Gamecocks look for improvement in all aspects of game
For USC, last week’s 31-10 win against Missouri was a success by any measure.
Offensively, junior quarterback Connor Shaw completed 20 consecutive passes to finish the day 20-for-21.
On defense, the Gamecocks held the Tigers to a single field goal until they pushed through a meaningless touchdown with 17 seconds to play.
Special teams had perhaps the most remarkable performance, highlighted by sophomore Bruce Ellington’s 50-yard kickoff return and junior Ace Sanders’ six punt returns for a combined 106 yards.
Despite last week’s success and the fact that South Carolina heads to Kentucky for a game against a struggling team, the Gamecocks are far from a finished product.
“I think it’s always a work in progress,” Shaw said. “Our goal is always to get better every week — passing game, run game and all aspects of the game. I think we’ve been doing that. We’re progressing each week.”
Coach Steve Spurrier said his team still has plenty to prove, even after wins over two Eastern Division rivals.
“We’re going to be ready for Kentucky,” Spurrier said in a release. “We know that upsets happen, and we know why they happen, usually when a team is not ready to play, simple as that. Then, we’ve not done that much yet. We’ve beaten the teams that we’re supposed to beat ... We’re going to try to play better than last week. Lot of areas we can improve.”
The special teams will look to build on its breakout game by playing with more consistency. The Gamecocks appear to be settling into their roles, with sophomore Tyler Hull as punter, senior Adam Yates as kicker and all of players on the unit performing better in their coverages.
But special teams coach Joe Robinson said he expects his unit to improve in order to give Sanders and Ellington more opportunities for game-changing plays.
“Like any other week, there’s a ton of things we can do better,” Robinson said. “We’re happy that we made plays, and we want to try to win the battle of field position. We want to make big plays, and we did some of those things, and we’re thrilled.
“But there are a lot of things we can do better. We have to keep working and we know what lies down the road ... We’re just working to get better every day.”
On offense, the Gamecocks’ goal is to make sure they get the ball to the right players. Sanders and Ellington had just one reception apiece against Missouri. The previous week, against UAB, the duo combined for 153 receiving yards on nine catches.
“We’re still a work in progress on offense, trying to make sure we get the ball into our playmakers’ hands,” Spurrier said. “And Ace is a playmaker, we all know that, and so is Bruce. Bruce can run with it. We still want to run more than we throw.
“As we all know, statistically, the team that runs more than it throws wins at a lot higher percentage. So we’ll try to do that, try to get the ball toward Bruce and Ace a little bit more.”
USC has watched the emergence of new leaders on defense, particularly junior defensive end Chaz Sutton, who was challenged by the coaching staff to raise his level of play. Sutton played in all 13 games last season, starting against the Wildcats.
While he is listed behind sophomore Jadeveon Clowney on the depth chart, he is part of South Carolina’s so-called “rabbit package,” in which four defensive ends line up to add quickness to the defense.
“It’s his time in the program right now,” said defensive line coach Brad Lawing. “I challenged him because we needed him to give us some quality snaps in the game, and he’s done that.”
Lawing attributed Sutton’s improvement to his commitment level, which he said is something the junior learned at South Carolina.
“His fundamentals have gotten better,” Lawing said. “He’s become a better player simply because of work ethic. He didn’t know how to (work) when he first got here. He had no clue. He’d been a running back in high school, out at Fork Union. Some guy about 5 feet tall was giving him orders, and he took exception. But he came here and finally learned how to work. That’s been the biggest change.”
An injury to senior cornerback Akeem Auguste opened the door for another player, sophomore Victor Hampton, to impact the defense with his play.
“This past game was huge for him,” said secondary coach Grady Brown. “He played a very disciplined game. His eyes were in the right place, and he took care of his assignments and his responsibilities. Stats may not show that, but he’s doing a good job for us.”
In case the Gamecocks needed more motivation not to overlook Kentucky, the team has not forgotten its last trip to Lexington, when the USC was ranked No. 10 after upsetting top-ranked Alabama in 2010. South Carolina let a 28-10 halftime lead slip away, losing 31-28 on a touchdown with just more than a minute to play.
“We’ve talked about it,” Brown said. “We don’t want to experience that again. We’re working every day for it not to happen.”
For offense, defense and special teams alike, Saturday’s game is not one to shrug off, but rather the next step in a progression.
“I think we are better than them, but if we don’t play better than them, they can certainly beat us,” Spurrier said. “The team that usually plays the best wins the game.”