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Morris: Offense still a work in progress
Running back Brian Maddox scores a touchdown after a catch in the second quarter.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com
Posted on 09.13.09
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ATHENS, Ga.
STEVE SPURRIER NEEDED nine days to find his missing offense. The unit that did not show up more than a week ago in Raleigh came to play Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
It was not a thing of beauty, mind you. Too many costly penalties, an interception and five occasions when USC had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. That ultimately cost the Gamecocks what would have been a victory to talk about for years to come.
Too bad, because the 41-37 Georgia victory was the kind of game Spurrier said a week ago he longed to see again at USC.
“It would have been nice to have won that one 43-41,” Spurrier said. “That would have been nice, but we didn’t do it. Simple as that.”
USC’s last chance to pull off the upset of No. 21-ranked Georgia fell to the turf when Stephen Garcia’s fourth-down pass at the 7-yard line was batted away by Georgia’s Rennie Curran.
You might remember Curran as the same Georgia player who jarred the ball loose from Mike Davis at the goal line in USC’s 14-7 loss in Columbia a season ago. This time, it was Garcia whose night was ruined by Curran.
The sophomore quarterback easily set all of his career highs in completions (53), attempts (31) and yardage (313). He displayed the kind of smart play that has been missing from his game in four previous career starts. He generally remained in the pocket longer, threw passes away when needed and took off running only when all else failed.
“He’s the quarterback we all know,” said USC tight end Weslye Saunders. “Tonight, he showed the world what we knew all along.”
Of course, the numbers will show USC played the kind of wide-open, Cock ‘N’ Fire game Spurrier promised when he came to Columbia. USC’s 37 points, 427 total yards and 313 passing yards look strong on paper.
Heck, USC can brag about scoring its most points ever against Georgia. The 17 first-quarter points alone were the most scored by USC against Georgia since a 20-10 win in 2000.
But you had to see the game to know this was not exactly the kind of offense that will have USC fans believing Spurrier’s pitch-it-around-the-park days are back. Fact is, USC’s offense a week ago was as conservative as any Spurrier has coached. Against Georgia, it was much more down-the-middle vanilla.
The Gamecocks never established any running game to speak of, with Garcia’s 42 yards leading the ground attack. When he threw the ball, Garcia made mostly safe passes. Fade-route tosses to the corner of the end zone, button-hook throws to the tight end and swing passes to running backs were the order of the day.
Eight passes for 96 yards went to the tight end, Saunders. Another 11 were completed to a trio of running backs and accounted for 82 yards. USC occasionally threw long to receiver Tori Gurley, but two of his receptions were caught for touchdowns only to be nullified by penalties. That gives Gurley three touchdown passes called back in two games.
“We had a lot of mistakes,” Spurrier said. “Tori caught, what, (two) touchdowns and none of them counted. We had some penalties here and there that took away enough points.”
While USC might not have produced a lot of offense in the 7-3 victory against N.C. State, at least the unit appeared disciplined with only one penalty for pass interference. In the first quarter against Georgia, USC’s offense was penalized for holding, illegal formation, illegal man downfield, delay of game and a chop block.
Penalties aside — USC collected 11 for 98 yards — the game’s outcome came down to another week of missed opportunities for the offense. A week ago against N.C. State, USC managed one touchdown on four chances inside the 20-yard line. Against Georgia, USC maneuvered inside the 20 seven times, scoring five field goals and one touchdown.
“It’s frustrating being in the red zone that much and not be able to score,” Spurrier said. “Frustrating.”
The inability to put the ball into the end zone and far too many mistakes proved frustrating to Garcia as well.
“We just didn’t make the plays we needed to win the game,” Garcia said. “I think the offense played very well. We beat ourselves. That’s what it came down to. Two touchdowns called back, my interception. We gave them the ball on our side of the field all the time. It’s tough to beat a team like that making those mistakes.”
All things considered, though, the offense did enough to produce a victory. This time it was the defense and special teams that let USC down. Should the time come when the offense and defense play to the same level, USC can be a dangerous team, capable of beating anyone in the SEC.
Unfortunately for USC, that time was not Saturday.
Listen to Morris Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 93.1 FM.
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