stand-up guy and is certainly a great player.

As for my thoughts on Spurrier and the direction of this program, I think I'm going to sleep on this game for a few days before making any rash comments. My general impression is that I would have liked to see Garcia distance himself a bit from Smelley. However, I'll also acknowledge that this was a bowl game against a great team, so we should probably take the outcome with a grain of salt. Spurrier and Garcia's true chance to prove themselves will have to wait until next year.

0 recs | Comment 20 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Shocking.

First of all, congrats indeed to the Hawkeyes who did bring a pretty darn good team to the Outback Bowl. Victory earned.

I can live with a loss… but 38-10? The ’Cocks were never in this game. As an SEC fan and therefore Gamecock fan on this day, I am embarrassed.

This loss concludes Spurrier’s 4th year. 7-6.

I wrote about this already at my blog, but based on Spurrier’s press conference, it is apparent to me that the OBC is a man without answers. Generally you don’t pin the task of a monumental turnaround on a guy who’s had four years already and at the end of it all, publicly proclaims that he doesn’t know why his team can’t play to a basic level of competence under his management.

I’m not sure if I really buy the “USC is the graveyard of coaches” argument. My gut feeling is that South Carolina has the resources, the fans, the great SEC stadium needed to compete at a high level. They just aren’t doing it under Spurrier.

I think it’s time for Spurrier to retire. I say that with no vitriol or ‘hatred’. I am letting that go. I can’t harbor ill-will toward Spurrier when he’s obviously going through hell. This has to stop,. both for USC fans and the man himself.

Orange and Blue Hue: The World through GATOR-colored Glasses -- http://www.orangeandbluehue.com

by Gatorpilot on Jan 2, 2009 8:54 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Spurrier is not a developmental coach.

USC has far more resources, and a superior conference, than Iowa. We played several walk-ons yesterday; one will go to the NFL. If we’d had a senior QB, it would have been 45-zip. What are we doing beating the S-E-C with Iowa kids whose other offers were to play D-III?

Spurrier is an old ball coach, but the game has changed in that it’s not enough to have a brilliant slinger like Garcia who has no commitment to the game, preparation, fitness, etc.

You can’t succeed in D-I any longer unless you develop, via coaching and the instilling of work ethic, your players.

If I were a USC fan, though, I would be horrified at Iowa’s total domination of the line of scrimmage. Good line play is strongly influenced by work ethic. Spurrier spoke at length afterward about your inability to run (43 rush yards, or one quarter by one of our backs), and our ability to run, but the real question is: how, four years into a program, do you justify an O-Line as inadequate as that, and a D-Line that can’t make plays absent the blitz? Football is a game of strength, numbers, and geometry, and this game was over on the first series when you rushed 6-8 on our playaction — and couldn’t get to Stanzi. Wow. Our offense is bone simple because we force you to choose to rush or pass-defend, but when you rush and don’t get penetration … game over. I won’t say anything about the USC O-line, other than I don’t think many of them would play for for (FCS) Northern Iowa. Your program seems to take O-Line play for granted; in the NFL, no one wins without a good line.

Anyway, the only schadenfreude I’m indulging today is in reference to Gatorpilot’s many sneers our way about SEC speed. Say again, please? And again?

Anyway, at Washington, and apparently in Columbia, Spurrier runs a happy, casual program. But the days of throwing guys out on the field with a creative scheme and an extra step of speed are long gone. Parity is here. Some speed can be created in a weight room. College football is a game for teachers. (I did like the six-wide sets at the end, however. I thought for a minute we were going to get the A-11.) Spurrier doesn’t have the patience or interest to teach.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Jan 2, 2009 9:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

"Many" sneers?

I think I just posted something along the lines of “I like Spurrier’s chances in this one.”

Obviously, I was wrong, and yes, I’m embarassed. But remember, my Gators are playing for the big prize on the 8th, and I’m pretty sure a matchup of UF vs. Iowa would demonstrate exactly how “team speed kills.” Score would be something like 70-3.

Orange and Blue Hue: The World through GATOR-colored Glasses -- http://www.orangeandbluehue.com

by Gatorpilot on Jan 2, 2009 9:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Fine.

Moving on, this game did have one unique moment. How many times do you get to watch a player KICK his opponent?

That was special.

I understand the kicking part, because, well, tackling, passing, running, blocking and the like weren’t working so well. I don’t understand why he was left in the game by his coaches. And that may be the fundamental, illustrative difference between USC and Iowa this year. We’re really lousy at kicking the other team.

OTOH, a guy shouldn’t get on a high horse. Our skinny quarterback tried to beat up your 290 lb. DE, after blowing his block 15 yards downfield. That wasn’t very nice of him.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Jan 2, 2009 9:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What a Joke.....

5 Turnovers……
100 yards in Penalties……
No Pass Rush……
No Running Game…….
No O Line Blocking…..
Horrible QB Play…….
6-1 to 6-6 Last Year…..
7-3 to 7-6 This Year……
More INT’s Than Any D-1 School……
At the Bottom in Offensive Rankings…….
Players Who Don’t Want to Play……
Players who Don’t Go to Class ……
Players Busted, Suspended, Etc.

I could keep going and going…..

As far as I can tell, our program is a complete disaster. Steve Spurrier obviously relied on a talent pool at Florida that made him invincible in his day. It is clear that, with the Skins and Cocks, he has no idea how to “coach” a team of mediocre players into a winning team.

We need someone to come in and instill some discipline into this program. Teams with talent can win with a “loose” program because the players can do no wrong. Teams that win with less talent play with military precision……limiting mistakes, playing as a team, and outsmarting their opponent. Until this situation is a part of the USC Football Program I see many more mediocre seasons, social and academic player issues, and a lack of team play.

Where do we go from here? Who knows. The OBC has done his part in recruiting. Do we give him more time to see those players come to light? Do we fire him and start looking for a new coach?

I’d give him one more year. Straighten out the discipline issues…..play as a team……win some games. This change in approach will be evident early next year….I hope it happens. If not, we’ll be lucky to have the opportunity to get our asses kicked in a bowl game next year.

by VermontGamecock on Jan 2, 2009 9:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

No discipline or identity

What is the identity of Spurrier’s Gamecocks? I did not see one area where you looked first rate. Where does this team build from?

Case in point, your TE was All-SEC. Where was he? Second case in point, it took you four quarters to figure our defense out and begin throwing the screens and dinks. I was SHOCKED that you went vertical so early, so often on a WINDY day against our defense. It was as though you had not scouted us at all!

As you all know by my repeatedly snarky posts on this site over the past month, I expected us to dominate. Bellanca articulated it in pretty impressive detail in a post along the way. We are committed to our identity and we are disciplined. Once our talent level kicks in, we are a top 10 program. We have the track record to prove it. I just looked over the recruiting class rankings of 2005 when we were ranked anywhere from having the No. 2 to the No. 8 ranked class. Well, not one of those top recruits from that year were relevant for us yesterday. HS to college is a massive leap, regardless of ranking. Garcia does NOT have it. He looked so unprepared yesterday it was shocking. He had no form on his drop backs, who cares his HS reputation. He has not been coached up. Period.

Your team lost focus about midway through the first drive, about the time they realized we were better than advertised (by your coaching staff undoubtedly). We left at least 17 points on the field, you left 3. This game was a bigger blowout than the statistics suggest. Yet, your recruiting is FAR higher ranked, every year, than ours has been or wil be.

You need a new, serious, coach. One who understands young people today and can coach a system, oversee it, make it work. One who can coach players rather than assemble them and hope for the best.

Finally, Mr. Gator, your are a fan of the most talent rich program in the nation. Florida football was ruled by Miami for years and now your team has taken over. The first love of Florida has always been UF and once you got a few wins under your belt you have won every major recruiting battle in the state. For your team not to be playing for the Championship would be a shock. The only three programs that can remotely match you are Texas, USC and Ohio State. Oklahoma has to build from outside the state. As does just about all other programs. BTW, USC would beat you…that became clear to me yesterday.

What we do in Iowa is rare indeed. We groom D-II players to become NFL prospects. We take in 2 star players (like Stanzi) and coach them up to exceed 5 star players (like Garcia). Stanzi, by the way, had never completed a pass at the college level until midway through the first game we played THIS season.

I love the passion SEC fans have. But these SEC teams are sitting on such tremendous recruiting resources, to see them squandered the way they were by you guys yesterday was sad, to be honest.

"I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."
- George Rogers, one-time South Carolina RB

by StoopsMyAss on Jan 2, 2009 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Stoops...

I’d like to say I disagree with you, but you’re pretty much right on. The contrast is striking between Iowa, a team coached by a staffed that has coalesced an identity among its players and has maximized its potential on both sides of the ball, and South Carolina, a team with talent at many positions but with absolutely no offensive identity. The contrast really brings out to me what the problems with 2008’s USC team have been.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 12:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think I agree...

One more year for Spurrier. He needs to make some good coaching hires, get rid of the extra weight on this team (the undisciplined players that don’t care about helping us get to the next level), he needs to field something resembling an offense, and he needs to get to eight wins.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 11:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You're missing the point.

OBC doesn’t coach — he directs. College football is about continuity, subtlety, elemental strengths. The OBC knows what’s going on, on the field. But his players don’t. That is USC’s problem. He’s supposed to impart training and knowledge to his kids. He doesn’t. Another year is not going to change anything.

But man, that pseudo-A11 formation was a kick. Only the OBC.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Jan 2, 2009 12:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe you're right...

Although I’m hoping that he can make some assistant coaching hires that can address that problem.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 12:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, you may have your new guy already.

Ellis Johnson impresses the heck out of me. In the mundane, modest midwest, we’d hire a middle-aged guy like that to be HC. In the glitz that is the SEC, I guess you can’t. But at least Ellis Johnson’s unit was a credible DI defense this year. And when he talks, he reminds me of George Kennedy in Cool Hand Luke, and man, I would so listen to that guy.

He should’ve kicked ass though when that db kicked one of our guys. In our culture, Stross got benched when he spiked a touchdown pass. I think that if one of our guys kicked one of your guys, he’d have had to hitchhike back to Iowa.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Jan 2, 2009 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Someone should've kicked the ref's ass when they gave Cliff Geathers a PF for getting pushed by your QB...

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 1:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

You're right, the Manzi started it.

I guess the ref was just too embarrassed to flag a beanpole QB for picking a fight with your rush DE.

I guarantee you, that Manzi-shove will generate a roar at whatever post-season film session our guys enjoy.

Mr. Boh Knows ...

by Bellanca on Jan 2, 2009 2:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, guess I can't knock the balls it took for Stanzi to shove Geathers...

Anyways, knowing the losers we have on this USC team, we probably instigated it by trash talking while we were down by three TDs.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 2:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Spurrier

I’m willing to bet you can lay all this at his feet. I don’t know much about USC’s tradition / history (so please don’t skewer me if I get this wrong), but it seems that he’s trying to instill the same things at USC that he did at Florida. Only problem is that he’s getting the not-quite-1st-tier guys, and it leaves him with a bunch of thugs that play undisciplined football.

Spurrier always won by scoring points, by flying around the field, and by generally having more athletes than the other team. But when you’re playing with a group of guys that can’t “out-athlete” the other team, you’re left with mental mistakes trying to get ahead, stupid penalties, and players that kick the opposing team.

USC’s defense is legit, I’ll fully concede that, but unless Spurrier actually puts on a coaching hat (and not a golfing visor), I don’t see USC ever challenging for an SEC title. Am I wrong here Gamecock Man?

by imadirtyoldman on Jan 2, 2009 3:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No, you're right on the money...

I still think Spurrier is a solid football mind when it comes to drawing up offensive plays and the like. It’s not like we didn’t have open receivers out there. However, the performance of the QBs, the mental fallout of the WRs when the ball came their way, the penalties, and the thuggish attitudes I saw were all indicative of a team that wasn’t mentally prepared, hasn’t been taught how to execute when given the opportunity, and hasn’t been taught character and dignity (or is incapable of showing it, which again goes back to coaching and recruiting). Again, the contrast to Iowa was striking: the Hawkeyes are much greater than the sum of their parts, while the Gamecocks are much worse. Ferentz and his staff obviously get the most out of that group of players, which is as it should be.

As far as Spurrier goes, he needs to adjust, change his ways, and hire some more coaches like Ellis Johnson that can teach these offensive players how to execute. Either that or he needs to retire.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans. http://www.garnetandblackattack.com

by Gamecock Man on Jan 2, 2009 4:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Retire

He’s one guy who is showing that the game has passed him by. He used to get by with the attitude he had, back when players flying all around and speed was all you needed. But now, with coaches like Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, and even Bob Stoops, the name of the game is precision AND speed. You don’t get by simply by having the faster man anymore, which has got to just kill his arrogance and confidence.

And while we’re on the legit conversation — having watched the disparity in preparation yesterday, don’t you think it would be fun to see a Ferentz-coached squad with the athletes that Southern Cal or Florida gets? Man…I think that would be a fun squad to see.

Thanks for letting me crash your board, Gamecock Man. Best of luck next year.

by imadirtyoldman on Jan 2, 2009 8:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs