Yes, South Carolina’s offense is changing week to week. It’s also more efficient
South Carolina football dropped its first Southeastern Conference contest of the season on Saturday, falling to then-No. 16 Arkansas 44-30 in Fayetteville.
Next comes welcoming the reigning national champion Georgia to Williams-Brice Stadium for a noon kickoff this weekend.
You’ve got Gamecocks football questions. I’ve got answers. Let’s dive in.
—— Why is (Jaheim) Bell mainly a running back? -- Rosanne T. D.
—— We need to get Bell and (Josh) Vann involved in the passing game. Stop trying to use Bell like he’s Deebo (Samuel) it’s not who he is. -- Chris M.
I think these questions/thoughts get at something we’ll write a lot this year — in 15 games under Shane Beamer, South Carolina has yet to really find a true offensive identity.
South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has long preached that he wants the offense to be “multiple.” In layman’s terms, his plan is for the unit to be able to come out in lots of different looks to make the defense react to different formations and personnel packages.
The Gamecocks have done some interesting things offensively in 2022. The wishbone formation we saw against Georgia State was a nice wrinkle. The screen game additions against Arkansas were largely productive. But, again, it shifts so much week to week that it’s hard to keep track.
That’s not to say the Gamecocks haven’t improved. It’s a small sample-size this fall, but USC is averaging 32 points, 361 total yards and 301 yards passing per game this fall. That’s compared with a group that recorded just 22.6 points, 337 total yards and 201.2 yards per contest a year ago.
To the actual questions posed — Bell is going to be a versatile piece. We’ve seen that in his 11 carries and four receptions over two games this year.
I’m not sure it’s a bad thing to try and use Bell to spark a running game that’s averaging 59 yards per game. However, if the Gamecocks are going to sling the ball as much as they have so far this season with Spencer Rattler as the quarterback — see his 38 passes per game average as proof of concept — it may not be the worst thing to get Bell more involved in the passing game.
Vann, by contrast, I think is just a product of the moment. He was South Carolina’s only real option in the passing game a year ago. Antwane “Juice” Wells, Corey Rucker (whenever he gets healthy) and others can factor in more at receiver this year. It’s not all that surprising Vann’s production has dropped off some.
All that said, South Carolina just lost to an Arkansas team we know is going to bludgeon teams to death with its physical style of play and rugged run game. The Gamecocks are shaking things up and, to their credit, looking crisper offensively. At this point, expect a little something different every week.
—— What could the defensive have done better to prepare for that rush attack and scramble from K.J. (Jefferson)? Also seemed like we couldn’t get a good tackle to save our lives. — Robert M.
I’m only half-kidding when I say you can’t prepare for K.J. Jefferson. Hell, Beamer said as much last week.
“We’d have to take one of our defensive ends and make him a quarterback,” Beamer quipped of how the Gamecocks could simulate the 6-foot-3, 242-pound signal-caller on scout team.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White’s group surrendered 295 yards on 65 attempts at Arkansas a week after allowing 200 yards on the ground to Georgia State.
Granted, those numbers don’t tell a perfect story. USC largely limited Georgia State before opening that game up. It also held Arkansas to just 2.73 yards per rush in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
The caveat here is, I don’t know how much better the Gamecocks are going to get against the run.
Linebacker Mo Kaba is done for the season following an injury he suffered on Saturday. Same thing for starting defensive end Jordan Strachan. That’s not exactly a recipe for success.
If there’s a silver lining, South Carolina shouldn’t face too many more teams this year that run the ball the way Arkansas and Georgia State do — both of which are averaging well over 200 yards rushing per contest this year.
The Gamecocks’ secondary is still going to be a strength moving forward. But South Carolina is going to have to find a way to slow opponents on the ground for this team to get bowl-eligible.
—— 4 wins the most at this rate - three of those shouldn’t count (GA State, Charlotte, SC State) we should get a win at Vandy. Missouri is a toss up — Clint G.
South Carolina’s ceiling, in my mind, hasn’t changed all that much after a loss to Arkansas.
I still think there’s a decent chance USC can win seven-ish games this year, if things fall right. Don’t forget, it was impossible to predict Auburn and Florida imploding when they did a season ago.
South Carolina is almost certainly going to lose to Georgia this week. Offseason fodder the Gamecocks might have the Bulldogs on upset alert this week felt premature. That seems to be the case — and then some — now.
Beamer’s bunch should be favored in games against South Carolina State, Charlotte, Vanderbilt and Missouri. After Saturday’s shootout, I don’t think it’s crazy to think USC could survive a track meet against Tennessee late in the year or explode against Florida.
It’d be a step back if the Gamecocks don’t make a bowl game. But treating a loss to Arkansas, which may well end up being the second-best team in the SEC West, like the sky is falling feels like an overreaction.
