Post Game: Carolina vs Ole Miss
Where do the Gamecocks go from here on offense?
Gamecock Football is life for many of us. We watch and read about what happens during the offseason, we happily spend our hard-earned dollars travelling to home and away games, and we put our heart and soul into every gameday atmosphere that I personally think is one of the best in the world. Since 2015, Spurriers last season, there hasn’t been a lot to be excited about with what we have on the field. Sure, we have exciting moments like ending the season 2 years ago with two great games against UT and Clemson (and frankly Notre Dame), but if the goal is consistency, we haven’t had that in a decade. That is almost hard to fathom after the run we went on from 2010-2013, but here we are. If there is a silver lining to any of this, our defense is really good, recruiting is excellent, and the “Fire Clayton White” people have been silenced. I feel like we are only going to get better on that side of the ball as the year progresses. Offense is another story.
I’m going out on a limb as I know I’m in the minority on this, and some of you may considerably roll your eyes, but our offense is vanilla because of the player who is running it, not the coach calling the plays. There is something going on with Sellers and I’m not sure what to make of it. When he has time, he doesn’t always throw a good ball or to the open man. He definitely doesn’t get the ball out of his hands fast enough, and when he did at times Saturday, our receivers snagged them up or a good defensive play was made to knock it loose. Is it his youth? Nerves? Pressure? We’ve seen him throw insane balls (Furman last year), and we’ve seen him make some first downs with his feet when the pocket collapses. I’m not here to knock our players, nor do I want to be a negative sorter, but something is just off to me. He isn’t playing like an SEC QB. Just look at some of our back-ups through the last decade that came in and played better in one game. Is it the offensive coordinator or the players not making plays? That’s the argument that we as fans are going to have for the foreseeable future. I hope the light comes on for Sellers and Loggains this week. We need #16 to play well in Tuscaloosa and I truly feel like he is capable; he showed that against LSU. We can’t have him throwing picks like the one in the endzone or overthrowing open players. It will be a route if he does.
We had more yards yesterday than we did against Old Dominion, and that’s alarming. Simon dropped a TD and Sellers airmailed a ball on a walk-in score that was drawn up perfectly. If I could take 3 offense plays in the game and change how our players made plays with the play call that we drew up, it would be those 2 and the missed field goal. That makes the game 27-20, and ¾ of our fans wouldn’t have been gone mid-way through the 3rd quarter. It wouldn’t have felt like we absolutely suck. Loggains has some work to do for me to get behind him as our OC, but we were in position yesterday on multiple occasions because of his play calling, like it or not. It leaves me in limbo on whether or not it’s the call or the ones executing. Numbers don’t lie, and Loggains’ numbers at South Carolina aren’t good. I won’t argue that.
One thing to keep in mind while looking in the mirror at our own program: college football in 2024 is anyone’s game. Ole Miss looked unstoppable, and then lost to Kentucky whom we killed. Alabama looked great and lost to Vandy who lost to Georgia State. Tennessee’s potent offense had as many yards as we did Saturday, and lost to Arkansas, Michigan has 2 losses, and a Miami team who probably should have 2 losses is in the top 10 at 6-0. If you think recruits are just looking at losses, trust me when I say that they are looking across the country, not just in Columbia. We need to keep playing with grit on defense, and we need to shake things up on offense. Whether that is finding an identity, simplifying, or giving someone else a chance to run it, something different needs to happen next week in Tuscaloosa.
Let me also say that Sellers is one player that I’ve had the privilege to meet, and he is as nice a guy as you can come across. Extremely polite, professional, smart, and represents USC exactly how you would want a player to represent your Alma Mater. In no way would I not want him to succeed, but I want the Gamecocks to succeed on the field more than one player. This is a big game for Sellers in Tuscaloosa, and it doesn’t get any easier after that. These coaches know something has to improve, and scoring 3 points with 300+ yards is not going to cut it. My wife is a Bama grad, so I’m praying the Gamecocks can get back to how they played against LSU. Roll Cocks Roll this week in my house.
The Good: Mazeo Bennett is a great receiver and is showing some brilliance in his route running and yards after the catch. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in ability and skill. Gage Larvadain had his best game so far with 5 catches, and if I’m not mistaken was the player overthrown for the walk-in score. He should have had 6 with a TD.
The Defense. I don’t think we had our best game against Ole Miss, but minus 3 stupid/bad plays, we would have held them to under 400 yards and 20 points.
The Bad: Jared Brown falling shy of the 1st down stick with 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Was the pass so bad he couldn’t keep his balance? If so, that’s two wide open men on a drag route that we couldn’t execute (the missed TD was the other), and this one was absolutely brutal. It not only killed a drive where we could have scored before the half, but it allowed them time to score. Remember those 3 plays I said I’d like back…this would have been the 4th. If that play was as it should have been with a simple pitch and wide open catch, Ole Miss scores 20 points in this game. That should have been good enough to win. Dart was 51%.
The Ugly: I’m not sure what Dylan Stewart was doing when he pulled what he pulled, but I hope that it’s addressed. It was immediately flagged as it should have been and shared by millions within an hour of him doing it. It’s not the look anyone wants for our school, but he’s a kid and what’s done is done. Address it in the locker room, if not already, and move on. For me, that was uglier than our offense.
As far as the extra curriculars of the weekend, it was a blast. I went to the World Whiskey Fair with G.C. and tried as many whiskies as we wanted from South Carolina to Kentucky…even had a scotch or two. It was great to see my friends from High Wire Distillery and Broad Branch at their booths as well. Natalie from Broad Branch told us that a multiple people mentioned our Gamecock Bourbon private barrel with them as being excellent or one of their favorites of the year. They were very thankful for that exposure, and it made me feel good for our society and everyone who supported us on the barrel pick.
After the event, I had a great dinner at Hall’s Chophouse with CB90, Cornbread Cowboi, and right next to us was Joe Rice. Hall’s is always killer, and it’s not every day one of the wealthiest USC alumni and namesake of our Law School sits next to you on a bench. After we left, went to Jeff O’Hara and Tanneyhill’s place(CB18 Bar & Grill) to see a college band in 5 points, and then finished the night with friends on a back deck in Rosewood. Reflecting on Friday, it was one of those nights where I felt like I was in college again. Not something I want to do every day, but it sure was great to leave the destruction in Aiken behind for about 30 hours. We still are without power at my house but staying resilient with great friends and family. Seeing the flags at half-staff hit different this weekend knowing my home was part of the reason for it. I appreciate the University for that, and for the link to help those that need it.
I saw a ton of people yesterday that always make my trips to Columbia a little more special, and If I mentioned everyone by name, the list would be around 30 people. Just know I appreciate seeing and catching up with all of you. Nothing but laughs and good times, and that is what keeps us all coming back each Saturday in the fall. Even if the fall is 90+ degrees in the direct sun. Cheers to y’all who stuck it out Saturday.
Forever to Whiskee!