GoGamecocks.com
Tale of two halves for USC tight ends
Cook, Saunders spark offense early, but heavy pass rush keeps Garcia from finding them after halftime
USC tight end Weslye Saunders (88) trots into the end zone in front of LSU defensive back Chris Hawkins No. 29 during the second quarter.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com
CommentsIn the first half of South Carolina's 24-17 loss to LSU, the Gamecocks offense was cookin' — thanks in large part to tight end Jared Cook.
USC took a 17-10 lead into halftime on the arm of Stephen Garcia and the hands of Cook and his backup, Weslye Saunders.
Garcia found Cook three times for 54 yards in the first half, including a 31-yard gain that jump-started USC's first scoring drive and led to Ryan Succop’s 21-yard field goal to tie the game at 3. Garcia also connected with Cook for a 12-yarder at the end of that nine-play, 76-yard drive.
In the Gamecocks' scoring drive that tied the game at 10 late in the first half, Garcia located a wide-open Weslye Saunders dragging across the middle. Saunders made the catch and scampered 26 yards to the end zone.
That would be the 6-foot-5, 274-pound Saunders' only catch of the night.
"Jared catches a lot of balls each game. Weslye had a nice catch-and-throw. We had a few good plays, but not enough," USC coach Steve Spurrier said.
The drag route by the tight end worked well for USC in the first half.
"That was our best play most of the night," said Spurrier, who credited LSU with doing a better job changing its coverages in the second half.
But the passes that worked so well in the first half weren't available in the second, as Garcia struggled to find receivers under a fierce pass rush. Cook did pull in a couple of more passes in the third quarter, one for 7 yards and another for 13, but they both came in the middle of drives that ended up going nowhere.
"LSU has a good defense. Their guys were flying to the ball," Cook said.
The Gamecocks didn’t penetrated deeper than the LSU 46-yard line in the second half.
The 6-5, 240-pound Cook, who finished with five catches for 74 yards, was disappointed his team couldn't keep it going past halftime.
"Things changed over the course of the game. We had to pick up on it," Cook said. "We had trouble executing the plays. We've got to execute better."
Garcia knew why his opportunities to throw to the tight ends disappeared.
"They adjusted and started coming with a big blitz. They blitzed a lot more than they did in the first half. It's that simple," he said.
It didn’t help that the Gamecocks were unable to counter with a ground attack.
"It's pretty tough without a running game," said Garcia, who also noted the speed of the Tigers' defense was a big factor.
Most Viewed Stories
- Gamecocks receive an urgent message
- Shorthanded to start: 5 questions facing USC baseball
- North Carolina Receiver Holds USC Offer
- USC Interested In Union County Lineman
- Men's pregame: Gamecocks vs. Gators
- Downey injures ankle but expects to play
- USC recruit could be removed from high school
- Downey held out of practice
- USC Taking Look At Florida Lineman
- SEC basketball: Midseason report
@Nyx.CommentBody@