Can South Carolina go up-tempo like Syracuse did? It’s not that easy
November 22, 2017
The question keeps coming to the South Carolina football coaches and players.
Syracuse knocked off Clemson by going up-tempo on offense, why can't the Gamecocks do that?
The answer: USC players and coaches mostly sidestepped the question.
“We go into every game with the opportunity to play with some tempo depending on how the flow of the game is going," South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said. "That’s something that we have within what we do.”
A bit of a non-answer, but it points to something about that kind of tempo. It's not easy to play the way Syracuse plays.
The Orange under Dino Babers live, sleep and breath high tempo. They relentlessly speed up the game and deploy run-pass option plays to perfection against base defenses. It's allowed them to pile up yards, but in truth, it masks some deficiencies, as Syracuse ranks 106th nationally in yards per play against FBS teams.
South Carolina isn't that team, and South Carolina can't really become that in a week. USC has used tempo in stretches, and it's helped settle Jake Bentley at times.
But it also could mean quick three and outs, and against a team that runs Clemson's tempo, USC's thin defense almost assuredly will get worn out.
Perhaps the best lesson USC can take from Syracuse is that the Orange won by wresting control of possession.
Yes the Orange ran 90 plays, but they also held Clemson to 61. They kept the Tigers from moving the ball in the second and fourth quarters. They converted third downs and got the Clemson offense off the field.
Those will be key for the Gamecocks. Tempo might help that. It might hinder it. It just depends what USC's staff thinks it can pull off.
"We're just going to go through and play our game," Bentley said.
THE STATE
November 22, 2017
The question keeps coming to the South Carolina football coaches and players.
Syracuse knocked off Clemson by going up-tempo on offense, why can't the Gamecocks do that?
The answer: USC players and coaches mostly sidestepped the question.
“We go into every game with the opportunity to play with some tempo depending on how the flow of the game is going," South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said. "That’s something that we have within what we do.”
A bit of a non-answer, but it points to something about that kind of tempo. It's not easy to play the way Syracuse plays.
The Orange under Dino Babers live, sleep and breath high tempo. They relentlessly speed up the game and deploy run-pass option plays to perfection against base defenses. It's allowed them to pile up yards, but in truth, it masks some deficiencies, as Syracuse ranks 106th nationally in yards per play against FBS teams.
South Carolina isn't that team, and South Carolina can't really become that in a week. USC has used tempo in stretches, and it's helped settle Jake Bentley at times.
But it also could mean quick three and outs, and against a team that runs Clemson's tempo, USC's thin defense almost assuredly will get worn out.
Perhaps the best lesson USC can take from Syracuse is that the Orange won by wresting control of possession.
Yes the Orange ran 90 plays, but they also held Clemson to 61. They kept the Tigers from moving the ball in the second and fourth quarters. They converted third downs and got the Clemson offense off the field.
Those will be key for the Gamecocks. Tempo might help that. It might hinder it. It just depends what USC's staff thinks it can pull off.
"We're just going to go through and play our game," Bentley said.
THE STATE
