50 passes in a game not a successful formula for USC. It’s happened twice this year
South Carolina quarterback Ryan Hilinski has been asked to do a lot for someone so young.
He’s had to step in as a starter as a true freshman. He’s playing behind a line that has had injuries and changes, with several players whose forte is more run blocking than pass blocking. He’s taken hits, been hurt and not let any of that adversity dampen an enthusiastic spirit.
But twice this season, he’s been put in situations his coaches don’t want, in a spot that’s relative rarity in recent years.
“Our formula is not going to be very successful throwing the ball 50 times right now,” Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp said. “Right now with our football team, that’s not a real successful formula for us.”
Hilinski has done that twice in his first seven career games. No Gamecocks quarterback has done it three times.
All told, USC QBs have only thrown 50 or more passes in a single game nine other times in program history. Jake Bentley did it last year against Clemson. Dylan Thompson did it in a shootout loss to Auburn. Stephen Garcia, Todd Ellis, Steve Taneyhill each did it twice, while Blake Mitchell did it once.
South Carolina is 1-10 in those games. The only victory was by two points against a 1-5 Virginia Tech team on a day where South Carolina had five interceptions.
In those games this season, Hilinski threw for 319 and 324 yards.
What’s notable is that he hasn’t thrown more than 35 passes in any other game and was at 30 or fewer attempts in more than half his games.
It points to those games turning into moments of desperation. He threw 57 passes in a game where Alabama was running wild. He had only 19 attempts before halftime against Tennessee, but threw 32 after as the Vols ripped off a 24-0 run.
In his coach’s mind, part of that is a failure of the run game. In the seven games Hilinski has played, the team has averaged 4.7 yards per carry or better four times. Once, the offense had to grind out a win against Georgia. (Hilinski was highly accurate that day.) Only against Missouri and last weekend did the ground game struggle.
Against the Vols, the Gamecocks got a little away from their pin-and-pull base scheme, but they also didn’t run well on any front. They didn’t help themselves by getting behind the sticks or getting pinned near the goal line.
And when that half of things falls away, Hilinski drops back again and again. He’s on pace to throw the fifth-most passes in a season for a Gamecock, assuming he only plays 11 games. Most quarterbacks want to sling it, but the plan is to keep a little less on his plate.
“The other night and really only two games this year, Missouri and Tennessee, we didn’t effectively run the football,” Muschamp said. “We need to be able to do that.”
50-pass games in South Carolina history
1. Steve Taneyhill vs. East Carolina (1994): 58
2. Ryan Hilinski vs. Alabama (2019): 57
T-3. Todd Ellis vs. Virginia Tech (1988): 53
T-3. Stephen Garcia at Georgia (2009): 53
T-5. Todd Ellis vs. Georgia (1987): 51
T-5. Steve Taneyhill vs. Georgia (1995): 51
T-5. Blake Mitchell vs. Arkansas (2007): 51
T-5. Ryan Hilinski vs. Missouri (2019): 51
T-9. Stephen Garcia at Tennessee (2009): 50
T-9. Dylan Thompson at Auburn (2014): 50
T-9. Jake Bentley at Clemson (2018): 50
