Reborn offense, not Will Muschamp's defense, gives South Carolina hope
This past season, it seemed that Florida, Georgia and Tennessee were the only programs capable of winning the East.
Kentucky was stuck in neutral. Missouri featured a first-year head coach on the sideline. So did South Carolina. Vanderbilt was, well, Vanderbilt. None of them were ready to challenge for the division.
While the Volunteers were the overwhelming favorites at Media Days to emerge victorious in the East, ultimately it was the Gators making it to Atlanta for the second year in a row. UT ended up beating both UF and UGA, but that wasn’t enough. The Bulldogs — also employing a rookie coach — disappointed to some degree, too.
Florida, Georgia and Tennessee continue to be the marquee outfits in the division, but they’ll likely have more competition in 2017.
Mizzou doesn’t appear ready for prime time just yet, as coach Barry Odom has his work cut out for him. But Kentucky took out Louisville and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson last year. Tennessee fell to both USC and Vandy.
If there’s a team in the SEC’s lesser division primed for a breakout this season, it could be the one in Columbia — South Carolina, that is, not Missouri. Even more surprising, if the ‘Cocks do make the leap, it’ll probably be because of their offense, despite coach Will Muschamp’s reputation on the defensive side of the football.
It all starts with rising sophomore quarterback Jake Bentley, who was one of the conference’s out-of-nowhere newcomers a year ago.
The original plan was for Bentley to redshirt, as he arrived on campus young and should’ve still been in high school. Fellow 2016 QB recruit Brandon McIlwain was supposed to compete with senior Perry Orth for the job, not Bentley (below).
Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
However, through six games, the Gamecocks were 2-4 and going nowhere offensively — they resembled the same impotent attack they were the previous season. Muschamp flip-flopped back and forth between Orth and McIlwain with no distinct pattern. Neither proved to be very effective for any sustained period of time.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Muschamp pulled the redshirt off Bentley’s back and inserted him into the starting lineup for Week 8.
It was lowly Massachusetts in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium, but Bentley led South Carolina to a 34-28 win in his debut. With Orth and McIlwain in control, the Gamecocks failed to top 20 points even once.
Just a week later, Bentley upset Tennessee. Even if the Volunteers were beaten up a bit after consecutive losses to Texas A&M and Alabama — chaos was about to ensue in Knoxville — few people saw that one coming. For the second straight game, Bentley connected on at least 65 percent of his passes with 2 TDs through the air against zero INTs.
The 6-foot-3, 223-pounder made it three in a row in a 31-21 triumph over Missouri, which put USC in the barn for bowl eligibility.
Most of the highlights ended there for Bentley and Co. Facing three ranked foes in their next four, they were outclassed each time.
Nevertheless, the arrow appears to be pointing up for the ‘Cocks with Bentley now firmly in command of the offense. Additionally, a supporting cast that was largely anonymous last season looks ready to bust out big time.
Rising sophomore running back Rico Dowdle (below) ran for 127 yards vs. Tennessee, 147 vs. Missouri and a whopping 226 vs. Western Carolina. Backing him up will be A.J. Turner — another rising sophomore. He posted an impressive 113 yards on the ground in a loss to Texas A&M on only 10 attempts.
Another one to watch in the backfield is Ty’Son Williams, who sat out last year as a transfer but got rave reviews on the scout team.
Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Not only does Bentley have help in the backfield, but the passing game features a legitimate No. 1 receiver and a reliable safety valve at tight end. Those are two key components when it comes to developing a signal caller.
Rising junior wideout Deebo Samuel tied a school record with 14 receptions — the departed Pharoh Cooper never had more than 11 — in the Birmingham Bowl defeat to USF, racking up 190 yards and a touchdown in the process. Tight end Hayden Hurst, another rising junior, will be a preseason All-SEC selection in all likelihood.
Don’t get too excited. South Carolina was 13th in the league in total offense last year and 14th in scoring. The potential is there, though.
“To be real explosive,” Bentley said Monday when asked what his goals are for this coming season. “I feel like we have the weapons now with Rico and Ty’Son, and receiver-wise (they are) some of the best in the nation. If we can just keep growing and getting better, we can be really good.”
Just like seemingly every passer in the country these days, with a few notable exceptions, Bentley will be expected to run the offense at a faster pace now that he’s more experienced. It’s been a focus for the Gamecocks this spring.
“I think it would be a way to change the pace of the game for us,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll use it all the time, but I definitely think it’s something we can use to give defenses a different look and it can really help us.”
The East feels more open than it was a year ago. Despite being two-time defending champ, Florida is yet to settle on a field general. Most of the star power on Tennessee’s roster has been gutted. Georgia will surely win the annual beauty contest in Hoover — unlike the Vols, most everyone is back — but still has questions marks.
If Bentley, Dowdle, Samuel and Hurst keep on their current trajectories, then the division would be unwise to engage the ‘Cocks in any shootouts.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
