How many yards, opportunities the Gamecocks lost with drops against Florida
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp counted six drops that played a role in his offense sputtering multiple times in a 38-24 loss to Florida.
A closer look at the game footage showed give or take six, plus one almost-drop and one other play that was close.
A review of each and the chance lost with them.
Good case as a drop
2:52 Q1, 3rd and 9
Yards lost: 10
Nick Muse ran a dig that would’ve been a first down to keep a drive alive. Florida scored on the next possession. There’s no guarantee how the drive would’ve ended, but staying on the field is always better than having to leave it.
14:37 Q2, 2nd and 10
Yards lost: minus-3 or more
This is a quirky one because a well-designed play found Xavier Legette with space behind the line of scrimmage and an offensive lineman leaking out to block for him. (It was a screen, but not one with an army of blockers.) Hit this, the third down might be manageable, instead what happened …
14:30 Q2, 3rd and 10
Yards lost: 11
This one is a little tricky because Shi Smith was headed into an oncoming safety. But Smith also got hands on the ball and had it ricochet off before hitting the defender. This was another one that would’ve kept the Gamecocks on the field. The miss didn’t do too much damage as the Gators fumbled it away a few plays later.
13:21 Q2, 2nd and 4
Yards lost: 13
Freshman Rico Powers dropped a deeper slant. It wasn’t a super-easy catch, and in the end it didn’t hurt USC too much. The Gamecocks ended up scoring on the drive.
3:30 Q2, 1st and 10
Yards lost: 26
This was a killer. Legette put a great move on the safety to create a chance for a deep ball. He was open. Haul this in, and the Gamecocks have more than 3 minutes to get 49 yards for the lead. USC followed the drop with an overthrow and a sack. Florida got the ball back, drove and took a double-digit lead into halftime.
1:00 Q4, 2nd and goal
Yards lost: 4
There was a lot of contact, but Shi Smith fought his way open and the ball hit his hands. It’s the sort of 50-50 play a team in a bad spot needs. If he catches it, the Gamecocks get a chance to try at least onside kick. Instead they didn’t score on a long drive and lost the game by 14.
Total yards lost: 61 (including a loss of three on a screen that would almost assuredly have gone for more, and 13 on a drive that scored anyway)
Tipped a bit
14:43 Q2, 1st and 10
Yards lost: 24
This isn’t technically a drop because a UF defender got under it and changed the spiral with a few fingertips. It did hit Josh Vann in the hands/body. Complete it and the Gamecocks would’ve been inside the UF 40. USC missed its next two passes, both drops, and punted.
Not really a drop, but in the neighborhood
0:55 Q4, 4th and goal
Yards lost: 4
Gamecocks QB Collin Hill said he just missed a wide-open Shi Smith for a TD and he was right. Smith maybe could’ve reached back and saved Hill some heartache, but it was tough enough that blame rests mostly on the throw. The play came two snaps after Smith dropped a more catchable ball.
