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Thoughts on Vandy game- post yours here.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 7:02 am
Posted on 9/2/16 at 7:02 am
It wasn't pretty, but I think we knew that going in. Defense did look to be improved. Definitely some more improvements to be made. Offensively, I thought both QBs looked good. Mcilwain hasn't been popped by a defender yet so coughing up the ball is always a possibility. The wrs in the first half didn't do us any favors with the drops. IMO ropers offense was effective once catches started being made. It opened up the run for Turner nicely. Edwards and fry carried us home.
8
Posted on 9/2/16 at 7:15 am to GameCocky88
Lots of positives to take. Young players have to learn how to win games like that, so last night helps.
Edwards and Turner are both going to be studs. I liked how we used both QB's, and I think we will see more of that next week in Starkville. The defense looked solid. I thought that Stallworth was our best DL, and then Holloman, DJ Smith, and King all played really well. We needed last night bad, and we got it. Can't ask for any more than that. Time to improve and get ready for Miss State.
Edwards and Turner are both going to be studs. I liked how we used both QB's, and I think we will see more of that next week in Starkville. The defense looked solid. I thought that Stallworth was our best DL, and then Holloman, DJ Smith, and King all played really well. We needed last night bad, and we got it. Can't ask for any more than that. Time to improve and get ready for Miss State.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 7:28 am to GameCocky88
Character. Like Lattimore said, "Adversity introduces a man to himself." This team was faced with adversity. They've been told by the media for 8 months that they are shite. Vandy was a 5 pt favorite. This was an away game. We were down 10 points...but our guys never quit. We kept pushing and making enough plays to win.
Our defense showed dramatic improvement from last year. We allowed 100 yards less Passing/Receiving and we allowed a smaller YPC for Rushes. Our offense needs a lot of work. It took too long for Orth to get in sync and the WR's were dropping too many passes that hit them in the hands.
We are going to need to play much better than that to beat Miss St, but right now...we are NOT LAST!!!
Our defense showed dramatic improvement from last year. We allowed 100 yards less Passing/Receiving and we allowed a smaller YPC for Rushes. Our offense needs a lot of work. It took too long for Orth to get in sync and the WR's were dropping too many passes that hit them in the hands.
We are going to need to play much better than that to beat Miss St, but right now...we are NOT LAST!!!
Posted on 9/2/16 at 7:46 am to CockInYourEar
One thing that I think went unnoticed was their last drive. Their own is not a threat, the only offensive weapon the have is Webb, top rusher and receiver. Because of this we were in contain of him for the whole game. Their last drive was the only time a true pass rush was dialed up and they got the sack on back to back plays.
Smith in the slot is concerning. Drops balls and looks to be shying away from contact. Maybe Pollard to slot is the move?
Smith in the slot is concerning. Drops balls and looks to be shying away from contact. Maybe Pollard to slot is the move?
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:04 am to GameCocky88
I think David Williams solidified the fact that he will never be a factor at South Carolina.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:16 am to GameCocky88
30304 announced attendance. after watching the replay, there had to be 15K Gamecocks in the stadium. the EZ seats were about 50/50 G&B vs White and Carolina owned its visitors section all the way out to the 45 yard line. 
Defense - tackling was much improved outside of 2 possessions where USC seemed to get a bit gassed.
LBs were solid overall. Walton (5 Solo/1 Assist) & Holloman(2S/3A) both mixed it up pretty good. BAW(1A) appears to hate contact and that's a concern considering the position he plays.
DL was night & day better from the past 2 seasons controlling the LOS up the middle. Stallworth and #18 Keir Thomas stood out being very active. Wonnum is gonna be good. Qua Lewis quietly had 7 tackles and looked good too. English could be an X factor as the season goes.
DBs played more aggressive than we've seen in some time. DJ Smith was flying around early and King will make his share of big plays (had a nice tackle for loss and PBU). Elder tied for team lead with 7 tackles (6 solo) and 1 PBU.
Carolina D forced 7 straight punts from 11:34 2Q to 11:23 4Q. (VU ran the clock out going to half on an 8th possession in that sequence). Gamecocks got 6 true "3 & outs" on 13 VU possessions.
Offense - as mentioned, dropped passes early killed a lot of possible rhythm. the 4Q TD drive saw Orth go 5 for 5 on the first 5 plays of the drive that moved USC from its own 16 across midfield to the V42. Turner, Orth & Deebo ran it the rest of the way to tie the game at 10.
USC's final 4 possessions before the 'kneel down'...
10 plays 47 yds = FG
6 plays 43 yds = Punt
9 plays 84 yds = TD
7 plays 36 yds = FG
loved the Deebo call to score the TD. Edwards is clearly legit. KC Crosby likes to mix it up blocking and had a nice catch to move the chains in 4Q.
others have already mentioned, it is time to find Turner's backup. hopefully Dowdle can get healthy and be that guy.
not gonna get too much into the QB situation, but McIlwain can be special. Orth got it done in the 2H and played like a SR should. I don't care who the QB is as long as the offense moves the chains and scores consistently.
Fry = Nails
Sean Kelly - 2 punts downed at the V7 were huge.
kickoff coverage - improved
punt coverage - still too many guys releasing downfield from the middle to keep Deebo from getting a chance at a return.
Muschamp told Todd Ellis on the GRN pregame interview he wanted his team to know that it is a 60 minute game no matter what happens early. his team got the message and the win.
edited - thx KingSlayer
Defense - tackling was much improved outside of 2 possessions where USC seemed to get a bit gassed.
LBs were solid overall. Walton (5 Solo/1 Assist) & Holloman(2S/3A) both mixed it up pretty good. BAW(1A) appears to hate contact and that's a concern considering the position he plays.
DL was night & day better from the past 2 seasons controlling the LOS up the middle. Stallworth and #18 Keir Thomas stood out being very active. Wonnum is gonna be good. Qua Lewis quietly had 7 tackles and looked good too. English could be an X factor as the season goes.
DBs played more aggressive than we've seen in some time. DJ Smith was flying around early and King will make his share of big plays (had a nice tackle for loss and PBU). Elder tied for team lead with 7 tackles (6 solo) and 1 PBU.
Carolina D forced 7 straight punts from 11:34 2Q to 11:23 4Q. (VU ran the clock out going to half on an 8th possession in that sequence). Gamecocks got 6 true "3 & outs" on 13 VU possessions.
Offense - as mentioned, dropped passes early killed a lot of possible rhythm. the 4Q TD drive saw Orth go 5 for 5 on the first 5 plays of the drive that moved USC from its own 16 across midfield to the V42. Turner, Orth & Deebo ran it the rest of the way to tie the game at 10.
USC's final 4 possessions before the 'kneel down'...
10 plays 47 yds = FG
6 plays 43 yds = Punt
9 plays 84 yds = TD
7 plays 36 yds = FG
loved the Deebo call to score the TD. Edwards is clearly legit. KC Crosby likes to mix it up blocking and had a nice catch to move the chains in 4Q.
others have already mentioned, it is time to find Turner's backup. hopefully Dowdle can get healthy and be that guy.
not gonna get too much into the QB situation, but McIlwain can be special. Orth got it done in the 2H and played like a SR should. I don't care who the QB is as long as the offense moves the chains and scores consistently.
Fry = Nails
Sean Kelly - 2 punts downed at the V7 were huge.
kickoff coverage - improved
punt coverage - still too many guys releasing downfield from the middle to keep Deebo from getting a chance at a return.
Muschamp told Todd Ellis on the GRN pregame interview he wanted his team to know that it is a 60 minute game no matter what happens early. his team got the message and the win.
edited - thx KingSlayer
This post was edited on 9/2/16 at 9:59 am
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:23 am to CockInYourEar
I can't fault Orth for taking so long to get in sync. When he was in during the first two series, he made good throws but had 3 drops out of 5 attempts. Once he was given the ball back after half, I thought he did pretty good. I can only remember one WTF throw and that was a ball he threw towards Hurst and Hurst was still running down the field, hadn't even looked back.
My biggest concern is slot receiver, I'll let the OL penalties slide for the first game. Was really hoping Smith would provide a spark though. Maybe it was nerves, who knows. Deebo and Edwards are going to be a pretty good combo and if we can find a good slot, we'll have plenty of options on offense that can keep us in most games.
I believe we'll be a scrappy team this year who will be in most all games until the end. We'll probably win a few we shouldn't and hopefully win the games we should. Regardless, more fight and effort in this team than I've seen in a while. Don't think I've seen that much fight in our boys since the Mizzou game a few years ago when Connor had the bum knee and led us on that amazing 4th quarter comeback.
My biggest concern is slot receiver, I'll let the OL penalties slide for the first game. Was really hoping Smith would provide a spark though. Maybe it was nerves, who knows. Deebo and Edwards are going to be a pretty good combo and if we can find a good slot, we'll have plenty of options on offense that can keep us in most games.
I believe we'll be a scrappy team this year who will be in most all games until the end. We'll probably win a few we shouldn't and hopefully win the games we should. Regardless, more fight and effort in this team than I've seen in a while. Don't think I've seen that much fight in our boys since the Mizzou game a few years ago when Connor had the bum knee and led us on that amazing 4th quarter comeback.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:34 am to 1801
quote:
BAW(1A) appears to hate contact and that's a concern considering the position he plays.
Caveat that I wasn't watching him all night but you're talking about the guy who pile drove Shurmur into the ground? Sure didn't look like he shied away from contact.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:35 am to lungbuster06
It was obviously a tale of two halves.
I loved how we used the pass to open up the run (what limited run game we had) in the second half. We found our go to WRs in Edwards and Samuel, mixing in the TEs and RBs as well. I thought Orth looked pretty composed especially in the 2nd half; McIlwain looked like a true FR, no surprise there although he was able to move the ball some.
Our defense was incredible, especially the front 7. I know it was only Vandy's offense, but we were able to stall their drives and not let them make too many big plays. We absolutely thwarted their running game. Against a better QB our secondary may have struggled but they will get better as the season goes.
And you can't say enough about Kelly and Fry, our kicking and punting were huge in this victory. This was a good test for an opening game and one our team should build on going forward. On a scale of 1-10 of how I felt about last night's game, I give it a 7.5 and expect to see more of the team that played in the 2nd half.
ETA: I just looked at the stats, I'm surprised that Vandy averaged 4 ypc against us last night. I thought it would be closer to 2.5, I guess our defense didn't thwart their run game nearly as much as I thought but we made plays when we needed to. Also, great pressure from our defense in the 2nd half.
I loved how we used the pass to open up the run (what limited run game we had) in the second half. We found our go to WRs in Edwards and Samuel, mixing in the TEs and RBs as well. I thought Orth looked pretty composed especially in the 2nd half; McIlwain looked like a true FR, no surprise there although he was able to move the ball some.
Our defense was incredible, especially the front 7. I know it was only Vandy's offense, but we were able to stall their drives and not let them make too many big plays. We absolutely thwarted their running game. Against a better QB our secondary may have struggled but they will get better as the season goes.
And you can't say enough about Kelly and Fry, our kicking and punting were huge in this victory. This was a good test for an opening game and one our team should build on going forward. On a scale of 1-10 of how I felt about last night's game, I give it a 7.5 and expect to see more of the team that played in the 2nd half.
ETA: I just looked at the stats, I'm surprised that Vandy averaged 4 ypc against us last night. I thought it would be closer to 2.5, I guess our defense didn't thwart their run game nearly as much as I thought but we made plays when we needed to. Also, great pressure from our defense in the 2nd half.
This post was edited on 9/2/16 at 8:40 am
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:38 am to CockHolliday
I'm just glad we won.
Gamecock fans in the state might mistake all this rain for the sky falling if we hadn't
Gamecock fans in the state might mistake all this rain for the sky falling if we hadn't
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:50 am to CockHolliday
quote:
ETA: I just looked at the stats, I'm surprised that Vandy averaged 4 ypc against us last night. I thought it would be closer to 2.5, I guess our defense didn't thwart their run game nearly as much as I thought but we made plays when we needed to. Also, great pressure from our defense in the 2nd half.
Yeah in the second half they were busting 9-12 yard runs a lot. I was concerned they were going to grind down the clock and beat us that way.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 9:03 am to 1801
quote:
ean Kelly - 2 punts downed at the V7 were huge
I need to look at the actual yardage but I felt like the punting was a weak spot. In the 2nd and 3rd quarter when the teams were exchanging punts back and forth it seemed like Vandy was winning the field position battle because our punts weren't going very far. Maybe that's just how it seemed live.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 9:32 am to theGarnetWay
I agree with ya overall Kelly didn't kick for yardage like he's capable, but he needed to pin VU back on 3 attempts and nailed down 2 of them.
all in 2Q
4th&8/V44 - downed at the V7. it happened on USC's possession after VU went up 10-0. they changed QB's and Carolina got the 3 & out.
4th&1/V44 - did it again at the V7. Shurmer came back in and went 3 & out.
4th&9/V45 - touchback. Vandy ran clock out for halftime.
all in 2Q
4th&8/V44 - downed at the V7. it happened on USC's possession after VU went up 10-0. they changed QB's and Carolina got the 3 & out.
4th&1/V44 - did it again at the V7. Shurmer came back in and went 3 & out.
4th&9/V45 - touchback. Vandy ran clock out for halftime.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 9:38 am to 1801
quote:
Muschamp told Todd Ellis on the GRN pregame interview he wanted his team to know that it is a 40 minute game no matter what happens early. his team got the message and the win.
I think he was hanging out with Frank Martin too much, someone might want to tell him football is 60 minutes. Just messing with you, man.
Overall, it's going to be a season of growing pains. Very happy for the players and the coaches that we pulled out a tough road win to start the season off with a positive. I'm no Orth fan, but I have to give him credit for doing a good job in the second half, and leading us to a win. Fry is pretty special, and has improved his range dramatically in the 4 years he has been here. Turner and Edwards were really impressive for freshman. Both showed up at winning time. The defense was much improved in stopping the run, though they did have a couple spots where they were gassed and lapsed a bit. Overall, a really good start to the season, but it's going to take a couple more strong recruiting classes to get back to being a threat to win the division.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 9:54 am to KingSlayer
quote:
I think he was hanging out with Frank Martin too much, someone might want to tell him football is 60 minutes. Just messing with you, man.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 10:31 am to GameCocky88
That team out there looked like Carolina. Scrappy, physical, and literally LOOKED like USC. Best uniforms we've had in ages. Even my brother, who is a UGA fan, said we looked like the Carolina teams he hated to play.
Also, Muschamp looked like JoeMo out there in the all black. Don't think that was a coincidence.
Also, Muschamp looked like JoeMo out there in the all black. Don't think that was a coincidence.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 10:40 am to GameCocky88
Penalties made that game unbearable to watch...
Posted on 9/2/16 at 10:44 am to GameCocky88
We almost never look good the first game. I always expect ugly games at first. We got the win. That's all that matters. I thought the defense looked much better. You can say it was Vandy all you want, but we were tackling better than usual...in the first half anyway. Seemed to have more arm tackles in the 2nd.
Offense was terrible first half. McElwain was a good runner, but needs to hold onto the football.
One step closer to bowl eligibility. I believe that is our ceiling this year and that's fine after last year's season.
Offense was terrible first half. McElwain was a good runner, but needs to hold onto the football.
One step closer to bowl eligibility. I believe that is our ceiling this year and that's fine after last year's season.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 2:38 pm to GameCocky88
One of the things I was most happiest to see was the fact that it appeared that our coaching staff made good halftime adjustments.
We've been missing that the past couple of years.
We've been missing that the past couple of years.
Posted on 9/2/16 at 8:42 pm to Mootsman
Too many penalties, but very happy with the defense. Would like to see more consistency on offense, but think it'll improve
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