The TRC triumvirate celebrates the return of college football, and walks through the Gamecocks’ season opener against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Among other things the boys discuss:
The performance of new starting QB Connor Mitch
Shon Carson superhero
The stellar (!) play of our offensive line
Bending but not breaking
Special teams excellence what???
Rubber Chicken Awards
Twitter Questions (please don’t be mad we were asked to talk about what QBs would not be on the roster next year and we are contractually obligated to answer all controversial Twitter questions.)
After a two-year absence, The Transitive Property Report has returned for 2015. What we do in the TPR is take a look at how our opponents and future opponents have fared against other competition. This allows us to, with complete accuracy, determine what our chances are against our own future opponents, and gauge how good or bad we actually are.
The results after week one can be easily summed up by paraphrasing The Lego Movie – EVERYONE IS AWESOME. I honestly don’t see us beating anyone besides Vandy and The Citadel based on how awesome every team was this weekend. But we can’t cancel the season, so I guess we’ll have to see how it plays out.
Week 1 Results:
North Carolina – Lost to South Carolina 17-13. Well this one is easy, right? We’re better
and we won. However, UNC still thinks they were the better team Thursday night, and for once I tend to agree with them. If not for a botched trip inside our ten yard line and a dropped pick six, they could’ve had a 21-0 first quarter lead. Fortunately the ball bounced our way and we escaped with a win. TPR for UNC: Here’s hoping they are a much better team in 2015. If they’re not, then it doesn’t say much for us.
Kentucky – Beat Louisiana Lafayette 40-33. The ‘Cats had this one well in hand until they didn’t. I wish this made me feel better about our game, but I still think it’s a one possession game. TPR for Kentucky: Putting it in the win column, but he confidence level is only medium.
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Georgia – Beat Louisiana Monroe 51-14. We got to see a new QB and the next next next next next next next next Herschel Walker between the hedges. Yawn. TPR for Georgia: Nothing learned here, but I still think UGA puts a fair whipping on us in Athens.
Central Florida – Lost to Florida International 15-14. Well, this helps. UCF has been a tough out for everybody the last couple of years, but losing your opener to FIU doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. TPR for UCF: Putting this one firmly in the win column.
Missouri – Beat SE Missouri State 34-3. Ah, hell, who knows. Maty Mauk was his usual wild ass self and the Mizzou defense doesn’t look like it’s skipped a beat without Shane Ray and Marcus Golson. TPR for Missouri: Stout defense, at their place, prospects for a win are grim.
LSU – Lost to Mother Nature, TKO. It’s rare for a college game to be cancelled due to weather and not rescheduled, but it looks like that is exactly what has happened to the Tigers. We’ll have to wait another week before we learn anything about the fighting Les Miles’s. TPR for LSU: Strangely feel good about this game, but that could change very easily.
Vanderbilt – Lost to Western Kentucky 14-12. Oh, Derek Mason, your cool new uniforms still cover up a horrible football team. TPR for Vanderbilt: Their defense will frustrate the bejesus out of us, but it’s still definitely a win, right?
Texas A&M – Beat No. 16 Arizona State 38-17. The most impressive win of the weekend for an SEC team because they actually played somebody. DE Myles Garrett is NFL-ready and he’s not even eligible to leave until 2017 (which means we have to play him TWICE). The offense will only get sharper. This team could win the SEC West. TPR for Texas A&M: Ugh. Moved from we have a chance to probably definitely a loss.
Tennessee – Beat Bowling Green 59-30. Good news for Vols fans: scored 59. Bad news for Vols fans: gave up 30. TPR for Tennessee: Vols are not quite ready for prime time, but Knoxville is a house of horrors for us.
Florida – Beat New Mexico State 61-13. Florida fans seem pretty happy with this start despite the level of opponent. Given their recent struggles in openers I don’t blame them. TPR for Florida: Still feeling like a win, but will have to keep an eye on these guys.
The Citadel – Beat Davidson 69-0. One of the top three scariest scores in the report, and I’m not kidding. TPR for The Citadel: Option offense + week before Clemson = load up on the Zantac.
Clemson – Beat Wofford 49-10. Did you know Clemson played THIRTEEN freshmen yesterday? Incroyable!!! I don’t quite understand how this is evidence that the Tigers are going to make an unimpeded run to the national championship, but they sure are spinning it that way. Of course, they spin everything that way. Side note: Did you see Tajh Boyd wearing a number 4 jersey on the sidelines for them yesterday? Am I the only one who thinks that’s incredibly awkward? Don’t most returning players wear a golf shirt on the sidelines or something, not the jersey of the current starting QB? TPR for Clemson: Probably better than us right now, but I’m going to lay this one at 50/50.
Shon Carson (surprise!) scores the winning touchdown vs. UNC. (Photo: thestate.com)
Some quick, barely researched, not fully-formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 17-13 victory over North Carolina:
A win is a win is a win. Look, folks, this might sound silly given it was the first game of the season, but this was a must win. With road games coming against UGA, Missouri, Texas A&M, and Tennessee, and home dates against LSU and Clemson, a loss to UNC would’ve given us very little room for error just to reach bowl eligibility. We didn’t seem to play with that kind of urgency for most of the game, but we made the big plays when they absolutely, positively had to be made. To win the games we are supposed to win, and maybe pull and upset or two along the way, consistent growth will be needed on both sides of the ball.
But for now, we’ll take the win and enjoy our long weekend. And who knows, maybe the Tar Heels turn out to be a pretty good team and this win looks a lot better in November.
Bending, not breaking. The rebuilt Gamecock defense looked much the same as last year’s group during most of the game, giving up huge chunks of yardage between the twenties. As The State pointed out, despite limiting the Tar Heels to 13 points, the Gamecocks gave up 440 yards and seven yards per play, which would’ve ranked last in the NCAA in yards per play last year.
But the Gamecocks came up with some key sacks, and of course three huge red zone interceptions to limit the damage. All in all, USC held UNC to only three points on three red zone opportunities, which is insanely good.
Is this defense improved? Definitely. But how much remains to be seen. Our defensive line upgrades were obvious, and our linebackers were solid as expected. The corners still gave a lot of cushion at the line of scrimmage last night, and when the UNC protection held up it was a pretty easy game of pitch and catch. Also, I have no doubt Isaiah Johnson is going to be a solid, solid player, but he was a little wild last night. He picked up an early personal foul penalty, and took a few bad angles and looks to be the type of guy who goes for the kill shot instead of wrapping up and making a tackle. Still, I like him a lot, and will chalk up last night to first game jitters.
Sack exchange. Last year we averaged 1.08 sacks per game. Last night we had four. We are more than one-quarter of the way to our entire sack total for last year. Isn’t getting pressure on the quarterback fun? Kudos to the defensive coaches and all the linemen who have worked so hard in the offseason. Special shoutout to Kelsey Griffin, who as I admitted last night, honestly didn’t know was still on the team. 😦
Mitch, please. Speaking of first game jitters, Connor Mitch had the proverbial deer in headlights look during the first quarter last night. He settled down and his short passes were mostly on target, and he made some nice runs, but we had no vertical game whatsoever. I’m not sure how much fault to put on 6 for that, as I’m afraid we are sorely lacking playmakers at the wide receiver position. Interested to see how he’ll respond in front of the home folks next week.
And the good news: 0 turnovers.
Evil person of slightly above average intelligence. Steve Spurrier said he called a lousy game last night, and I agree with him. But more annoying than simply the play calling is the fact the play calls aren’t making it to the field until late in the play clock. We’ve seen it for too many years now, the QB and other offensive players looking to the sidelines waving their hands in the universal sign for “COME ON, HURRY UP!” This gives very little time for the QB (or the coach) to survey the defense and change the play if necessary. It can also cost us to burn valuable time outs. I don’t expect this to get fixed overnight because it’s been going on for years, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.
(Side note: a delay of game on the first play of the season???)
House call. We’ve had a lot of fun at the expense of Shon Carson over the 12 years he’s been at South Carolina. But in the third quarter when we hadn’t seen him on the field at all – no kickoffs, no snaps at running back – I was honestly starting to feel bad for him. This was no way to spend his last season after all his ups and downs.
Then, bang, he’s in the game and off to the races with what turned out to be the winning touchdown, and I was giggling like a little schoolgirl. Good on you Shon, good on you. Now go do it again.
Carolina Skai. At one point yesterday I told my wife Pharoh Cooper was our best football player BY FAR. After last night I must say I don’t believe that any more. I’d go so far as to say Skai Moore is the Pharoh Cooper of the defense, the one player we couldn’t afford to lose on that side of the ball. He’s well on his way to an all-SEC season.
Machine Gun Kelly. Sit down for this, but (with the exception of a non-existent return game) special teams were downright great last night, led by walk-on punter Sean Kelly. Most people will focus on Kelly’s 17-yard run on a fake in the first quarter, but he averaged a stellar 46.2 yards per punt, and looked very adept at dropping the ball inside the 20. He’s going to be a nice weapon.
Also, Landon Ard was killing kickoffs out of the end zone, and the steady Elliott Fry went 1-for-2, with his miss coming from somewhere near North Wilkesboro.
Outlook. I feel like I’m coming off a bit negative as I wrap this up, so let me just state that I’m thrilled with the win last night. I just believe we have a lot of problems to fix, including one potential major problem that we can’t fix this year – talent. The biggest issues are on the offensive side of the ball, where we still don’t know what we have at QB and where we have only one player capable of changing a game.
That’s not to say we can’t still win more than we lose, but the game last night didn’t change my position that the ceiling for this team is probably 8 wins.
I can tell you that I’m looking forward to a little revenge next week against Kentucky.
We’ve waited for months, scoured every source, and strained for every tidbit for the better part of 2015. And all of that anticipation culminates with tonight’s kickoff against our powder blue neighbors to the north, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.
Don’t feel prepared? Don’t know what to expect from the 2015 Edition of the Heels?
Well, its time to get ‘Boned Up.
Remember, these are actual colleges with actual students:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a coeducational public university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “Carolina” (so-called) claims to be a “Public Ivy” as it purports to provide an Ivy League experience for public school pricesadmission standards eh, they get some public tax dollars. The university was founded in 1795, which makes it one of the few in the United States older than our own. The school’s endowment is north of $2.7 billion (that’s with a “B”) which compares to our own endowment of [redacted to save embarrassment – let’s just say we have a certain percentage of theirs and leave it at that]. The two schools have a similar enrollment, hovering in each case around 30,000 students.
Thought this was a furious sailor sea shell until I was ten years old
The school’s official motto is Lux libertas, which roughly translated means something about light and liberty but doesn’t really qualify as a complete thought or establish causation or anything. It also reminds me of the underappreciated 2010 movie Electra Luxx starring Carla Gugino and I’m sorry I just lost interest in latin phrases, universities, or even football for that matter.
Traditions
The university sports a tree that the founder, William Richardson Davie, planted that’s appropriately called the “Davie Poplar.” He’s long dead, and the tree is apparently near death, so the Tarheels are cloning them. Well, the tree anyway. They also have a gazebo that they call the “Old Well” which is based on a copy of a structure at Versailles that is itself a loose copy of an ancient Temple to Aphrodite, who didn’t exist. They have a statue of a soldier they call Silent Sam (since he’s a statue, he doesn’t talk – get it?) Silent Sam doesn’t have any ammunition on his belt for the rifle he is carrying. Because he’s a pacifist. Seriously, that’s what they claim.
The weirdest thing about them:
They cheat. A ton. I mean they take cheating to a level that almost has to be admired. For a school that purports to hold the highest academic standards, and loves to tout its own intellectual superiority, this pattern is particularly galling and ironic. Their own internal investigation found that UNC systematically kept student athletes eligible for over twenty year by enrolling them in classes that lacked textbooks, assignments, exams, and in some cases, even teachers. The NCAA has an open investigation into the matter, and serious penalties appear imminent. They better be serious anyway, given that these violations go to the very heart of the definition of student-athlete.
For comparison, we’ve been placed on probation by the NCAA during the recent past for such abominable crimes as tutoring a student too early, and having a private landlord work with some students who were behind on rent.
Moving on:
There’s no whitewashing the truth about UNC football – it plays second fiddle to the basketball program. And we take advantage of this lack of emphasis by recruiting the heck out of the state – the Charlotte area particularly. Occasionally we engage in heated recruiting battles with the Tar Heels, and once in a while we actually lose a common football recruit to them. Their starting left tackle, sophomore Bentley Spain, is one example as he spurned the Gamecocks (and others) to sign with North Carolina in 2013. Wide receiver Quinshad Davis is another example, and a South Carolina native at that, but I don’t think we pushed hard for his services for some reason.
The talent on the North Carolina roster appears to balance on the offensive side of the ball, and they return a ton of experience. Only their tight end, Kendrick Singleton, is new from last year’s starting eleven, and he’s a senior. Being a Larry Fedora coached group, their offense likes to stress opposing defenses with up-tempo, pass-happy attacks. When they’re clicking, the Tar Heels can score a ton of points.
Defensively, UNC was statistically even worse than our Gamecocks last year, and that’s no mean feat. Gene Chizik, late of the Finest Football Players and Championships That Money Can Buy University (also known as Auburn) took over the defense in the offseason, and his addition was a instant upgrade over former coordinator Vic Keonning.
In the end, we both have suspect defenses, with the ‘Heels having the more established offense.
One wrinkle to watch for this year:
Our new defensive approach, the much-ballyhooed ‘Tampa 2’ defense, usually asks the cornerbacks to jam wide receivers at the line, and then sink into zone coverage aimed at the short throws. The intermediate to long routes are then left to the linebackers and safeties. The Fedora Offense, on the other hand, emphasizes quick, high-percentage passes over longer patterns.
In other words, our cornerbacks are gonna be sore on Friday morning. The soundness of their tackling, both of the aforementioned quick passes and the UNC perimeter run game, will go a long way toward establishing the outcome of the contest.
But anyway. . . .
That player you are going to hate:
Junior Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer. He’s short, quick, and tough as nails. Last year he torched opposing defenses for 61 receptions and almost 700 yards. He is also an accomplished punt return man, and can lay the wood on a downfield block. He almost single-handedly beat Georgia Tech into submission last year. You’re gonna hate him.
The Enigma:
Cornerback Malik Simmons. After two off-season arrests, and one summer-long suspension, the senior defensive back lost a ton of credibility among the Tarheel fanbase. The coaching staff still loves the guy, however, as they were more than willing to reinstate him to the team just in time to start preseason practice. Whether his off-season troubles impact his on-the-field performance remains to be seen.
The Ingenue:
Freshman running back Ty’son Williams. If the ‘Heels have an offensive weakness, its their pedestrian running back corps. The former four-star recruit from SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN looks to move up the depth chart quickly. Let’s hope his emergence is still a couple of weeks away.
The thing that will tell the tale:
It’s an old saw, of course, but first games usually come down to turnovers and penalties. While that may favor the Tarheels (given their offensive experience), I’m going to take the advice of the HBC, and adopt a wait-and-see approach. After all, he says our guys are gonna “play their asses off.”
I’m not big on predictions, because I rarely get things right. For instance, in 2014 I had South Carolina at 10-2 prior to the start of the season. To be fair, most of us did, but we chose to ignore and/or be unrealistically optimistic about our defense.
This year, as stated on our last podcast, we know less about our Gamecocks as any team in recent memory. There are days I think we can play over our heads and win nine games, and there are days I feel like we will win as few as five. As I look at the 2015 schedule, my head tells me this year is going to be a struggle. But when I’m not looking at the schedule, my heart sees my beloved garnet and black running onto the field and stunning the SEC with a talented, overachieving, scrappy bunch worthy of their nickname.
So against my better judgment, I decided to let my head and heart go game by game and tell me how the season is going to play out. Here are the results:
North Carolina
Heart: We should never lose to North Carolina in football. We are the football school, they are the basketball school. They are a middling ACC team, we are a fair to middling SEC team. Advantage SEC and USC. Win. (1-0)
Head: UNC was good on offense last year and terrible on defense, as was USC. This season UNC will be just as good if not better on offense, and should be better on defense, while USC will most assuredly be worse on offense and better on defense. This tells me UNC has a good chance to win. However, my head also tells me that given the toughness of the schedule USC faces, this is almost a must-win game for the Gamecocks (strange to say for a first game, but true). Hopefully they will treat it that way. For that reason my head is saying win. (1-0)
Kentucky
Heart: It’s at home, and it’s payback time. Win going away. (2-0)
Head: My head says we come out with our hair on fire, but struggle down the stretch and hold on for a closer-than-it-should-be win. (2-0)
@ Georgia
Heart: Georgia leads the series 47-18-2, but is only 8-7 in the last 15 games against the Gamecocks. I don’t like our chances, but think we still have a chance. Unfortunately this game is in Athens, and much like us against Kentucky, it’s payback time. Loss. (2-1)
Head: UGA’s defense is LOADED. Our offense is not. Georgia has Nick Chubb. We do not. (You will argue we have Pharoh Cooper, which is fair, but he will get half the number of touches as Chubb, if that many.) This game would be a blowout if they had a QB. It still might be. Loss. (2-1)
Central Florida
Heart: We should not lose to Central Florida at home. Ever. Win. (3-1)
Head: We should not lose to Central Florida at home. Ever. But something tells me there will be a point in the game where we have serious doubts. Still, win. (3-1)
@ Missouri
Heart: Missouri is somehow the back-to-back SEC East Champions. But they lost a lot of key players on offense and defense. This is finally the year that the Tigers are who we think they are. Win. (4-1)
Head: Missouri is in ours. They find a way to win no matter how bad we disrespect them, especially since it’s at their place. Loss. (3-2)
LSU
Heart: LSU has their problems, especially at QB. But they’re also always more talented than us from player 1 to player 85. We squeak one out at home. Win. (5-1)
Head: We have two wins over LSU in 20 tries, with the last one coming in 1994. Leonard Fournette is a freight train, and the Tigers always seem to be bigger and stronger than us, no matter how good we are. Loss. (3-3)
Vanderbilt
Heart: A good break between LSU and TAMU. Win. (6-1)
Head: We can never seem to dismantle these guys like we should, even when James Franklin isn’t their coach. Regardless, we’ll win, but somehow it won’t feel good. (4-3)
@ Texas A&M
Heart: In my heart I feel like we’ll take one of two between TAMU and Tennessee. Don’t ask how, that’s why it’s a heart thing. Win. (7-1)
Head: Home team in black uniforms. Halloween. We’ve seen this movie before. (4-4)
@ Tennessee
Heart: Well, we beat TAMU, and I said we’d take only one of these two. Loss. (7-2)
Head: Tennessee beat us on our home field with an inferior team last year. They will boat race us on their home field with a now superior team. Loss. (4-5)
Florida
Heart: With all their personnel deficiencies, a first-year head coach and them coming to W-B, I think we play well and get the win. (8-2)
Head: They will shorten the game and make us sweat, but for the reasons above I think we win fairly comfortably. (5-5)
The Citadel
Heart: Low-stress day. Win. (9-2)
Head: High-stress day. Win. (6-5)
Clemson
Heart: We’ll come out inspired, shut down Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson, and have one of our best days offensively. Win. (10-2)
Head: You might not like to hear this, but somehow, over the course of 21 months, Clemson has managed to completely change the course of the rivalry back in their favor. They are currently better than us in practically every aspect of their football program, and have gained national respect while we have tumbled back into mediocrity. We just have to hope we can figure out a way to get the momentum back as quickly as we lost it. Unfortunately it won’t be this year. Loss. (6-6)
Final Tally:
Heart – 10-2
Head – 6-6
Honestly, 10-2 is a pipe dream for the 2015 Gamecocks, and I will gladly print out this blog post and eat it if we get to that mark or better. We’ll have to be much better than our roster currently indicates, and at least two teams will have to be worse than they are projected to be.
A 6-6 campaign or worse would be disastrous for USC in my opinion, and would probably lead to the end of the Steve Spurrier era. The most likely scenario is 7-5, with a ceiling of 8-4.
Prove me wrong boys, please prove me wrong. Go Cocks.
Billy Koehler writes college football commentary and analysis. You can find him at ThirdDownDraw.com or on twitter @BillyKoehler.
If you listened to the latest TRC Unleashed you heard them mention that we may know less about the 2015 South Carolina football team than any team in recent memory. Though true of the entire team this is especially true of the defense. Between new defensive coordinator Jon Hoke, closed practices and limited media availability, it’s tough to know exactly what the defense is going to look like, but here’s generally what to expect.
4-3
South Carolina will run its defense out of a base 4-3 set. 4-3 describes the personnel grouping that is on the field when the defense is in its main set. There will be four defensive linemen and three linebackers. This is very similar to the 4-2-5 that USC has been running for the last few seasons. The difference is that rather than having two linebackers and a Spur defender (who was a hybrid linebacker-defensive back) this defense will have three pure linebackers.
Nickel
In passing situations and against some offenses, notably spread teams, South Carolina will go to a nickel defense. A nickel defense is named because it has five defensive backs. To get the fifth defensive back on the field, South Carolina will substitute out a linebacker, and the resulting defense will look a lot like the old 4-2-5.
Personnel
The change from the 4-2-5 to the 4-3 isn’t a drastic one, which is good for South Carolina. Whenever a new coordinator with a new philosophy comes in he often has to find players that fit his system. That will not really be the case with South Carolina and Jon Hoke. Because the 4-2-5 and 4-3 are so similar, the players that have been recruited fit the new system just as well as the old system.
1 and 3 Techniques
Reports out of fall camp have talked a lot about the 1 technique and the 3 technique. These labels describe positions on the interior of the defensive line, specifically the defensive tackles. Numbered techniques, like the 1 and the 3, describe the position a defensive tackle lines up in.
A 1 technique lines up on the center’s outside shoulder. A 3 technique lines up on a guard’s outside shoulder. The 1 technique is a bigger defensive tackle who will be tasked with holding his ground and stopping the run, much like a nose guard. The 3 technique is usually a little more nimble, for a defensive tackle, and is more of a pass rushing threat.
One Gap and Two Gap
From a defensive perspective the spaces between the offensive linemen are called gaps. (On offense they’re called holes.) In different defensive schemes the defensive linemen are responsible for either one gap or two. Typically when a defensive lineman lines up directly across from an offensive lineman, the defender has responsibility for the gaps on either side of the lineman, two gap responsibility. Conversely, when a defender lines up on a lineman’s shoulder or in a gap, he usually has responsibility for just that gap.
As you have probably guessed, South Carolina’s defensive lineman will have one gap responsibility. They will be able to simply charge up field penetrate into the backfield. If they penetrate through the gap, then they are controlling the gap. This is part of what Hoke is talking about when he says the defense will be more aggressive. It should result in more tackles for losses in the backfield and more disrupted plays.
Tampa Two
South Carolina will probably be predominantly a zone pass coverage team. They will be capable of playing man to man coverage, but Jon Hoke’s history suggests they will probably be in a zone most of the time. It has been rumored, and is quite possible South Carolina will end up running the renowned Tampa Two coverage.
To understand the Tampa Two, which is a coverage, not an entire defense, it is helpful to have an understanding of the Cover Two from which it was modified. Cover Two, in its most basic form, means two players in zone coverage split the deepest part of the field into two zones, one covered by each.
It is common with a cover two to have the cornerbacks and linebackers each cover zones in the shorter passing areas, as you can see above. The weakness with a cover two is the vast amount of real estate the safeties, who are usually the deep men in the coverage, have to cover. Typically receivers can get open in the middle of the field, deep and in the corners. The Tampa Two seeks to take this away.
The main component of the Tampa Two is the middle linebacker dropping deep, very deep. When the defense reads pass they drop to their zones. The middle linebacker drops back almost as deep as the safeties, taking away the deep middle route.
The other two linebackers squeeze in to cover the space left by the middle linebacker. The corners have the same responsibility. There are nuances to each position, but that’s basically it for the Tampa Two.
With all of the zone play South Carolina’s defense should have more interceptions this season. All of the defense should be looking into the backfield and be able to break on the ball.
Zone Blitz
Given Jon Hoke’s defensive pedigree, it is quite likely South Carolina will be running some zone blitzes. Technically a zone blitz is any blitz in which the defense is in zone coverage behind it, but most fans recognize a zone blitz when a defensive lineman drops into coverage.
Look at the diagram above of the Tampa Two coverage. In a zone blitz one of those zone defenders, usually one of the three linebackers, will blitz and another player, usually a defensive lineman, will take his place.
The best case scenario for the zone blitz is not a sack but an interception. The defense wants the quarterback to recognize the blitzing defender and instinctively try to throw the ball to the area where the defender has left. Instead of finding an open receiver there, he should find a defensive lineman waiting to catch the ball.
So, better then?
Does a new coordinator with a modified scheme mean South Carolina’s defense will be better? Maybe, it would be hard to be worse. The Gamecocks will be employing a coherent defensive gameplan that has been successful before. If they aren’t effective or are beat, it will probably not be because of schematic deficiencies. Effectiveness will come down to coverage and tackling, but USC should be in position to be better at both.
This series of audio blog posts recapping every season since 1987 were originally posted prior to the 2013 season and are sponsored by our friends at Blue Moon Disk. Use the promo code TRC2015 during the 2015 season and receive 10% off your entire order.
Buck takes us through the 2014 Gamecock football season – a season with historically high expectations, major disappointments, and a few bright spots mixed in along the way.
This series of audio blog posts recapping every season since 1987 were originally posted prior to the 2013 season and are sponsored by our friends at Blue Moon Disk.
(Originally published Aug. 21, 2014)
OK, you’ve been waiting all summer, and finally, HERE IT IS! No, not the trailer for some new comic book movie you nerd, it’s the 2013 Gamecock Flashback.
After doing 25 flashbacks covering 26 seasons last summer, Buck had all summer to work on one flashback, and we’re somehow certain there will be statistical errors and/or misrememberings and/or horrible edits. But, we’re the only ones doing flashbacks, and you love Gamecock football, so it will still be a good time. (Buck even added some of Todd and Tommy’s best calls from the season to break the monotony of his droning.)
Some highlights:
Lofty preseason expectations
The making and breaking of Jadeveon Clowney by ESPN
The emergence of Mike Davis
The heroics of Connor Shaw
The inability of ANYONE ELSE to beat Missouri
A fifth straight win over that team in the upstate
So click here or click the graphic below, and enjoy!
Use the promo code TRC2015 all during football season to get 10% off your entire order at Blue Moon Disk.
TRC Unleashed dives one last time into expectations for our football season before it actually starts, beating dead horses because hey, we gotta talk about something. This podcast includes:
The unknowns of this edition of the Gamecocks
Connor Mitch is #1, who is #2?
Will the defense really be improved?
What have we really learned since the beginning of practice
Is the pay site business model sustainable?
This Week In Dabo
Twitter questions!
We hope you enjoy this, you’re about to be hearing a lot more from us. Football season is upon us!
The Rubber Chickens Blog 