By DAVID CARAVIELLO - Charleston Post & Courier
COLUMBIA — It was a nerve-rattling experience in a loud, hostile stadium full of orange, and it showed. South Carolina’s young football players will hope to handle it better in two weeks, when they’ll be in very similar surroundings.
The Gamecocks’ inexperience, particularly on offense, was quite evident in Saturday’s 20-7 loss at Florida, backed by a vocal announced crowd of 89,614 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Afterward, head coach Will Muschamp’s message to his team was to learn from it, then let it go.
“We did not handle the situation or the moment, the speed of the game, very well,” Muschamp said on his Sunday teleconference. “Some self-inflicted issues. More mental issues on both sides of the ball than we’ve had, some poor decision-making. It’s just disappointing. But I thought we responded in the second half. ... We’ve got to play better on the road.”
South Carolina, 1-3 this season away from Williams-Brice Stadium, has had 19 first-time starters this season, tied for eighth nationally. The Gamecocks (5-5) lead the nation in true freshman starters with seven, a group that includes quarterback Jake Bentley, tailback Rico Dowdle, receivers Bryan Edwards and Chavis Dawkins, and defensive tackle Keir Thomas.
The Swamp was the first road start for Bentley and Dowdle, and the most intimidating venue yet for all of USC’s freshmen, and the early jitters were apparent. They have more coming — after Saturday’s home finale against FCS Western Carolina (2-8), the Gamecocks finish the regular season at archrival Clemson, and in the most inhospitable environment they’ll face all year.
Toward that end, the experience at Florida “should help a lot,” Muschamp said. “That was the first time for a lot of these guys. Since Rico started playing, it’s his first time. It’s Jake’s first time. Bryan Edwards played earlier in the year, but we hadn’t been on the road in a while. A lot of the guys hadn’t been in that environment against a good football team.”
Muschamp said he asked players in Sunday’s meeting what they could have done differently in their preparation. “We’ve got to come out of the blocks faster. And we’ve been a fast-starting team at home. We haven’t been on the road,” Muschamp said, noting slow starts at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
“I’ve kind of gone through it in my mind, of things that we need to do to improve. We’re not a good enough team to self-inflict. We’re not a good enough team on a critical third down to have a drop. Those are the things we can’t overcome, and we’ve got to make those things happen. A little of it is youth and lack of true confidence being on the road and playing well. That’s something we’ve got to work through.”
Muschamp said safety Chris Moody suffered a bone bruise on his knee, but should be able to resume practice Tuesday with the team. Dowdle left the Florida game after receiver Deebo Samuel rolled over the running back’s right leg while being tackled, but Muschamp said the freshman was not injured.
Reviewing the game, Muschamp said USC should have called more perimeter runs to combat Florida’s physical presence inside. The Gamecocks finished with just 43 yards on the ground. And of the five sacks of Bentley, “we got physically beat one time,” Muschamp said, “and other than that, we have to get rid of the football.”
COLUMBIA — It was a nerve-rattling experience in a loud, hostile stadium full of orange, and it showed. South Carolina’s young football players will hope to handle it better in two weeks, when they’ll be in very similar surroundings.
The Gamecocks’ inexperience, particularly on offense, was quite evident in Saturday’s 20-7 loss at Florida, backed by a vocal announced crowd of 89,614 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Afterward, head coach Will Muschamp’s message to his team was to learn from it, then let it go.
“We did not handle the situation or the moment, the speed of the game, very well,” Muschamp said on his Sunday teleconference. “Some self-inflicted issues. More mental issues on both sides of the ball than we’ve had, some poor decision-making. It’s just disappointing. But I thought we responded in the second half. ... We’ve got to play better on the road.”
South Carolina, 1-3 this season away from Williams-Brice Stadium, has had 19 first-time starters this season, tied for eighth nationally. The Gamecocks (5-5) lead the nation in true freshman starters with seven, a group that includes quarterback Jake Bentley, tailback Rico Dowdle, receivers Bryan Edwards and Chavis Dawkins, and defensive tackle Keir Thomas.
The Swamp was the first road start for Bentley and Dowdle, and the most intimidating venue yet for all of USC’s freshmen, and the early jitters were apparent. They have more coming — after Saturday’s home finale against FCS Western Carolina (2-8), the Gamecocks finish the regular season at archrival Clemson, and in the most inhospitable environment they’ll face all year.
Toward that end, the experience at Florida “should help a lot,” Muschamp said. “That was the first time for a lot of these guys. Since Rico started playing, it’s his first time. It’s Jake’s first time. Bryan Edwards played earlier in the year, but we hadn’t been on the road in a while. A lot of the guys hadn’t been in that environment against a good football team.”
Muschamp said he asked players in Sunday’s meeting what they could have done differently in their preparation. “We’ve got to come out of the blocks faster. And we’ve been a fast-starting team at home. We haven’t been on the road,” Muschamp said, noting slow starts at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
“I’ve kind of gone through it in my mind, of things that we need to do to improve. We’re not a good enough team to self-inflict. We’re not a good enough team on a critical third down to have a drop. Those are the things we can’t overcome, and we’ve got to make those things happen. A little of it is youth and lack of true confidence being on the road and playing well. That’s something we’ve got to work through.”
Muschamp said safety Chris Moody suffered a bone bruise on his knee, but should be able to resume practice Tuesday with the team. Dowdle left the Florida game after receiver Deebo Samuel rolled over the running back’s right leg while being tackled, but Muschamp said the freshman was not injured.
Reviewing the game, Muschamp said USC should have called more perimeter runs to combat Florida’s physical presence inside. The Gamecocks finished with just 43 yards on the ground. And of the five sacks of Bentley, “we got physically beat one time,” Muschamp said, “and other than that, we have to get rid of the football.”