Shaw’s shoulder
This one was answered early, before game day in fact. Steve Spurrier had decided by Friday that he was not going to start quarterback Connor Shaw due to the shoulder blade injury he suffered against Vanderbilt. “If something happened that we were in a 7-3 game and disaster was striking all over the place and Connor said, ‘I can go in there and run the ball a little bit with no pain,’ then we might would have considered it,” Spurrier said. “But it really never was a serious thought that he’d play today.” Shaw remains questionable for next week’s game against UAB.
Passing offense
South Carolina receivers were running wide open down the field most of the day for Dylan Thompson.
Every receiver listed on the South Carolina depth chart caught a pass — and a few more who weren’t — while tight end Rory Anderson led the way with four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
“We wanted the ball, we wanted to throw it around, so it’s great just to catch the ball and make plays and be a part of the offense,” said Bruce Ellington, who caught four passes for 63 yards.
The strong performance came after the group paid a visit to quarterback Dylan Thompson’s hotel room in an effort to show confidence in his ability to lead the team.
“We were just telling him go out there and play hard, just do everything Coach tells you to do and be yourself,” Ellington said. “Just leave it on the field and we’ve got your back.”
Anderson said USC coach Steve Spurrier issued a challenge to the unit prior to this week’s game.
“We didn’t really get the ball last week and we’ve been working on it all offseason,” Anderson said. “We’re just wanting to get the ball and Coach said he wanted a minimum 300 yards. I think we broke that today.”
“I think the coolest thing is this morning in the hotel, (the wide receivers) all just came in my room and said, ‘We got your back. You take your steps and throw and we’re going to be there,’” South Carolina’s redshirt sophomore quarterback said on Saturday. “I was ready to go then.”
Passing defense
The Pirates had 333 passing yards, but that’s a misleading statistic. East Carolina never threatened the end zone when the game was in doubt. The Pirates’ short passing game is designed for ball control, but South Carolina held the ball for almost 20 minutes of the first half. “It was basically just trying to get them off the field because once they get going, it’s hard to stop them,” linebacker Shaq Wilson said.
Offensive line rotation
It was hard to keep track of all the offensive linemen South Carolina put on the field. Four tackles played in the first half – starters Cody Gibson and Mike Matulis and backups Brandon Shell and Corey Robinson. Ten offensive linemen played, and the Gamecocks finished with 528 yards of offense.
Special teams
The Pirates, who made two big special teams plays last week, did not hurt South Carolina in the kicking game, which is the positive note.
Spurrier said that two games have shown that it might be better to kick the ball high on kickoffs to the goal line and force teams to try to return it beyond the 25-yard-line. Spurrier said USC had “excellent coverage” in the win over ECU.
http://www.gogamecocks.com/2012/09/08/279441/game-storylines-how-they-played.html
I am glad so many Gamecocks got playing time.
Spurrier singled out offensive tackle Corey Robinson and wide receiver Bruce Ellington for praise, saying that they’ve unfairly gone unrecognized while teammates have been praised in the wake of the 38-point win over the Pirates. http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1407121
http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1406625
http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1406926
This one was answered early, before game day in fact. Steve Spurrier had decided by Friday that he was not going to start quarterback Connor Shaw due to the shoulder blade injury he suffered against Vanderbilt. “If something happened that we were in a 7-3 game and disaster was striking all over the place and Connor said, ‘I can go in there and run the ball a little bit with no pain,’ then we might would have considered it,” Spurrier said. “But it really never was a serious thought that he’d play today.” Shaw remains questionable for next week’s game against UAB.
Passing offense
South Carolina receivers were running wide open down the field most of the day for Dylan Thompson.
Every receiver listed on the South Carolina depth chart caught a pass — and a few more who weren’t — while tight end Rory Anderson led the way with four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
“We wanted the ball, we wanted to throw it around, so it’s great just to catch the ball and make plays and be a part of the offense,” said Bruce Ellington, who caught four passes for 63 yards.
The strong performance came after the group paid a visit to quarterback Dylan Thompson’s hotel room in an effort to show confidence in his ability to lead the team.
“We were just telling him go out there and play hard, just do everything Coach tells you to do and be yourself,” Ellington said. “Just leave it on the field and we’ve got your back.”
Anderson said USC coach Steve Spurrier issued a challenge to the unit prior to this week’s game.
“We didn’t really get the ball last week and we’ve been working on it all offseason,” Anderson said. “We’re just wanting to get the ball and Coach said he wanted a minimum 300 yards. I think we broke that today.”
“I think the coolest thing is this morning in the hotel, (the wide receivers) all just came in my room and said, ‘We got your back. You take your steps and throw and we’re going to be there,’” South Carolina’s redshirt sophomore quarterback said on Saturday. “I was ready to go then.”
Passing defense
The Pirates had 333 passing yards, but that’s a misleading statistic. East Carolina never threatened the end zone when the game was in doubt. The Pirates’ short passing game is designed for ball control, but South Carolina held the ball for almost 20 minutes of the first half. “It was basically just trying to get them off the field because once they get going, it’s hard to stop them,” linebacker Shaq Wilson said.
Offensive line rotation
It was hard to keep track of all the offensive linemen South Carolina put on the field. Four tackles played in the first half – starters Cody Gibson and Mike Matulis and backups Brandon Shell and Corey Robinson. Ten offensive linemen played, and the Gamecocks finished with 528 yards of offense.
Special teams
The Pirates, who made two big special teams plays last week, did not hurt South Carolina in the kicking game, which is the positive note.
Spurrier said that two games have shown that it might be better to kick the ball high on kickoffs to the goal line and force teams to try to return it beyond the 25-yard-line. Spurrier said USC had “excellent coverage” in the win over ECU.
http://www.gogamecocks.com/2012/09/08/279441/game-storylines-how-they-played.html
I am glad so many Gamecocks got playing time.
Spurrier singled out offensive tackle Corey Robinson and wide receiver Bruce Ellington for praise, saying that they’ve unfairly gone unrecognized while teammates have been praised in the wake of the 38-point win over the Pirates. http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1407121
http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1406625
http://southcarolina.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1406926