| Herald-Journal
This is certainly far from a normal college football season, and before Saturday’s 52-24 victory against South Carolina, this was a completely uneven LSU team.
The Tigers looked like a mere shell of the program that won the national championship last year after having a record 14 players summoned and the best recipient in the country – Ja’Marr Chase – choose not to play.
With its only win against Vanderbilt and defeats to the state of Mississippi and Missouri, LSU seemed to be there to be taken by a South Carolina team that won twice in a row, found a featured running back and a defense that seemed to have started to overcome some hiccups that occurred in the first weeks.
Take into account that the LSU defense had been porous, the racing game non-existent for two of its three games and the Tigers were forced to start freshman teen quarterback JT Finley against the USC due to an injury. He had never taken a picture of the college before the game started on Saturday.
Also consider that participation in Tiger Stadium (with a capacity of just over 102,000) was announced as 21,855 due to the pandemic. This has allowed Gamecocks to have a much more peaceful primetime existence in a place where LSU coach Ed Orgeron told ESPN last year it is “where opponents’ dreams die.”
This was an ideal time for South Carolina to begin an upward trajectory of the program. A win would have improved Gamecocks to 3-2 with rare consecutive wins against Auburn and LSU and given them a lot of positive energy towards next week’s opening date. Additional time to heal some bumps and bruises and get ready for another classified opponent at home in two weeks with Texas A&M arriving in Columbia.
More: Three things to know about Kevin Harris of South Carolina, who made it into the top 100 for the third time this year
It seemed to be the perfect storm. Instead, USC produced its worst performance of the season and lost 52-24. LSU scored touchdowns in all three phases – offensive, defense and special teams – while USC could do very little right.
“We were beaten and beaten. It can be like that, ”said USC coach Will Muschamp. “You give them credit.”
When asked if he thinks his team has missed a great opportunity to achieve an important victory against a team that plays a quarterback with no previous experience, Muschamp replied: “I don’t think there is any doubt. Whenever you have a schedule of 10 games for the conference, everything wins big. You have an opportunity with Texas A&M to come to Williams-Brice in two weeks. “
Quarterback Collin Hill, who completed 12 of the 22 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown and had his only interception returned for a touchdown, said: “I think the level of frustration is too high” regarding his team’s performance.
“It was a great opportunity for us, coming out of two wins and we were ready to go, but we didn’t make enough plays,” said Hill. “We all felt it was a great opportunity for us, especially in a week of farewell and in the second half of the season, but they overcame us tonight.
Linebacker Ernest Jones, one of the few defenders of the USC able to do this with 19 tackles (only one other player on each team had more than seven), said his team realized they missed a golden opportunity.
More: Five conclusions about South Carolina’s defeat Saturday night at LSU
“It’s very frustrating,” said Jones. “I thought we had a good game plan and we just didn’t do it. It’s frustrating, and we definitely, as a team, wanted to win this game and we just couldn’t do it. “
So now Gamecocks are forced to sit on it for a while without a game to play next weekend. Instead of walking around the football facility with an additional leap in his collective stride and a growing sense of confidence, he is back on the drawing board for a program that has apparently been in perpetual regrouping mode for several seasons.
With only five games remaining on the conference-only schedule, there are no easy wins for USC. The season could start to take a sinister turn if the team lets this defeat hang over their heads
“It’s okay to feel that way now, but it shouldn’t be long,” said Hill. “It’s time to be frustrated and if you don’t, there is a problem. We just have to be ready for this farewell week to improve and prepare for the end. “
Jones said, “What I’m going to tell the guys is that we have to keep fighting. We have to take it and continue. “