South Carolina offense pocketing the positives from latest perplexing effort
Call it maddening. Call it inspired. Call it a work in progress.
Whatever words you settle on for South Carolina’s offense, you’ll probably find some semblance of truth to your assessment.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s group has been equal parts erratic as it has been productive. But there were bits and pieces to like from the unit in USC’s 23-14 win over Troy on Saturday.
The same issues that’ve plagued the Gamecocks all season persisted, yet a general level of consistency arose.
“I felt like as an offense, obviously there were some things that we can regroup from,” receiver Josh Vann said. “But as a whole, I feel like it was a good confidence booster for us.”
It’s not worth completely litigating the point for the umpteenth time this season, but South Carolina’s running game continues to struggle. The Gamecocks haven’t rushed for more than 102 yards since beating Eastern Illinois in Week 1. Take out the 254 yard rushing effort against EIU, and the Gamecocks are averaging 88.5 rushing yards per game.
South Carolina currently ranks 11th in the SEC in rushing offense. The only teams behind it are Mississippi State — an air raid team that runs about as many times in a game as one drinks cups of coffee in a work day — Vanderbilt and an LSU team that has a bevy of question marks of its own after a loss to Auburn late Saturday night.
The old adage insists misery loves company. South Carolina at least has that.
This isn’t to say all hope is lost. Kevin Harris looked closer to the Kevin Harris that led the SEC in rushing a season ago. His numbers against Troy — 11 carries for 47 yards — won’t pop off the page, but his burst looked stronger and more forceful as the game carried on. Harris also added 49 yards via a pair of receptions on five targets.
Head coach Shane Beamer said after the game he wasn’t aware of any injury to Harris or if the offseason back procedure that forced him to miss the season opener had been nagging him. But for an offense that continues to lack balance, Saturday felt like a minor step in the right direction for South Carolina’s star ball carrier.
“We’re a young football team and a new football team in a lot of ways,” Beamer said. “And those guys are just continuing to get more and more comfortable out there.”
Though the run game woes have their share of headlines over the past four weeks — and rightfully so — quarterback Luke Doty also offered his best gunslinging effort to date in Saturday’s win.
Doty set career-high marks in attempts, completions and passing yards against Troy. He quipped postgame he didn’t think he’d thrown 34 passes in a game since high school. His MaxPreps page cuts off three games into his senior year, so the numbers are inexact. Before that? He threw 34 or more passes four times as a junior at Myrtle Beach High School.
South Carolina headed into the season expecting to run the football. A quartet of talented tailbacks in Harris, ZaQuandre White, MarShawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell inspired confidence that USC could ride its ground game as Doty got into a rhythm in his first full season as a starter.
Instead, Doty has been surgical in the pocket while the running game has floundered. He flashed poise and precision Saturday while dipping and dodging defenders. He let routes develop and waited as receivers came free downfield.
Doty is still a work in progress under center. After all, he’s only started four games at quarterback in his South Carolina career. The maturity and ability in the pocket, though, leapt off the page Saturday.
“(Satterfield) said he was going to dial it up and get the ball in space and that’s what he did,” Doty said after the game. “We trust in him. We have all the faith and belief in him.”
South Carolina’s offense still looked sluggish in spells in Week 5. Some of that had to do with facing a Troy defense that ranked No. 26 nationally in total defense entering the week. But as the run game stalled again, the Gamecocks got creative in giving Harris touches through the air and calling a pair of gadget plays to spring receiver Vann for 52 yards on the ground. Doty’s play under center, too, added a new wrinkle.
The Gamecocks haven’t been perfect offensively this fall. Far from it really. But Saturday gave glimpses of a group that feels closer to efficient than it was a week ago.
It was creative. It was frustrating. It was even somewhat effective.
Through five games, South Carolina’s offense remains perplexing.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 7:40 AM.
