Linebacker Kaiwan Lewis expected to start after leg infection
It’s a new week for the South Carolina defense as it prepares for Saturday’s clash with Arkansas, but after a third-straight fourth-quarter implosion by the defensive unit, it’s the same story.
“We have not played well at all late in the games,” secondary coach Grady Brown said. “So right now, as a coach, I have to find a way to fix it. And, you know, you’ve just got to try every scenario that you can.”
One saving grace for the Gamecocks this week could be Arkansas’s similar second-half lapses this season.
The Razorbacks have been outscored by their opponents 27-0 in the fourth quarter in their last three games, but unlike South Carolina, they have come out on the losing end of all three contests.
“Arkansas is a good team that has sort of had some fourth quarter struggles a little bit like we have,” coach Steve Spurrier said, “except we’ve managed to hang on and win some of our fourth-quarter struggles.”
Spurrier has cautioned his team not to take the Razorbacks lightly, as Fayetteville has historically been dangerous for the Gamecocks.
The schematic adjustments the South Carolina coaching staff has made in hopes of preventing the near-disasters the defensive unit has become accustomed to have not paid dividends so far.
And whether due to injury or performance, there will be personnel changes for the Gamecocks come Saturday.
“I’m not sure that experience matters a whole lot the way that we’ve been playing in the fourth quarter,” Brown said. “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect a different result.”
Spurrier had the same thing to say about the inconsistency he has seen from the defensive starters.
“We’ve got to try some new guys. That’s coaching,” Spurrier said. “First guy’s not playing very well, give the next guy a chance. How can he do much worse?”
After sitting out last weekend’s win over Kentucky, junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s “questionable” status up until Thursday had been well-documented. But several other Gamecocks are suffering from injuries as well.
Redshirt junior cornerback Victor Hampton is dealing with a quad bruise, but Spurrier said he should be ready come game time. Sophomore linebacker Kaiwan Lewis is expected to be back Saturday after he developed an infection in his leg this week that landed him in the hospital.
Sophomore linebacker T.J. Holloman could get his second straight chance at lengthy playing time after recording a team-high six tackles in his first career start against Kentucky.
“There’s no starters right now, but I’m working at [middle linebacker] right now,” Holloman said. “It’d be a great experience to get a start on the road.”
Holloman and Spurrier were on the same page when detailing the team’s preparation for Arkansas, citing the Razorbacks’ downhill running attack as a main concern.
In coach Bret Bielema’s first year at the helm of Arkansas football he has instilled a run-first approach in the offense, a philosophy that has served running backs Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams well this season. Collins leads the SEC in rushing with 651 yards, and his counterpart in the backfield, Williams, is No. 5 in the conference in rushing.
With the offense firing on all cylinders, the normally offensive-minded Spurrier has been able to turn his attention to a Gamecock defense that has made a habit of hemorrhaging touchdowns in the fourth quarter. And in a game at Arkansas that could turn out to be another late-game battle, Spurrier said his defense will be the difference.
“You just try to go play, and the environment sometimes gets on you a little bit,” Spurrier said. “It is a difference, but if you go play well and bring your defense with you, you’ve got chance to win on the road.”