The aggressive plan Will Muschamp had if USC managed to come back at Florida
The heat came after South Carolina coach Will Muschamp’s team failed to quickly claw closer while trailing Florida by 14 points last Saturday.
He’s talked the subject just about to death, mentioning the timing that would’ve led to an onside kick vs. regular kickoff, why a fourth down tripped things up and admitted his offense needed to go faster as it took more than 7 minutes to try for the touchdown that would’ve made it a one-score game.
But in his weekly coach’s television show, Muschamp said if his team had somehow managed to pull off two touchdowns in the final 8 minutes against the No. 3 team in the land, they weren’t gunning for overtime.
“We’d have gone for the win here on the road,” Muschamp said.
He was speaking on the field, less than an hour after the 38-24 loss to the Gators.
If this is the approach, the Gamecocks have yet to test it. The Gamecocks have only played in two overtime games in Muschamp’s 53 as Gamecocks coach.
In the 2016 bowl game, South Carolina needed a 2-pointer just to get to OT, where it did not score. Last season, the Gamecocks lost a lead against Georgia and did not score a touchdown in overtime or the second half.
The Gamecocks got the ball with more than 8 minutes left Saturday, but repeatedly found themselves late in the play clock as they tried to string together a drive to make it a one-score game. They couldn’t get any explosive plays against a Gators team looking to protect the deep part of the field and only had one incomplete pass between the 7:33 mark and 1:04, so time just bled off the clock across 18 plays.
“I wish we hadn’t taken as much time on this clock,” Muschamp said. “They were playing coverage. They were staying on top of everything.
“Florida was not going going to allow anything down the field big. They were going to make us earn everything we got.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 2:05 PM.
