COLUMBIA – They didn’t give up and deserve to be praised for that. South Carolina could easily have accepted the COVID-19 apology and vacated the rest of this season, instead of playing Saturday against No. 9, Georgia, despite losing 25 players on the first game list.
The fact that there is a vast majority of players still fighting for the USC and that there will be a new coach after next week’s game alleviated the pain of the expected 45-16 victory in Georgia. Of course, this season should be forgotten and the Gamecocks (2-7) didn’t stand a chance on Saturday against a massively superior team.
But USC did not play like that. She fought, although with so much absent personnel (three more starters, including excellent receiver Shi Smith and SEC leader JJ Enagbare, were out and lead striker Ernest Jones did not play the second half), it was David vs. Goliath.
David just didn’t have enough stones.
“Part of being a man is that you don’t make excuses and you don’t allow people to make excuses for you. It’s how you respond to that, ”said interim coach Mike Bobo. “We went there and played ball. If you are out in the field and wearing a Gamecock uniform, you need to fight yourself. “
What worked
The Gamecocks never gave up, scoring 10 points after Georgia gained a 21-0 lead. Bobo was not afraid to return to the pit by surrendering to Kevin Harris as he continued his search for 1,000 yards (he is 72 yards away) and he made a neat move to prepare for the first USC touchdown.
The new starting quarterback Luke Doty launched for Harris on a sweep, which launched for Josh Vann coming in the opposite direction, which launched back for Doty. Doty then shot the field to find tight end Nick Muse on the move for a 35-yard gain.
Doty did not play badly, but the holes he went through against Missouri were not there against Georgia’s top-ranked race defense. Even without his main receiving target, Doty went 18 from 22 to 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
His running ability was crushed. Counting the distance of four bags, Doty ran 15 times for less than 15 meters.
Muse was better known for the passes he dropped than the ones he took when Collin Hill was QB. With Doty under the center for the last six quarters, Muse managed 13 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown.
“We know each other very well, we go out almost every day,” said Muse. “Here, on the football field, I think he trusts me.”
What went wrong
The defense was allowing holes wide open for long runs in the middle. The excuse / reason was that the Gamecocks were playing with three of their starting eleven players from Week 1, and dropped to two after the break.
It was still disconcerting to see that happen over and over.
The question was raised as to the last time Georgia had three 100-yard running backs in the same game. The Bulldogs only had one Saturday (James Cook, with six runs for 104 yards and two TDs), but they could have had four (60 yards spread over the other three would do that).
“It is very frustrating to lose your best players and feel that you need to start from the bottom of the depth table,” said safety Jammie Robinson, who led the team with 10 tackles and had an interception. “The guys who arrived did their best.”
Kicker Mitch Jeter kicked two kickoffs off the court. USC allowed a 52-yard punt return. Quan White hurt a kickoff back into the end zone and barely left before being tackled on the 1-inch line and Parker White had a blocked PAT.
Behind 28-10, the Gamecocks were driving and faced a quarter to one. After a timeout, Jalen Brooks was signaled by a false start, making it room for 6.
It was a 53-yard field goal attempt and White, consistent with less than 50 yards in his career, but 1 of 8 to more than 50, was called up. Your attempt was not a good one.
Inflection point
The pre-match injury / opt-out report listed 13 starting players on the sideline, with a further 12 non-participants behind them. It’s amazing that Gamecocks really had enough to play.
Looking forward
The Gamecocks conclude the regular season in Kentucky on December 5th.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.