Senior quarterback Perry Orth returned to game action in the fourth quarter of South Carolina's 24-13 loss to Texas A&M to rejuvenate the Gamecocks' passing game.
Orth had last appeared in the second week of the season in South Carolina's loss to Mississippi State. Since then freshman Brandon McIlwain has assumed the starting role.
Against the Aggies, McIlwain still flashed the potential to make an impact with his legs, but ultimately failed to dissect Texas A&M's carousel of defensive schemes against the passing game. In addition to throwing his first career interception, the freshman signal caller mustered just 34 yards on 15 passing attempts.
When addressing his main concerns with the offense, Coach Will Muschamp said, "We were having a hard time with explosive plays offensively to create some vertical balls against the defense."
McIlwain wasn't helped by the fact that he was without two of his primary receiving options in freshman Bryan Edwards and sophomore Deebo Samuel.
At the time of McIlwain's exit from the game, senior punter Sean Kelly was actually South Carolina's leading passer.
The insertion of Orth in at quarterback drastically changed the dynamic of the offense and allowed South Carolina to stretch the field vertically. On his impact on the offense, the senior quarterback noted, "Sometimes all the offense needs is a little spark. You know that's kind of our thing -- that is throwing the ball down field."
On the difference that Orth brings to the passing game, Hurst said, "Perry is kind of seasoned veteran. He's been around. He's played SEC games."
In a single quarter of work, Orth completed 11 passes and threw for 138 yards.
Coach Muschamp did not name a quarterback for South Carolina's upcoming matchup with Georgia and expressed that he will continue to evaluate the decision.
Despite his struggles to move the ball down field, South Carolina doesn't cut certain types of passing plays out of the play-calling repertoire when McIlwain is on the field. Muschamp underscored this when he said, "We carry the same package regardless of who is in the game."
With essentially the same arsenal of plays and personnel Orth demonstrated that at this point he is better equipped to give South Carolina the formidable air attack it requires on offense to make it less reliant on the ground game.