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South Carolina must limit mistakes, play with energy and creativity
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There aren’t many moral victories in big time college football, but South Carolina’s effort in Saturday’s close loss to Texas A&M has to have the Gamecocks faithful feeling optimistic about the teams’ effort and mindset. A previous win over Vanderbilt also signifies the Gamecocks have bonded together in the wake of a sudden resignation by longtime coach Steve Spurrier.
Usually at this point in the season, teams are either just hitting their stride or screeching to a halt and going in reverse. South Carolina appears to have been strengthened by Spurrier’s departure, but unfortunately for them, they will face a Tennessee team on Saturday who is also coming into its own.
A popular pick to shake things up in what was expected to be a down year for the SEC East, Tennessee faltered out of the gate. All four of the team’s losses could have very easily had a different outcome if a play or two had gone the Volunteers’ way. They appeared to be in for a fight after one quarter in Lexington this past Saturday, but the boys in orange finally found their rhythm on the back of a multi-faceted run threat, with four players rushing for over 50 yards.
Tennessee needs just two wins in their final four games to become bowl eligible. Butch Jones’ team is more than capable of besting all four teams, but South Carolina will be more difficult now than it was just four weeks ago. Shawn Elliott’s energy on the sideline could get even the most casual of fans fired up for a Saturday showdown.
If South Carolina hopes to come out of Neyland Stadium with a victory, it will have to ride wide receiver Pharoh Cooper. The Gamecocks’ play callers have shown no fear of creating new ways to get the ball in the hands of their best player. Even with the amount of change the team has had to endure at the quarterback position, Cooper has amassed over 600 yards receiving. He has also compiled a rushing average of 6.5 yards per carry. Don’t be surprised if the coaching staff gets more and more creative with Cooper over the remainder of the season. The team is in nothing-to-lose mode.
Tennessee put up points against Kentucky in seemingly every way possible, but the Volunteers broke the game open on defense and special teams. Evan Berry, younger brother of UT legend Eric Berry, returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score, while fellow defensive back Cameron Sutton returned a punt 84 yards for another touchdown. The place for South Carolina to get tricky and creative is on offense, not on special teams or in stopping the run. The Volunteers have shown the ability to capitalize in both areas.
Against Kentucky last Saturday, Tennessee was able to disrupt the Wildcats’ offensive flow, allowing just 14 offensive points (the first score of the game was a UK fumble recovery for a touchdown). The Gamecocks must be bold in finding innovative ways to get their skill players outside of the quarterback position the ball.
Under the radar player to watch:
No team in the SEC is to be taken lightly, especially after USC’s gutsy performance last Saturday against Texas A&M, and Tennessee is entering a stretch of four winnable games as they make a push for a big name bowl. Look for the Volunteers to rest starting running back Jalen Hurd and backup Alvin Kamara a bit more than usual after the emergence of third-string freshman John Kelly on Saturday. Jones will want to make sure he has his top two backs as he tries to captain his team to an eight-win season by winning out the remainder of the season, and Kelly’s performance on Saturday should earn him more reps as Jones looks to conserve his top options. Kelly had 58 yards on 10 carries on Saturday, including a season-long 22-yard run. Before the game, he had gained just 88 yards on 21 carries.
A Lexington, KY native and graduate of the University of Vermont, Jarrett enjoys just about anything related to sports.
