Offensive line sees changes; Spurrier unhappy with special teams
Through the first six games of the season, all Gamecock victories, the running game was the cornerstone of South Carolina’s offense.
But for the second week in a row, the rushing attack was a non-factor, playing a large part in South Carolina’s 44-11 loss to Florida on Saturday. The Gamecocks totaled just 36 rushing yards as part of an offensive effort in which starting quarterback Connor Shaw was benched at halftime with a negative rushing total and tailback Marcus Lattimore carried the ball only three times.
“It hurts when you don’t establish a running game early, especially for us since we’ve relied on that so much in the past,” Shaw said after the game. “I think it’s important that we start doing that in the future.”
“It’s tough because that’s what we lean on,” Lattimore said. “We have to run the ball to win the game. Usually when we don’t, we lose.”
In its six victories, USC averaged 182 rushing yards per game. Coach Steve Spurrier said in his Sunday teleconference that while the run is critical to USC’s offense, he still expects Shaw to throw more when there is a pass play available.
“Connor, with his ability to run, certainly helps our running game,” Spurrier said. “Every Gamecock alive knows we need to run the ball, and I know we need to. But I also know that even the games where we ran well, we also hit a pretty good percentage of passes to keep drives going.”
Offensive line shake-up: The Gamecocks changed up their offensive line against Florida, giving sophomore Mike Matulis the start at left tackle and redshirt freshman Kyle Harris the start at left guard. Matulis had been listed as the backup to redshirt sophomore Corey Robinson at tackle, while Harris was the backup to senior center T.J. Johnson.
Spurrier said the changes were due to performance the previous week and that the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against Tennessee would be determined based on results in practice.
“A.J. (Cann) and Corey may be back in there,” Spurrier said. “I like giving guys opportunity ... if the first guy’s not doing it, give somebody else a chance.”
Special teams struggles: Two costly turnovers in the second quarter, one on a punt return and one on a kickoff return, led to Gator touchdowns that broke open the game. The special teams were a weakness for the Gamecocks throughout the day, and Spurrier said the unit has “regressed” in recent weeks.
“Special teams was horrible. ... Where they started and where we started, we didn’t give ourselves a chance,” Spurrier said. “We played the way bad teams play.”
Sophomore Tyler Hull averaged less than 40 yards per punt and landed only one of seven punts inside Florida’s 20-yard-line. Of Florida’s 15 offensive drives, six began on South Carolina’s side of the field.
USC’s kickoff coverage also shortened the field for the Gators. Florida had two kickoff returns for a total of 74 yards. Spurrier blamed the returns on lack of effort by the special teams and said the Gamecocks may consider using starters to cover kickoffs if results do not improve.
“If we have to cover on kickoff (using) D.J. Swearinger, (Jadeveon) Clowney, Chaz Sutton, (we will because) we can’t watch the guys that are playing right now,” Spurrier said. “We can’t watch the guys that are laying on the ground.”