Saturday afternoon's performance was probably the one of the most impressive performances from a USC defense that I have seen in a long time. These guys went up against the type of offense (and Quarterback) that typically gives us fits and pretty much locked n keyed them into a prison cell under Williams-Brice. Kendall Lawrence, who was more shifty than I expected, was about the only thing Missouri had going and for whatever reason they did absolutely nothing down the field.
Whether it was our defense or their coaching staff out-thinking themselves, but the Tigers had a head scratching gameplan and it seemed like late in the 2nd quarter that they just threw in the towel because they had no answer. I think they got 2 passes off that went over 20 yards and one was dropped while the other one was an overthrow to a wide open receiver. Other than that they tried to play "grown man football" and got plowed.
Front 7 was excellent as always. Chaz Sutton looks like he is going to fill in nicely the rest of the way and into next season. The back 4 had a relatively easy day and I think that is saying something with having a true freshman replacing the team leader. Lucas got the best of his man a few times during the game but its hard to stop a 6'5 guy on these shorter routes where he physically muscles himself for inside position. Other than that, I can't find too much to complain about with our secondary. Coach Brown has done a great job with that group.
Overall, I can't say enough about this defense right now. They are clicking and they are about to be fully healthy going into this week's game with Kentucky. I said it earlier this week but if Akeem Auguste comes back and can stay on the field, our secondary becomes a legitimate Top 3-5 group in the SEC. I think he adds that much value as a 3rd corner/nickel or starter.
Once again, I don't think you could've wrote a better performance for a USC quarterback that has gone through what Connor Shaw has so far this season. He was phenominal. I, like most of the fanbase, was worried about his health but he showed that he appears to be fine and should be reliable going forward provided he doesn't take a direct shot right on the sore spot.
I think what really stood out to me the most is that he hit his check downs more than he has this season and possibly last season. The dump offs to Justice Cunningham really seemed to settle him in after holding onto the ball a little too long the first drive or two .. then you knew things were just fine after tearing off the 80 yard run. That is the point where I felt like "ok, he is back".
The TD throw to Ace Sanders was, IMO, his best throw ever as a Gamecock. Dropping a dime to a 5'8 receiver in the corner of the endzone between the Safety and Corner is something we really haven't seen him do before. What I am hoping for is that it becomes a confidence builder that he can make some tighter throws. I think that is probably the #1 issue with his game and it'll probably get better with more reps.
I still think the offense is a little vanilla with the sets but that could be by design. I did notice one time where we went empty backfield and I want to say there were 2 tight ends out there so its in the package. That formation, IMO, is going to be money going forward. I really hope they unleash it on Georgia. The offensive staff is really getting creative with our wide receivers. I love seeing Bruce and Damiere contribute in the run game with the misdirection and reverses. The imagination is starting to show up and that means Spurrier is confident which is bad news for defenses.
Speaking of our receivers, these guys are turning into some ball players. I know we love the Sidney and Alshon's of the world, but I wouldn't trade Bruce, Damiere, and Ace for many other receivers in the conference. These guys are DANGEROUS and are only getting better. For example on the Ace Sanders TD catch, he absolutely ABUSED Missouri's best corner off the LOS. It was textbook. Speed kills out there and when you take their speed and match it with Spurrier's passing tree and a accurate QB, you have the recipe for big plays.
Thought the offensive line played well. They did a lot of pulling during the game rather than up the middle. Corey Robinson looked pretty good in his first start and I think Mike Matulis is more comfortable at RT. Hopefully, Coach Elliott is going to have his best 5 gelling soon because we shouldn't be rotating linemen this far into the season especially with Murderer's Row coming up. I'm not sure why we aren't having much success up the middle. That may be something we just have to attempt to overcome but sure do look good when we are pulling guards.
Getting a little impatient with Shaq and Jerell. I'm not sure what is keeping these guys off the field (more Shaq than Jerell). But we are going to need them here shortly. It appears that Shaq is running more complexed routes than he did a few weeks ago so hopefully that is a sign that they are getting ready to take the training wheels off.
Well I think this was about as good of a performance as you could hope for. I'll go ahead and say it though that Missouri quit at halftime. I really believe that. I didn't see any fight from those guys in the 2nd half, I didn't see any adjustments. Those guys have a lot to learn about the SEC, IMO. I'm not saying they are a bad addition, but I do think they are going to need to make some changes to what they do .. cultural changes if you will.
For USC, I think a lot of our questions were answered at least temporarily. The offense looks balanced and potentially explosive. Defense is sick. The Special Teams, wow, they were special. Joe Robinson had a good day at the office with this group and hopefully he is able to keep them good play going. I think the only nitpicking question mark is with Adam Yates and can he hit a crucial field goal when it matters. I got this feeling that he is going to be tested the next month.
Overall, I am very happy and optimistic. I think USC couldn't be in a better position than it is right now and it just comes down to taking care of business on the road this week in a venue that they haven't played well in historically and then getting ready for what could be one of the biggest games in program history on October 6th.
Whether it was our defense or their coaching staff out-thinking themselves, but the Tigers had a head scratching gameplan and it seemed like late in the 2nd quarter that they just threw in the towel because they had no answer. I think they got 2 passes off that went over 20 yards and one was dropped while the other one was an overthrow to a wide open receiver. Other than that they tried to play "grown man football" and got plowed.
Front 7 was excellent as always. Chaz Sutton looks like he is going to fill in nicely the rest of the way and into next season. The back 4 had a relatively easy day and I think that is saying something with having a true freshman replacing the team leader. Lucas got the best of his man a few times during the game but its hard to stop a 6'5 guy on these shorter routes where he physically muscles himself for inside position. Other than that, I can't find too much to complain about with our secondary. Coach Brown has done a great job with that group.
Overall, I can't say enough about this defense right now. They are clicking and they are about to be fully healthy going into this week's game with Kentucky. I said it earlier this week but if Akeem Auguste comes back and can stay on the field, our secondary becomes a legitimate Top 3-5 group in the SEC. I think he adds that much value as a 3rd corner/nickel or starter.
Once again, I don't think you could've wrote a better performance for a USC quarterback that has gone through what Connor Shaw has so far this season. He was phenominal. I, like most of the fanbase, was worried about his health but he showed that he appears to be fine and should be reliable going forward provided he doesn't take a direct shot right on the sore spot.
I think what really stood out to me the most is that he hit his check downs more than he has this season and possibly last season. The dump offs to Justice Cunningham really seemed to settle him in after holding onto the ball a little too long the first drive or two .. then you knew things were just fine after tearing off the 80 yard run. That is the point where I felt like "ok, he is back".
The TD throw to Ace Sanders was, IMO, his best throw ever as a Gamecock. Dropping a dime to a 5'8 receiver in the corner of the endzone between the Safety and Corner is something we really haven't seen him do before. What I am hoping for is that it becomes a confidence builder that he can make some tighter throws. I think that is probably the #1 issue with his game and it'll probably get better with more reps.
I still think the offense is a little vanilla with the sets but that could be by design. I did notice one time where we went empty backfield and I want to say there were 2 tight ends out there so its in the package. That formation, IMO, is going to be money going forward. I really hope they unleash it on Georgia. The offensive staff is really getting creative with our wide receivers. I love seeing Bruce and Damiere contribute in the run game with the misdirection and reverses. The imagination is starting to show up and that means Spurrier is confident which is bad news for defenses.
Speaking of our receivers, these guys are turning into some ball players. I know we love the Sidney and Alshon's of the world, but I wouldn't trade Bruce, Damiere, and Ace for many other receivers in the conference. These guys are DANGEROUS and are only getting better. For example on the Ace Sanders TD catch, he absolutely ABUSED Missouri's best corner off the LOS. It was textbook. Speed kills out there and when you take their speed and match it with Spurrier's passing tree and a accurate QB, you have the recipe for big plays.
Thought the offensive line played well. They did a lot of pulling during the game rather than up the middle. Corey Robinson looked pretty good in his first start and I think Mike Matulis is more comfortable at RT. Hopefully, Coach Elliott is going to have his best 5 gelling soon because we shouldn't be rotating linemen this far into the season especially with Murderer's Row coming up. I'm not sure why we aren't having much success up the middle. That may be something we just have to attempt to overcome but sure do look good when we are pulling guards.
Getting a little impatient with Shaq and Jerell. I'm not sure what is keeping these guys off the field (more Shaq than Jerell). But we are going to need them here shortly. It appears that Shaq is running more complexed routes than he did a few weeks ago so hopefully that is a sign that they are getting ready to take the training wheels off.
Well I think this was about as good of a performance as you could hope for. I'll go ahead and say it though that Missouri quit at halftime. I really believe that. I didn't see any fight from those guys in the 2nd half, I didn't see any adjustments. Those guys have a lot to learn about the SEC, IMO. I'm not saying they are a bad addition, but I do think they are going to need to make some changes to what they do .. cultural changes if you will.
For USC, I think a lot of our questions were answered at least temporarily. The offense looks balanced and potentially explosive. Defense is sick. The Special Teams, wow, they were special. Joe Robinson had a good day at the office with this group and hopefully he is able to keep them good play going. I think the only nitpicking question mark is with Adam Yates and can he hit a crucial field goal when it matters. I got this feeling that he is going to be tested the next month.
Overall, I am very happy and optimistic. I think USC couldn't be in a better position than it is right now and it just comes down to taking care of business on the road this week in a venue that they haven't played well in historically and then getting ready for what could be one of the biggest games in program history on October 6th.