Saturday News and Notes: More Musings on Ole Miss-USC and Other News from Around the SEC

by Gamecock Man on Sep 26, 2009 6:29 PM EDT in Football Comment 4 comments

Dr. Saturday sums up my thoughts on our red-zone issues pretty well. It's not only frustrating that we're not getting it done inside the 20; it's perplexing. We have a mobile quarterback, several huge receivers that should be able to catch the jump ball, and two bruising backs in Brian Maddox and Patrick DiMarco that can both run, catch, and get yards after contact. We would appear to be well-equipped to score TDs on the goal line, yet we aren't doing it. Part of the problem, of course, is that we're killing ourselves with penalties. Not only did we have yet another Tori Gurley TD called back on a penalty Thursday night; we also lost goal line opportunities when penalties pushed us back behind the 10. We also, though, just aren't gunning as aggressively for the end zone as we might be. Spurrier and his crew have this offense working like a machine between the 20s; they need to figure out how to maximize their ability inside the 20, too. If we can start converting more often, this team could transition into a legitimate threat to win the conference.
I said it after the game and I'll say it again: Spencer Lanning deserves a lot of credit for his performance against Ole Miss. The tackle he made on Marshay Green showed a lot of heart and changed the game. And while none of them were long kicks, he continued to get it done kicking field goals. He also had a couple of impressive punts. Great performance.
Also on the topic of special teams, I thought we did a good job with kickoffs against Ole Miss. It wasn't pretty, and I'm not happy that we're content to use gimmick kickoffs to make sure we stop returns around the 30, but, at the same time, anything is better than what we saw against Georgia and Florida Atlantic.
As you probably know, Travian Robertson is out for the year. Robertson was playing well and it's really a shame we lost him. However, with Ladi Ajiboye back, Nathan Pepper likely as close to full speed as he'll ever be by the Kentucky game, and Melvin Ingram playing well, I think we can weather losing Robertson for the time being. If we lost any of those three players, though, we're going to be in big, big trouble.
Some rival fans have represented Stephen Garcia's performance in a bad light. I disagree. True, Garcia wilted a bit late in the game. However, he was obviously playing hurt, and likely just ran out of steam. Until that point, he had played a pretty good game, all the while taking a serious beating from Ole Miss's defensive ends. He deserves credit for playing well as long as he did. Moreover, he deserves credit for not throwing any interceptions. While we need to improve in the red zone to truly take the next step as an offense, we can likely continue to at least be competitive if Garcia and the offense protect the ball, score a reasonable number of points, and let the defense do the real work. Last year, Garcia and Smelley threw so many interceptions that the defense never had the chance to do what they did against Ole Miss. That's not the case this year.
Speaking of interceptions, our secondary needs to learn to catch the ball. They played a great game, but this could have been an epic defensive performance if we could have pulled in the three or four easy interceptions Jevan Snead served up.
I've long thought Houston Nutt is an overrated coach, and this game certainly didn't change my opinion of him. Having 12 men on the field on the last play aside, I'm most perplexed by how little he got the ball in Dexter McCluster's hands. McCluster is obviously that offense's best player, and it showed when McCluster started getting carries late in the game. Where was he through the first three quarters? And why wasn't he getting the ball more on the final drive? Nutt is, and has always been, a great motivator and decent coach that is capable of playing the spoiler role pretty well. However, he's never had much success while in the spotlight, likely because he just can't hack it with the big boys. Ole Miss fans got to see the best of Nutt last year; this year, they may get to see the other side of things.
Alabama and Arkansas are going at it late in the third quarter, and the Tide has shut down what appeared to be a great Arkansas offense. I'm dreading playing the Tide in a few weeks. That's what a top five team really looks like.
Speaking of defense, our "brethren" from the upstate are currently battling TCU right now in Death Valley. The score is 14-10 TCU, but the Tigers are driving. I'm not really sure what to make of this Clemson team, other than that C. J. Spiller is one of the best all-purpose athletes in the country. I'll sure be glad when he's gone next year.

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Comments

Good points

I hope in the rush to write off Ole Miss, rather than credit USC, the pollsters/coaches will take a long look at the other “top” teams to struggle this weekend … running the gamut from Cal and FSU … both losing ugly … to Michigan barely squeaking by Indiana.

USC should enter both polls at a respectable 20, and Ole Miss should not fall below 15 … though that is what I think should happen, but the talking points on the game (that Ole Miss is really bad … even fat Verne Lundquist was joking at UM’s expense during the Bama/Arkansas game) … .will hurt both teams.

Bluntly, if either USC or Ole Miss traveled to the “Big House” in Ann Arbor today, both would have come away with a decisive victory.

Losing Travian is a nightmare.

Like you, I’m curious why we didn’t see more McClusker. Nutt’s whole "next thing we know it’s third down is mystifying … why didn’t they go to him on 3rd? Bizarre, though I doubt its a mistake Nutt will make next week against Vandy.

by tryptic67 on Sep 26, 2009 7:10 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks for coming by.

I also think Ole Miss is better than they’re getting credit for being. This wasn’t their best game, for whatever reason, and I expect you’ll see them reassert themselves against Vandy next week. A little bit better protection for the quarterback—and they’ll get that as the young line matures—and better utilization of McCluster should go a long way for the Rebels.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Sep 26, 2009 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Say what you will about Steven Garcia,

but he’s doing what is asked of him. He takes care of the ball and he’s making plays when he has to. I hope the fourth quarter of the game had more to do with him being injured than anything else, but we won’t know that until a few weeks from now. He remains somewhat of an enigma. Anyways, I hope he and Tebow both are able to recover over the next few weeks. Although I’m never overly sad when an opposing player goes down, concussions are another matter. I don’t know if you all have been following the medical reports coming out about NFL players over the past few years, but this is a serious issue. Concussions generally require a few weeks to heal properly, and even then players that get them are pre-disposed to get them again. Unfortunately, the football culture doesn’t allow players to get the care they need all the time, and I have a feeling Tebow will be pressured back before he is truly better. Anyways, what was I talking about…oh yeah…

Can you imagine how our team would have performed last year if Chris Smelley had only performed up to this year’s Garcia? Looking back now, I am truly surprised we were able to win as many games as we did.

Dum spiro spero - "While I breathe, I hope"
State motto of South Carolina

by The Feathered Warrior on Sep 27, 2009 12:40 AM EDT reply actions

We might have won 9 or 10 games last year with this year's Garcia at quarterback...

Last year’s defense was deeper and more experienced and could have won games like Vandy and LSU for us if we hadn’t screwed the pooch with our crappy offense. I don’t think Garcia is the only thing better about this year’s offense, though. Our line and running backs are better this year, for one thing. I’d sure love to have Kenny McKinley and Jared Cook back, though.

Garnet and Black Attack: A Blog by and for Gamecocks Fans.

by Gamecock Man on Sep 27, 2009 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions

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