Shameful Performance by Gamecock Offense

Folks, there is no way to sugar coat or put a positive spin on what occurred at a cold and windy Legion Field in Birmingham today. This was a shameful performance by the Carolina offense. From the outset the Gamecock gameplan appeared to be finess, as Steve Spurrier conceded the line of scrimmage and the ground attack after the second series.

On a day when the weather conditions were not condusive to passing the football, it appeared tha was all Spurrier intended to do. The Gamecocks were playing a UConn defense that was giving up over 400 yards per game. This was not Florida or Alabama's defense in navy blue jersey's today. Yet, UConn dominated the Gamecock offensive line and Carolina had a mere 84 yards of total offense in the first half.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Carolina abandoned the running game, even though they faced only a 13-0 deficit.

It was the same story as last year's Outback Bowl as the Gamecocks committed key penalties, had lost yardage plays, while their opponent played virtually mistake free. UConn did not commit a single penalty the entire game.

The one big play that could have turned momentum around, never materialized, as Akeem Auguste's potential pick six fell harmlessly to the ground in the 3rd quarter, a play that would have pulled Carolina to 13-7 and swung momentum the Gamecock's way.

It is hard to blame the Carolina defense, as UConn came into the game with a potent ground attack. The Gamecock defense was on the field virtually the entire first half as the offense did not get a first down until over well into the second quarter. The defense was constantly playing a short field and pout in bad situations by Carolina's inability to move the football.

There was nothing to be excited about on this day for the 30 thousand plus Carolina fans that braved this cold winter afternoon at Historic Legion Field.


Now, Spurrier must turn his attention to making a quality hire with the vacant offensive line coaching position, then its on to recruiting. Carolina must get a hard-nosed physical offensive line coach and Spurrier must adjust his philosophy if he is going to be better than a 7-6 program of his first five seasons. A strong finish in recruitng will ease the sting of this loss. While I still think this season was a success, a disappointing loss like this does not send the players into the off season with a lot of momentum. Hopefully this young core of players will take to heart what happened today and learn that in football the toughest and most disciplined team is the oe that wins.

Up next, John Fulton's decision and the importance of being more physical on offense.