USC Gamecocks Football

Key numbers: Gamecocks’ ground game ignites after halftime


South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Lorenzo Nunez (19) breaks free for a first down on a run in the second half against UCF at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Lorenzo Nunez (19) breaks free for a first down on a run in the second half against UCF at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. gmelendez@thestate.com

10

The number of rushing yards in the first half from Gamecocks not named Lorenzo Nunez. The trio of Pharoh Cooper, David Williams and Shon Carson nearly raised that by a factor of 10 in the second half, combining for 107 total yards on the ground and helping the offense shake loose from its early rut.

5

The number of interceptions middle linebackers have made for the Gamecocks this season. Skai Moore had three before moving outside against UCF, and T.J. Holloman came in and snagged two more. Interceptions at that position are a hallmark of the Cover-2 defense USC runs, as those linebackers take deeper drops patrolling the middle of the field.

40

South Carolina’s second-shortest drive in yards (excluding end-of-game) of its final six. The Gamecocks’ first five drives averaged 22 yards, including marches of 12 and zero yards. The final six averaged 48.5, including five scores, and would have been higher except for a 12-yarder to start the second half.

3.1

Central Florida’s yards per play in the second half. The Knights edged South Carolina on a per-play basis at halftime, but the Gamecocks defense locked down.

34

South Carolina’s average drive start position, a full eight yards better than UCF. Those hidden yards make a difference across 13 possessions, and it’s more impressive since the Knights’ number got a boost from a muffed punt that let one possession start on the South Carolina 1-yard line.

0

Former starter Perry Orth’s passing yards on his lone series (a three-and-out in the second quarter) a week after making his first start. After the game, freshman starter Lorenzo Nunez described the offense as being “stable” now after a strong second half.

UCF

0

14

0

0

14

South Carolina

3

5

20

3

31

First Quarter

SC—FG Fry 52, 9:47.

Second Quarter

SC—Safety, 14:42.

UCF—Patti 1 run (Wright kick), 11:04.

UCF—Smith 30 pass from Schneider (Wright kick), 5:23.

SC—FG Fry 27, 1:04.

Third Quarter

SC—P.Cooper 29 run (Fry kick), 7:41.

SC—August 13 pass from Nunez (Fry kick), 4:39.

SC—P.Cooper 35 pass from Nunez (pass failed), 1:47.

Fourth Quarter

SC—FG Fry 33, 2:53.

A—78,411.

 

UCF

USC

FIRST DOWNS

15

20

Rushing

3

10

Passing

11

9

Penalty

1

1

NET YARDS RUSHING

26

216

Rushing Attempts

23

43

Average Per Rush

1.1

5.0

Rushing Touchdowns

1

1

Yards Gained Rushing

49

243

Yards Lost Rushing

23

27

NET YARDS PASSING

204

184

Comp.-Att.

23-38

12-25

INT

2

0

Average Per Attempt

5.4

7.4

Average Per Completion

8.9

15.3

Passing Touchdowns

1

2

TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS

230

400

Total offense plays

61

68

Average Gain Per Play

3.8

5.9

Fumbles: Number-Lost

0-0

1-1

Penalties: Number-Yards

5-31

2-20

PUNTS-YARDS

5-228

4-180

Average Yards Per Punt

45.6

45.0

Net Yards Per Punt

43.2

45.0

Inside 20

1

3

KICKOFFS-YARDS

4-255

7-455

Average Yards Per Kickoff

63.8

65.0

Net Yards Per Kickoff

40.5

40.3

Touchbacks

1

5

Punt returns: No.-Yds

0-0

2-12

Average Per Return

0.0

6.0

Kickoff returns: No.-Yds

2-48

3-68

Average Per Return

24.0

22.7

INTs No. Yds-TD

0-0-0

2-8-0

Fumble Returns

  

No.-Yds.-TD

0-0-0

0-0-0

Miscellaneous Yards

0

0

Possession Time

26:06

33.54

1st Quarter

3:52

11:08

2nd Quarter

7:50

7:10

3rd Quarter

8:18

6:42

4th Quarter

6:06

8:54

3rd-Down Conversions

3-12

7-16

4th-Down Conversions

1-3

1-1

Red-Zone Scores-Chances

1-1

3-3

Touchdowns

1-1

1-3

Field goals

0-1

2-3

Sacks By: Number-Yards

1-9

2-19

PAT Kicks

2-2

2-2

Field Goals

0-0

3-4

Points off turnovers

7

13

Central Florida

RUSHING

No.

Net

TD

Lg.

Avg.

Jones

9

22

0

7

2.4

Patti

4

11

1

6

2.8

McGowan

6

8

0

4

1.3

Thompson

1

2

0

2

2.0

Schneider

3

-17

0

2

-5.7

PASSING

C-A-I

Yds

TD

Long

Sack

Schneider

20-35-2

189

1

30

2

Patti

3-3-0

15

0

7

0

RECEIVING

 

No.

Yds.

TD

Long

Smith

 

5

82

1

30

Payton

 

5

42

0

12

Johnson

 

2

21

0

14

Franks

 

2

17

0

13

Patti

 

2

11

0

7

Tiralosi

 

2

8

0

5

Thompson

 

2

7

0

7

Bloom

 

2

7

0

7

Jones

 

1

5

0

5

Wilson

 

1

4

0

4

PUNTING

No.

Yds.

Avg.

Long

In20

Houston

5

228

45.6

53

1

RETURNS

  

No.

Yds

Long

Kickoff

     

Payton

  

2

48

27

DEFENSE

  

Tack.

TFL-Yds

Sacks-Yds

D.Johnson

  

8

-

-

Jero.Boykins

  

8

-

-

Spencer

  

8

1.5-5

-

Clarke

  

8

-

-

Gibson

  

5

1.0-3

-

Jere.Boykins

  

5

1.0-9

1.0-9

Pittman

  

5

-

-

Adams

  

4

-

-

Jasinski

  

3

-

-

Burkett

  

3

-

-

Guerad

  

1

1.0-6

-

South Carolina

RUSHING

No.

Net

TD

Lg.

Avg.

Nunez

18

123

0

29

6.8

Carson

7

35

0

14

5.0

Williams

14

32

0

15

2.3

P.Cooper

3

27

1

29

9.0

TEAM

1

-1

0

0

-1.0

PASSING

C-A-I

Yds

TD

Long

Sack

Nunez

12-22-0

184

2

35

1

Orth

0-3-0

0

0

0

0

RECEIVING

 

No

Yds

TD

Lg.

P.Cooper

 

4

69

1

35

Adams

 

3

47

0

17

Heard

 

2

38

0

23

August

 

2

21

1

13

Jeffery

 

1

9

0

9

PUNTING

No.

Yds.

Avg.

Long

In20

Kelly

4

180

45.0

50

3

RETURNS

  

No.

Yds.

Lg.

Punts

     

P.Cooper

  

2

12

15

Kickoff

     

Carson

  

2

52

29

P.Cooper

  

1

16

16

Interception

     

Holloman

  

2

8

8

DEFENSE

  

Tack.

TFL-Yds

Sack-Yds

Gurley

  

10

-

-

Moore

  

9

-

-

Holloman

  

6

1.0-1

-

McWilliams

  

6

-

-

Whitlow

  

4

2.0-12

1.0-10

I.Johnson

  

2

-

-

Stallworth

  

2

-

-

Lewis

  

1

-

-

Ard

  

1

-

-

Smith

  

1

-

-

D.Johnson

  

1

-

-

Sawyer

  

1

1.0-9

1.0-9

Harris Jr.

  

1

-

-

Dixon Jr.

  

1

1.0-1

-

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