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| South Carolina slows down Spiller in win
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| Staff CollegeFootballNews.com | Nov 28, 2009 | ||
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South Carolina Gamecocks 2009 ... Head Coach: Steve Spurrier
Nov. 27 at South Carolina 34 … Clemson 17 Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes including two short ones to Weslye Saunders, while the defense contained C.J. Spiller as South Carolina won easily. Spiller took the opening kickoff 88 yards for a score, but that was it for the Tiger explosiveness the Gamecocks allowing just 260 yards of total Tiger offense while hanging on to the ball for over 36 minutes. Brian Maddox tied the score at seven with a one-yard run sparking a run of 24 straight points. Clemson didn’t get into the end zone until the final four minutes on a 22-yard Michael Palmer catch. Player of the Game: South Carolina RB Kenny Miles ran 17 times for 114 yards Clemson: Passing: Kyle Parker, 22-42, 212 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: C.J. Spiller, 9-18, Receiving: Michael Palmer, 8-106, 1 TD South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 10-21, 126 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Miles, 17-114, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 4-65 What It All Means: S-E-C … S-E-C. That was the South Carolina chant after the defense came up with a brilliant effort and the team overcame a three-game losing streak and a rough run of four losses in five games. The running game came up with one of its better games of the season, and while Stephen Garcia wasn’t always on, he did enough to keep the chains moving. This was the type of with that will make everyone love Steve Spurrier again, and it’ll set the expectations high for the bowl game and for next year. Nov. 14 Florida 24 … at South Carolina 14 Riley Cooper took a pass 68 yards and Emmanuel Moody ran for a 17-yard touchdown run to give Florida a 17-7 lead, but the defense was needed to pull off the win. South Carolina pulled within three in the first half on a nine-yard catch from Weslye Saunders, and had a chance to take the lead in the fourth, but Justin Trattou picked off a Stephen Garcia pass and Florida ended up putting the game away on a one-yard Tim Tebow touchdown run. Player of the Game: Florida CB Joe Haden made 11 tackles, forced two fumbles, made a sack, and picked off a pass. South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 17-32, 186 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Rushing: Brian Maddox, 17-82, 1 TD, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 6-57 Florida: Passing: Tim Tebow, 14-25, 199 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Chris Rainey, 10-46, Receiving: Brandon James, 3-30 What It All Means: It’s the theme of the South Carolina season. When the team needs one big play to turn things around, it doesn’t get it. It couldn’t get it against Alabama, it couldn’t get it against Georgia, and it didn’t get it against Florida, and now the season is taking a big turn south. The Gamecocks are on a three-game losing streak, and have lost four of their last five games with Clemson coming up. Stephen Garcia needed to be special, and he wasn’t, and the defense had to be dominant, and it was just fine. But to beat the Tigers in two weeks, the D has to get a lot better at making big things happen (like forcing turnovers) and Garcia has to make everyone around him better. Oct. 7 at Arkansas 33 … South Carolina 16 Arkansas overcame a rocky start and tough start to the second half, with South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery taking a pass 80 yards for a score, by scoring 23 unanswered points. Ryan Mallett didn’t throw any touchdown passes, but he ran it in from one-yard out and Broderick Green scored from two and three yards away. South Carolina got a touchdown pass and a one-yard scoring run from Stephen Garcia. Player of the Game: Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett completed 23-of-27 passes for 329 yards, and he ran for a short score South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 20-34, 327 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Miles, 8-34, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 5-116, 1 TD Arkansas: Passing: Ryan Mallett, 23-27, 329 yds Rushing: Broderick Green, 13-47, 2 TD, Receiving: D.J. Williams, 7-137 What It All Means: South Carolina had put up great numbers against the pass all season long, but that’s partly because everyone ran the ball and there weren’t many efficient, effective passing attacks to deal with. That all changed against Arkansas and Ryan Mallett picked the Gamecocks apart. Stephen Garcia and the passing game did a nice job of keeping up the pace for a while, but the defense couldn’t get Mallett off the field. The schedule gets really tough with Florida and Clemson to finish off the year. Oct. 31 at Tennessee 31 … South Carolina 13 Wearing black jerseys on Halloween night, Tennessee came out roaring with two Jonathan Crompton touchdown passes and a 14-yard Montario Hardesty touchdown run on the way to a 21-0 first half lead. South Carolina outgained the Vols, but four turnovers and settling for two field goals to answer the UT touchdowns were too much to overcome. Hardesty ran for a seven-yard score in the third quarter, but Moe Brown answered with a 31-yard scoring catch for the Gamecocks’ only touchdown. That was it for the excitement as Chad Cunningham put the game well out of reach with a 39-yard field goal. Player of the Game: Tennessee RB Montario Hardesty ran 23 times for 121 yards and two scores. South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 25-50, 300 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Miles, 8-44, Receiving: Kenny Miles, 5-44 Tennessee: Passing: Jonathan Crompton, 12-24, 142 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Montario Hardesty, 23-121, 2 TD, Receiving: Denarius Moore, 3-34 What It All Means: South Carolina had a big chance to show it was for real in the SEC pecking order, and for the second time in three weeks the offense came up short when it had its chances. The defense couldn’t come up with the stops needed to overcome three fumbles and a pick, while the offense didn’t get into the end zone until it was way too late. However, Stephen Garcia threw well on a good Tennessee pass defense and showed that USC should be able to keep up in a likely shootout at Arkansas next week. Oct. 24 at South Carolina 14 … Vanderbilt 10 South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia connected with D.L. Moore for a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter on a juggling grab, but Vanderbilt responded with a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Warren Norman. The Commodores took a 10-7 lead on a 21-yard Ryan Fowler field goal, but the Gamecocks responded with a 43-yard Alshon Jeffery touchdown catch in the fourth. USC outgained Vandy 431 yards to 132. Player of the Game: South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery caught eight passes for 161 yards and a score. Vanderbilt: Passing: Larry Smith, 16-33, 132 yds Rushing: Warren Norman, 14-83, Receiving: John Cole, 4-37 South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 22-33, 312 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Kenny Miles, 18-102, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 8-161, 1 TD What It All Means: Yuck. It’s one thing to not be all that pretty, and it’s another thing to struggle against Vanderbilt. Stephen Garcia threw well, and the offense controlled the game, but the yards weren’t converted to points. WR Alshon Jeffery did a great job of stepping up his game with Moe Brown out, and he’s going to have to be an even bigger part of the attack against Tennessee and Arkansas over the next few weeks. The offensive line has to go from fine to fantastic in a big hurry. Oct. 17 at Alabama 20 … South Carolina 6 The Alabama defense came up with a 77-yard Mark Barron interception return for a touchdown in the first 1:02, and it held firm the rest of the way allowing just two Spencer Lanning field goals and holding the Gamecocks out of the end zone on a late drive. The passing game struggled, but the Tide got a brilliant day from Mark Ingram, who set a career high with 246 rushing yards with a four-yard touchdown to put the game away in the fourth. The Tide outgained the Gamecocks 356 yards to 278. Player of the Game: Alabama RB Mark Ingram ran 24 times for 246 yards and a score, and led the team with 23 yards on two catches. South Carolina : Passing: Stephen Garcia, 20-46, 214 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Miles, 15-40, Receiving: Jason Barnes, 6-46 Alabama: Passing: Greg McElroy, 10-20, 92 yds, 2 INT Rushing: Mark Ingram, 24-246, 1 TD, Receiving: Mark Ingram, 2-23 What It All Means: No one’s doing much of anything on the Alabama defense, so it’s not too much of a concern that the offense didn’t work well. But the Gamecocks were in the game until late and didn’t take advantage of their chances. There needed to be more of a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter, and even with the loss of WR Moe Brown to a concussion, the passing game needed to take more chances. QB Stephen Garcia did his best, but he was dinged up with a leg injury. While he played through it, he wasn’t able to move and now he might have to take a week off with a lousy Vanderbilt team up next before going back on the road to face Tennessee and Arkansas. Oct. 10 at South Carolina 28 … Kentucky 26 Stephen Garcia connected with Alshon Jeffery for touchdown passes from 10, 28, and 22 yards out, and Garcia ran for a one-yard score, but it was a fight. Kentucky matched USC play for play with Derrick Locke running for an 11-yard score and Ashton Cobb catching a seven-yard touchdown pass in the first half, and Randall Cobb pulling the Cats within two on a two-yard run with 4:34 to play. The Gamecocks were able to run out the clock helped by a leaping run from Garcia. In a near dead-even game, South Carolina outgained UK 361 yards to 360. Player of the Game: South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery caught seven catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns. Kentucky: Passing: Mike Hartline, 9-14, 139 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Derrick Locke, 24-89, 1 TD & Randall Cobb, 13-89, 1 TD, Receiving: Derrick Locke, 4-20 South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 16-23, 233 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Kenny Miles, 17-100, Receiving: Alshon Jeffery, 7-138, 3 TD What It All Means: If it wasn’t established before, it is now: Stephen Garcia is the face of the program for the next few years. There wasn’t much of a running game against Kentucky and the defense had a surprisingly hard time against the Wildcat ground attack, but Garcia made plays happen when needed and found a go-to target in Alshon Jeffery for three touchdowns. At 5-1, the Gamecocks are playing as well as they have in the Steve Spurrier era, and now it’s time to see just how good the team really is with a trip to Alabama up next. If Garcia can be flawless and the D plays tighter and most consistently than it did against UK, USC has a shot. Oct. 3 at South Carolina 38 … South Carolina State 14 It took a little while to get going, but South Carolina had no problems putting points on the board from the second quarter on as Stephen Garcia hit Moe Brown for touchdown passes from 40 and nine yards out in the third quarter, and he ran for a one-yard touchdown in the second. Malcolm Long ran for two short scores for SCSU, but they weren’t nearly enough to keep up the pace. Player of the Game: South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia completed 13-of-19 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for a score. South Carolina State: Passing: Malcolm Long, 12-22, 135 yds Rushing: William Ford, 17-57, Receiving: Terrance Smith, 3-56 South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 13-19, 132 yds, 2 TD Rushing: Jarvis Giles, 11-74, Receiving: Moe Brown 6-100, 2 TD What It All Means: The offense needs as much work as it can get after spotty performances against Ole Miss and Florida Atlantic. After doing nothing in the fourth quarter against the Rebels and in the first quarter against South Carolina State, there’s still a lot of proving it can do to show it can be more consistent. Eric Norwood had another huge day for the defense, while Stephen Garcia cemented himself further as the leader and the star of the offense. There’s one more relative warm-up against Kentucky before getting a huge chance to make some noise at Alabama. Sept. 24 at South Carolina 16 ... Ole Miss 10 The South Carolina defense battered Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead and controlled the game for three quarters, and then hung on for dear life. Spencer Lanning hit three field goals and Patrick DiMarco took a pass two yards for a score on the way to a 16-3 Gamecock lead, but the offense couldn't move the ball in the fourth quarter and Ole Miss struck back with a 45-yard touchdown catch from Markeith Summers. The Rebels had one last chance, but a fourth down pass was broken up. Player of the Game: South Carolina LB/DE Eric Norwood made ten tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, and tipped a punt Ole Miss: Passing: Jevan Snead, 7-21, 107 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Dexter McCluster, 15-85, Receiving: Markeith Summers, 2-60, 1 TD South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 16-34, 220 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Kenny Miles, 13-52, Receiving: Tori Gurley, 4-60 What It All Means: As long as the pass rush is working, South Carolina has a chance against anyone. The offense sputtered in the fourth quarter and didn't put the game away when it had chances, but the defense came through thanks to an All-America day from Eric Norwood,. The key was getting off the field, holding Ole Miss just 1-of-13 on third down conversions. Now the team has to get the passing game going and find some semblance of a steady running game, and the tune up will come against South Carolina State. But if USC could hang with the speed of Ole Miss, then it can stay with anyone on the schedule, including Florida. Sept. 19 at South Carolina 38 … Florida Atlantic 16 Brian Maddox ran for two scores and caught another and Stephen Garcia ran for a 15-yard score as South Carolina beat a mistake-prone FAU. The Owls came back from a 17-3 deficit to pull within one after two Rusty Smith touchdown passes, but two turnovers early in the second half led to two of Maddox’s scores as the Gamecocks pulled away. USC outgained FAU 516 yards to 307. Player of the Game: South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia completed 20-of-27 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown, and he ran four times for 18 yards and a score. Florida Atlantic: Passing: Rusty Smith, 21-31, 198 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Alfred Morris, 22-79, Receiving: Chris Bonner, 6-57, 1 TD South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 20-27, 222 yds, 1 TD Rushing: Jarvis Giles, 11-113, 1 TD, Receiving: Tori Gurley, 4-100 What It All Means: The South Carolina offense is humming at just the right time. This might not be like a vintage Steve Spurrier attack, but after struggling so much in the opener against NC State, the Gamecocks are rolling with Stephen Garcia playing extremely well. There’s a nice offensive balance, the defense is changing games by making big plays, and the secondary is doing a great job, helped by the pass rush. Watch out on Thursday night. The team is good enough to beat Ole Miss. Sept. 12 at Georgia 41 ... South Carolina 37 In a wild and wacky game, South Carolina was finally stopped when Stephen Garcia misfired in the end zone. Before that, the two teams scored in almost every way possible. Garcia threw three touchdown passes and Spencer Lanning kicked five field goals for thee Gamecocks, but it took a big defensive play, a 35-yard interception return for a score from Eric Norwood, to seemingly tie it up in the fourth. But the extra point was blocked, Georgia got a 42-yard Blair Walsh field goal, and USC couldn't answer. The Dawgs were outgained 427 yards to 308, but they got a 100-yard kickoff return for a score from Brandon Boykin and a 61-yard Branden Smith scoring dash to keep up in a wild first half. two Joe Cox touchdown passes gave Georgia the lead for good, but it would be a nail-biter. Player of the Game: In a losing cause, South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia completed 31-of-53 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and ran ten times for 42 yards. Georgia: Passing: Joe Cox, 17-24, 201 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Richard Samuel, 15-65, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Green, 6-86, 1 TD South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 31-53, 313 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing: Stephen Garcia, 10-42, Receiving: Weslye Saunders, 8-96 What It All Means: South Carolina has its quarterback. The Gamecocks did nearly everything right against Georgia but win. Stephen Garcia is a playmaker the offense has been looking for ever since Steve Spurrier took over, and while this might have been a loss, he appears to be a star to build around. He kept the mistakes to a minimum, he made enough big plays to keep the Dawgs on their heels, and he came within a misfire of pulling off the win. It would be nice if there was more of a running attack, and the Gamecocks need to find it, Garcia can't be the leading rusher again, before dealing with Ole Miss in two weeks. Sept. 3 South Carolina 7 … at NC State 3 In a sloppy game with several drops, little offensive consistency, and only 389 yards of combined offense, South Carolina took advantage of a Toney Baker fumble to go 14 yards in four plays with Brian Maddox scoring from one yards out for all the points needed. NC State came up with a 43-yard field goal from Josh Czajkowski, but failed on late drives with a drop and another broken up play in the end zone. NC State was held to just 133 yards of offense. Player of the Game: South Carolina LB Eric Norwood made eight tackles and two sacks South Carolina: Passing: Stephen Garcia, 13-22, 148 yds, 1 INT Rushing: Brian Maddox, 23-66, 1 TD, Receiving: Weslye Saunders, 4-50 NC State: Passing: Russell Wilson, 12-23, 74 yds Rushing: Jamelle Eugene, 9-36, Receiving: George Bryan, 4-22 What It All Means: No, this wasn't a great performance by QB Stephen Garcia, and he's going to have to become more of a playmaker if the Gamecocks are going to have any shot at Georgia or Ole Miss in the near future, but considering all the problems of last year with interceptions from the USC passers, just throwing the one pick while avoiding making the major mistake is a big step. How did South Carolina score? It converted a NC State turnover into points. In a game dominated by defenses, Garcia never gave the Wolfpack a chance at anything cheap. 256 yards of total offense might not sit well with Steve Spurrier, but in a game when nothing worked for either side, a win is a win is a win. Copyright © Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com | |||