USC offense has ‘a lot of work to do’ after season opener against Georgia State
Saturday’s game against Georgia State showed that the South Carolina offense has a lot to figure out, especially early in games.
While the defense played well for most of the 35-14 win — holding the Panthers scoreless in the first quarter and forcing seven three-and-outs — USC struggled to capitalize on the other side of the ball.
“It was really ugly at times,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We knew it was going to be a struggle to run the football because of the way they play defense. We didn’t think it would be that much of a struggle.
“Just in general, just not where we needed to be offensively.”
South Carolina finished with 306 total yards of offense — 79 of those on the ground. The Gamecocks finished at or below 306 yards six times last year and lost five of those games. (The win over Auburn was the lone exception.)
Finding a rhythm early on Saturday proved difficult with both the assortment of new players on offense and the defensive pressure from GSU. The Gamecocks had just 12 points at halftime — a score they matched or failed to hit by halftime six times in 2021.
The team scored two offensive touchdowns against Georgia State, one in each half.
Transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler threw two interceptions — one off a drop on a slight overthrow and the other from an inaccurate pass. He also didn’t have much time to throw during the game, often throwing on the run or attempting to scramble.
Starting running back MarShawn Lloyd — who scored both of the offense’s touchdowns — was effective in the passing game but didn’t break many long runs out of the backfield with a 2.7-yard average on 11 carries.
Tight end Jaheim Bell finished the game with more runs (seven) than catches (four), and even led the team in rushing yards with 39.
“We got new faces,” Rattler said. “We’re a new offense together. You’re gonna have mistakes, it’s the first game. We’re gonna get better.”
The offense showed signs of excellence at times, most notably in the second drive of the second half.
Georgia State scored with a short field and took a 14-12 lead after Rattler’s first interception came in the drive that started the half. USC responded with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was the game’s longest. The drive had four plays longer than 10 yards, capped off by a Lloyd touchdown.
“Our main goal of the team is, ‘What’s next?’ ” Lloyd said. “The first series wasn’t the best, but we wanted to come back and just go and show that we got what they were doing and just go through with the play.”
Rattler’s chemistry with Antwane Wells was another positive in the passing game. Wells, also a new transfer, caught a game-high seven passes from Rattler against the Panthers.
Jalen Brooks also helped the aerial attack with four catches and a team-leading 88 yards. While Rattler’s numbers were solid but not spectacular — 23-of-37 passing for 227 yards — he did manage to connect with some targets consistently.
“His command’s only going to continue to get better,” Beamer said. “We’ve gotta continue to help him with what we have, what we’re calling and the amount of offense that we’re asking him to learn.”
Moving into SEC play with a road game up next against Arkansas, it’s vital that the team establishes an offensive identity.
The combination of Georgia State’s defense and the novelty of the first game led to some disorganization at times. Beamer said the team has plenty to clean up.
“We’ve got to play and coach better going forward,” Beamer said. “I’ve heard it from a lot of people, you make the most improvement as a football team a football team between week one and week two.”
USC vs Georgia State key stats
- Total yards: GSU 311, USC 306
- Rush yards: GSU 200, USC 79
- Pass yard: USC 227, GSU 111
- Third downs: GSU 5-17, USC 3-14
- Time of poss: USC 35:16, GSU 24:44
- Turnovers lost: USC 2, GSU 1
- Sacks by: GSU 3, USC 0
This story was originally published September 4, 2022 at 8:58 AM.
