COLOMBIA – What can South Carolina do when its only reliable receiver is missing?
Or when eight of the 11 starting defenders at the opening of the season were not playing on Saturday’s 45-16 row in Georgia’s 9th position, with a ninth, leading striker Ernest Jones, sitting in the second half with an injured ankle?
It’s not like anyone is questioning whether Gamecocks say they can’t play, because there is a useful excuse available that has affected almost every other team in the country. And it’s not like USC fans care to cancel the games, because it’s better to just finish this season, hire a new coach and start to restore hope.
I can not do this. Especially with so many who want to wear that uniform so badly.
“I just challenged the guys, another opportunity to fight, and let’s find out who wants to fight,” said interim coach Mike Bobo. “If you want to fight, they’ll be on the plane going to Lexington.”
Conclusions of the last home game:
Heart
Losing 45-10 in the quarter, USC had the ball on its own 2-yard line. The game is over.
Gamecocks refused to accept.
They marched 98 yards in 11 yards and scored a touchdown, because football is still fun, you know?
“That last drive kind of showed it right there,” said quarterback Luke Doty. “That last onslaught kind of showed the belief and the struggle we have in this team.”
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USC started at 2 on that final drive because Quan White fumbled in the kickoff, recovered him from the end zone and barely made it out before being approached. Gamecocks had a PAT blocked.
Scholarship expert Mitch Jeter started two off-limits kickoffs.
The new coach will have to review many things and the special teams will be a big problem. If only there was a candidate who grew up learning from his father, who believed in special teams that affect games, he gave Virginia Tech a nickname …
The Green Line
Do you know, when watching football, how TV teams always put a neon green line at 35 during a potential race to win the game, showing the reasonable point to get into the reach of the field basket?
If Parker White returns next year, they need to paint one on each 32-yard line at Williams-Brice Stadium.
It is a 49-yard field goal. The white is 54 out of 70 out of 49 yards or closer to a percentage of 77.1, which would be the second in school history.
It is not because he is 1 in 9 out of 50 yards or more, which makes his overall percentage 55 out of 79 (70 percent), not even in the top five in school history. This includes a loss of 53 yards on Saturday.
It’s not White’s fault. It is something he cannot do. As Clint Eastwood said in “Magnum Force”, a man needs to know his limitations.
It’s a pity that your coaches don’t know that.
Mist coming in
Later in the game, ominous and ominous clouds began to seep into the field.
It was either foggy or the USC administration changed its mind about Hugh Freeze.
The fog arrived at the Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. Archive / David Cloninger
Doctor!
The Gamecocks lost four more players after last week’s loss to Missouri and lost four more on Saturday.
Will Muschamp fired former strength coach Jeff Dillman, evidently in part because of the number of soft tissue injuries. Gamecocks avoided soft tissue injuries with the new man Paul Jackson, but now they are having more serious injuries.
Still in the mouth
Kevin Harris needs 72 running yards to reach 1,000 this season. The Gamecocks tried to take him there on Saturday, but Georgia’s defense was very strong.
Kentucky’s defense is the first in the SEC against the pass and the sixth against the race. There may be an answer there.
To go out or call something else
Players who choose to leave with three games to play, their expressed reasons (after the fact) and the comings and goings between ex-players and older ex-players were a hot topic last week. There is no right or wrong in the situation.
However, it is clear what Gamecocks want and need much more. Harris continued to grind, even when wrapped behind the line. Nick Muse managed eight passes for 131 yards on Saturday. Jones injured his ankle early in the game and hobbled for almost two-quarters.
Sadarius Hutcherson, who eloquently explained why he was unable to give up last week, is so dear that when his family was unable to be with him on the field on Senior’s Day, the entire offensive line ran so that they could be photographed with him.
These guys are winners, no matter what their track record. A full list of these guys will win in both areas.
Some wear the uniform and think they deserve it.
Others deserved it first and used it second.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.