Instant Analysis - Sept. 3
South Carolina 7 ... NC State 3
South Carolina
7...
NC State
3
Pete
Fiutak
When will coaches ever learn? NC State is a much, much better team than it showed against South Carolina, and that’ll show over the next several weeks. This is a game that the Wolfpack gave away, and while the South Carolina defense had something to do with it, a lot to do with it, NC State shot itself in the foot time and again.
The Wolfpack has layups ahead with easy games against Murray State and Gardner-Webb, and these games needed to be played before a battle with a team like South Carolina. Watch and see how much better and how much crisper State is against Pitt on September 26th.
Again, though, credit has to be given to South Carolina. The defense swarmed into the backfield time and again, and while there was some help from dropped passes, especially a big one in the end zone, the Gamecocks made the plays when needed.
Lost in the defensive struggle, to give this game a nice spin, was the play of USC QB Stephen Garcia, who only threw one interception, didn’t make any truly big mistakes, and didn’t force anything. He’ll have to be more of a playmaker for the Gamecocks to have any shot at Georgia or against Ole Miss in the coming weeks, but just getting out with a win is enough for a season opener. However, eventually, even an Ol’ Ball Coach like Steve Spurrier will realize that it’s fine to play a cupcake first, even if this will turn into a positive confidence builder with a tough schedule ahead.
Richard
Cirminiello
Steve Spurrier got career win No. 171 in Raleigh Thursday night, but it really belonged to defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and his assistants. The Gamecock D was brilliant in a 7-3 slugfest.
While South Carolina has a long way to go on offense, it’s going to be competitive every week because of a swarming, hard-hitting defense that held NC State and reigning All-ACC QB Russell Wilson to a little more than 100 yards and a measly third quarter field goal. Collectively, this unit has great speed and a legitimate star at linebacker in senior Eric Norwood. Redshirt freshman DE Devin Taylor looked just fine as a replacement for suspended starter Clifton Geathers, and true freshman CB Stephon Gilmore was ridiculously comfortable in his first career game. In other, Johnson’s kids are likely to get better as the season progresses. If Spurrier’s offense, specifically QB Stephen Garcia, can evolve, the ‘Cocks are capable of exceeding expectations in 2009.
Although the margin of victory was only four points, the SEC team was noticeably faster and more physical than the ACC team. Was it an omen for Saturday’s marquee match up between Virginia Tech and Alabama in Atlanta? Just wondering aloud.
Matt Zemek
Watching football year after year after year, some elements of strategy are sadly and woefully underutilized. Tonight in Raleigh, South Carolina’s defensive coaching staff, led by coordinator Ellis Johnson, made football connoisseurs exult. With the Gamecocks clinging to a precarious 7-3 lead in the fourth quarter of a road game they weren’t favored to win, North Carolina State—aided by momentum—began to play downhill and run the ball with some authority. With the Wolfpack driving at the South Carolina 38 with 9:30 left in the final period, Johnson did what other defensive coordinators so seldom manage to do: He called a defensive timeout, a timeout designed to give his unit rest while blunting State’s rising adrenaline level. Sure enough, the Gamecocks’ stellar defense found a higher gear after the rejuvenating timeout, preserving a hard-fought victory for Carolina. Defensive timeouts—glad to know that one coaching staff knows when to use them.
Michael Bradley
Remember back when the Ol’ Ball Coach won games by overwhelming teams with offense and big plays? That’s long gone, because South Carolina is doing it with defense, and as most Boston College grads will tell you, it can be easy at times to stifle a Tom O’Brien/Dana Bible attack. That’s what happened Thursday night, as NC State managed all of 133 total yards, and Russell Wilson hardly looked like the nation’s next big-time dual-threat QB. Not that Stephen Garcia was all that much better, and an attack that posted 256 total yards is ready to scare Florida, but this is another example of how Steve Spurrier is succeeding these days. He doesn’t have the great skill people, so he turns it over to Ellis Johnson and the defense and lets them win the game. It may not be the flash USC fans expected when Spurrier took the job, but it has been successful enough to this point and brought a win Thursday night