After allowing six touchdowns and 551 yards in a 42-35 loss to Auburn on Saturday night, defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward uttered a phrase one never wants to say halfway through the season.
“You have to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Eight games in and sporting the worst scoring defense in the Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks (4-4, 2-4) have to go back to the drawing board.
There are only so many things that can be done at this point though. There have been personnel moves by position, a greater emphasis on the 4-2-5 instead of the 3-4 and a constant shuffle of starters.
The next three opponents that South Carolina will face - Tennessee, Florida and South Alabama - are not exactly offensive juggernauts, so there may be a chance for the defense to show improvement. Clemson, while feeble offensively at the moment without DeShaun Watson at quarterback, should be better by the time November 29 rolls around.
Ward has to figure out the right buttons to push - whether it’s personnel or scheme.
“You can’t give up. We have five more games, four more games to play. Five more games. The season’s not over. We’re going to continue to work in practice and try to get better.”
The Gamecocks are giving up an average of 32.8 points per game this season, which is tied with Vanderbilt for the worst scoring defense in the conference. Only one school, Mississippi State (439.6) is giving up more yards per game than South Carolina (437.5) but the Bulldogs are only allowing 21.6 points per game.
Asked if it was frustrating to “have to go back to the drawing board” two-thirds of the way through the 12-game schedule, Ward backtracked a bit on the phrase.
“When you say that, you go back to the things you didn’t do very well,” Ward said. “It’s not taking anything from Auburn, they’re a good football team, but I felt like we should have played better.”
But to go back and take a look at the “things you didn’t do very well,” it certainly means going back to the drawing board since the Gamecocks didn’t do much very well against the Tigers.
Auburn rushed for 150 yards more than their season average and converted 6-of-8 third downs. Quarterback Nick Marshall, who was completing only 55 percent of his passes entering the game, hit on 83 percent of his throws against the defense.
The Tigers averaged 8.9 yards per play, went 4-for-4 on red zone chances and had 14 chunk yardage plays - rushes of 10-plus yards and completions of 15-plus yards - in the game.
After a first drive punt, Auburn scored touchdowns on six straight possessions and that was enough for a victory.
“I thought we came out ready to play,” Ward said. “It went south somehow. I thought the kids came out with a lot of fire and ready to play. There are some plays they hit on and we had guys try to do too much. We have to take care of our assignments and try not to do too much.”
Now, eight games in, it’s back to the drawing board.
“You have to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Eight games in and sporting the worst scoring defense in the Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks (4-4, 2-4) have to go back to the drawing board.
There are only so many things that can be done at this point though. There have been personnel moves by position, a greater emphasis on the 4-2-5 instead of the 3-4 and a constant shuffle of starters.
The next three opponents that South Carolina will face - Tennessee, Florida and South Alabama - are not exactly offensive juggernauts, so there may be a chance for the defense to show improvement. Clemson, while feeble offensively at the moment without DeShaun Watson at quarterback, should be better by the time November 29 rolls around.
Ward has to figure out the right buttons to push - whether it’s personnel or scheme.
“You can’t give up. We have five more games, four more games to play. Five more games. The season’s not over. We’re going to continue to work in practice and try to get better.”
The Gamecocks are giving up an average of 32.8 points per game this season, which is tied with Vanderbilt for the worst scoring defense in the conference. Only one school, Mississippi State (439.6) is giving up more yards per game than South Carolina (437.5) but the Bulldogs are only allowing 21.6 points per game.
Asked if it was frustrating to “have to go back to the drawing board” two-thirds of the way through the 12-game schedule, Ward backtracked a bit on the phrase.
“When you say that, you go back to the things you didn’t do very well,” Ward said. “It’s not taking anything from Auburn, they’re a good football team, but I felt like we should have played better.”
But to go back and take a look at the “things you didn’t do very well,” it certainly means going back to the drawing board since the Gamecocks didn’t do much very well against the Tigers.
Auburn rushed for 150 yards more than their season average and converted 6-of-8 third downs. Quarterback Nick Marshall, who was completing only 55 percent of his passes entering the game, hit on 83 percent of his throws against the defense.
The Tigers averaged 8.9 yards per play, went 4-for-4 on red zone chances and had 14 chunk yardage plays - rushes of 10-plus yards and completions of 15-plus yards - in the game.
After a first drive punt, Auburn scored touchdowns on six straight possessions and that was enough for a victory.
“I thought we came out ready to play,” Ward said. “It went south somehow. I thought the kids came out with a lot of fire and ready to play. There are some plays they hit on and we had guys try to do too much. We have to take care of our assignments and try not to do too much.”
Now, eight games in, it’s back to the drawing board.