I-Formation opens space for tailback after halftime
Like the rest of the Gamecocks, junior tailback Marcus Lattimore got off to a rocky start in the first half against Kentucky on Saturday.
After two quarters, Lattimore had just five rushes, none longer than five yards, to go along with three short receptions.
But the junior contributed over 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns to the Gamecocks’ second-half resurgence, propelling them to a 38-17 win. South Carolina switched up its offensive schemes after halftime, moving away from the shotgun and using the I-formation to give Lattimore more room to run.
“Maybe we learned something today — the old I-Formation, the old power play, this that and the other sweeps are not bad,” said coach Steve Spurrier. “We don’t have to run zone reads and all that shotgun stuff all the time, and that was very helpful for us. The line blocked pretty well in the second half, and of course Marcus made a bunch of runs.”
Lattimore rushed twice in South Carolina’s first possession of the second half, which resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Connor Shaw to sophomore wide receiver Damiere Byrd.
“It was definitely good to see [the running game in the second half],” Byrd said. “Marcus is one of our leaders, and obviously he can run the ball. Once we get him running the ball, that opens up our offense a lot.”
The tailback’s first touchdown came with just over nine minutes left in the game, on a 3-yard run up the middle out of the I-Formation. His second came out of the same formation after an interception by Gerald Dixon Jr. gave USC the ball on UK’s 12-yard line. Lattimore advanced the ball 8 yards before scoring on a 4-yard run.
“We knew as a team that we had to establish the run if we were going to win the game,” Lattimore said. “We worked on the play all week — our power play. It had a lot of success.”
Lattimore finished the game with 120 rushing yards, marking the second time this season he has exceeded 100 in a game. He said he has no preference between the shotgun and the I-Formation and that he trusts the coaches to call the right play.
“I just wait until my number is called,” Lattimore said. “I’m coached by Steve Spurrier. Steve has an SEC championship and a national championship. He knows what he’s doing, and I never question his play-calling, never question any of the coaches because we have a great, great staff.”
Knowing that USC faces an elite opponent in Georgia next week, Spurrier did not comment on how large a role Lattimore would play in the offense next week or on which formation the Gamecocks would favor.
“Nothing else was working very well (in the first half) and we were getting sacked all over the place, so it was time to try to give it to [Lattimore],” Spurrier said. “We still hit a few balls here and there, we still threw a few. I don’t know what we’ll do next week, but we’ll probably do a little bit of both. Shotgun, I-Formation, whatever is working.”