In a previous post, we laid out 4 keys for the CFA Bowl. Let’s review:
1. Get #21 on Track. FAIL. He came out gang busters, with one over-the-shoulder catch for a big gain on the first series. But the hit (a clean one, by the way) on Latti at the end of the first series spelled doom for this key and, in the end, for the Gamecock’s hopes. Nice to see Bmad and Miles fight and claw for yards, but they don’t have the quick feet and wide angle lenses of Lattimore. The murmurs of worry and disbelief in the GA Dome as #21 lay motionless on the ground were widespread. Glad the kid’s OK, and that we will see him on his Heisman run next year and beyond.
2. Stout, opportunistic defense. FAIL. Stout? Well, for the most part, yes. But opportunistic? Utter fail. How many fumbles did we NOT recover? How many picks did we NOT grab? I lost count. I loved these guys and their effort on Friday night, but the inability to take advantage of FSU miscues was a big part of the loss.
3. Smart, efficient play from the quarterback position. FAIL. Do I need to even get into this one? Three picks on three successive series (and a slew of other bad reads) were absolutely fatal to the Gamecock’s chances. Again, I like how he kept his head up, and he bounced back for a couple of good 2nd half drives, but in the end Garcia’s play was not what we needed to win. An interesting side note: Spurrier stuck with him despite the repeated picks – what does that tell us?
4. Run back a kick. FAIL. /shugs shoulders /vomits /shugs shoulders /whimpers
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