Steve Spurrier was adamant about throwing the ball in Saturday’s matchup with East Carolina.
His persistence paid off as USC produced the highest single-game passing total (397 yards) in his eight seasons as coach during a 48-10 trouncing of East Carolina in the home opener in front of more than 77,000 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Dylan Thompson flourished in his first career start, completing 21-of-37 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
With Shaw sidelined, most thought that USC would focus on running the ball with Marcus Lattimore and the deep running back corps.
Wrong.
Instead, happy Gamecock fans were treated to vintage Spurrier as Thompson came out firing from the opening bell and he continued throwing the ball for four quarters. In fact, the Gamecocks’ final play from scrimmage was a 51-yard touchdown pass from Seth Strickland with less than a minute remaining.
“We felt coming in we’d have a chance to get the ball off and see what happens,” Spurrier said. “Today, the ball was in the air for probably more distance than any game I’ve coached here. We got it down there. We didn’t hit them all, but at least we got them in the air. Our receivers had fun going after them.”
USC scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions to grab a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and cruised to the win. The 48 points represented the fourth-highest single-game output in Spurrier’s eight years.
“We were determined to throw the ball around this week,” Spurrier said in his post-game interview with the Gamecock Radio Network. “Dylan played very well and hit just about everything.
The defense played well. It was a good win and a lot of guys got the chance to play.”
Spurrier improved to 57-35 at USC.
The Gamecocks literally flew over ECU’s 3-4 defensive alignment with 528 total yards, a sum exceeded only once in Spurrier’s tenure at USC. The Gamecocks had 545 yards against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2008.
Eleven different Gamecocks caught at least one pass, including highly touted freshman Shaq Roland, who had two receptions for 25 yards.
Thompson’s performance was nearly flawless. “Dylan was ready to play and he had a lot of confidence,” Spurrier said.
By averaging 7.1 yards per play, USC extended its winning streak to six dating to last season, tying for the third-longest in school history. The Gamecocks also pushed their regular-season non-conference winning streak to 13 games.
USC scored six touchdowns on 13 offensive possessions and had five drives of 70 yards or more in the game. However, just one of those drives lasted longer than 10 plays and took more than three minutes.
“They coached me up tremendously all week,” Thompson said. “Coach Spurrier and coach (G.A.) Mangus did what they do. They’re great coaches and gave me the chance to succeed. My job as the backup is to always be ready. All week I had my mind focused on,‘It’s my week to show what I can do.’ We got off to a great start.”
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His persistence paid off as USC produced the highest single-game passing total (397 yards) in his eight seasons as coach during a 48-10 trouncing of East Carolina in the home opener in front of more than 77,000 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Dylan Thompson flourished in his first career start, completing 21-of-37 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
With Shaw sidelined, most thought that USC would focus on running the ball with Marcus Lattimore and the deep running back corps.
Wrong.
Instead, happy Gamecock fans were treated to vintage Spurrier as Thompson came out firing from the opening bell and he continued throwing the ball for four quarters. In fact, the Gamecocks’ final play from scrimmage was a 51-yard touchdown pass from Seth Strickland with less than a minute remaining.
“We felt coming in we’d have a chance to get the ball off and see what happens,” Spurrier said. “Today, the ball was in the air for probably more distance than any game I’ve coached here. We got it down there. We didn’t hit them all, but at least we got them in the air. Our receivers had fun going after them.”
USC scored touchdowns on three of its first four possessions to grab a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and cruised to the win. The 48 points represented the fourth-highest single-game output in Spurrier’s eight years.
“We were determined to throw the ball around this week,” Spurrier said in his post-game interview with the Gamecock Radio Network. “Dylan played very well and hit just about everything.
The defense played well. It was a good win and a lot of guys got the chance to play.”
Spurrier improved to 57-35 at USC.
The Gamecocks literally flew over ECU’s 3-4 defensive alignment with 528 total yards, a sum exceeded only once in Spurrier’s tenure at USC. The Gamecocks had 545 yards against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2008.
Eleven different Gamecocks caught at least one pass, including highly touted freshman Shaq Roland, who had two receptions for 25 yards.
Thompson’s performance was nearly flawless. “Dylan was ready to play and he had a lot of confidence,” Spurrier said.
By averaging 7.1 yards per play, USC extended its winning streak to six dating to last season, tying for the third-longest in school history. The Gamecocks also pushed their regular-season non-conference winning streak to 13 games.
USC scored six touchdowns on 13 offensive possessions and had five drives of 70 yards or more in the game. However, just one of those drives lasted longer than 10 plays and took more than three minutes.
“They coached me up tremendously all week,” Thompson said. “Coach Spurrier and coach (G.A.) Mangus did what they do. They’re great coaches and gave me the chance to succeed. My job as the backup is to always be ready. All week I had my mind focused on,‘It’s my week to show what I can do.’ We got off to a great start.”
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