Despite the blowout, Muschamp says the effort was there for Gamecocks
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp allowed that his team failed in a lot of areas, but he wouldn’t allow for one.
His Gamecocks might have been “whipped,” soundly defeated physically. But the effort? He felt it was still there and at the proper level.
“I have absolutely no doubt about it,” Muschamp said after the game.
His team suffered a range of system-wide failures against Texas A&M in a 48-3 loss on Saturday night. The offense gained a total of four first downs before halftime, and even that probably overstates the any success. The defense allowed three touchdowns on the first six possessions, and then let A&M go 4-for-4 with possessions and touchdowns down the stretch.
Muschamp had another explanation.
“Physically, at times, we got outmatched up front,” Muschamp said. “They were very big up front. We had a hard time moving. We knew going into the game we needed more run more stretch and perimeter plays. We didn’t block very well at receiver position on the perimeter. We didn’t get some things going as well as we needed to get going in all areas.
“But it has nothing to do with effort. Sometimes you get whipped physically as an athlete. That happens.”
Tracking effort from the outside isn’t all that easy. Most accusations of not trying are cross-tied with lamenting any bad performance. Separating those are tricky, if not impossible.
Coaches track this kind of thing, reviewing film and assigning small punishments for such things as not running off the field with appropriate energy and enthusiasm.
Linebacker Ernest Jones likewise said he felt the effort was there.
“Yes, I feel like we gave good effort,” Jones said.
The back seven he was a part of started the game perilously thin. As Texas A&M dominated possession, the quality of South Carolina’s tackling fell off.
They’ll have to rally quickly because they’re about to face an Ole Miss team that has been throwing up big numbers all season.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 9:11 AM.
