How South Carolina got back to the ground game, with some tweaks

South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp could leave Saturday’s win against Arkansas content with this: Balance returned to USC’s offense.

Though five games, South Carolina topped 2.7 yards a carry in a game twice. Both times, only Ty’Son Williams was particularly efficient, and big plays usually boosted that.

Against the Razorbacks, USC posted its second-best rushing game of the season with 159 yards, and did so with long stretches of efficient, pounding running.

“I thought offensively we established the run well,” Muschamp said. “We wore them down in the third quarter. We ran the ball at will.”

That period saw the Gamecocks post 74 yards on 11 carries. They opened the fourth pounding down to the goal line before scoring on play-action to put things out of reach in the 48-22 win at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The production was spread out, but Rico Dowdle led the way with 61 yards on 11 carries.

Some of that was success with the team’s base inside zone and power runs, but USC also started creating issues with jet sweep runs.

Formerly the providence of Deebo Samuel, those plays opened things up against Arkansas. The Razorbacks relied on big linebackers holding the edge, but the threat of the sweep moved them out and opened lanes.

The Gamecocks ran at least three sweeps, twice with 250-pound Hayden Hurst and once with wide receiver Bryan Edwards. It was Edwards’ first career carry, and he showed some power when he went 11 yards to set up a touchdown.

It wasn’t his usual style, but he adapted.

“It was fun,” Edwards said. “It was one of my first runs. So I was kind of iffy about it, but I got it, I hit it. Got the first down and kept the drive moving. That’s all you can really ask for.”