Gamecocks' performance wasn't pretty, but it got the job done
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Neyland Stadium leaves much to be desired aesthetically. A monstrosity towering over the nearby Tennessee River, it looks like something a child would devise if instructed to use every Lego in their possession and keep building up.
But the stadium's lack of style has no effect on its substance. The place was built with the goal of seating over a hundred thousand people on any given Saturday, and it does that quite ably.
So the manner in which South Carolina defeated Tennessee here on Saturday night was quite appropriate. It was an ugly win in an ugly stadium in front of fans as quiet as church mice against a bad team. But it got the job done. So instead of lamenting how unattractive a success it was, the Gamecocks and coach Steve Spurrier embraced the victory's lack of panache.
"I don't come off the field smiling real big like I used to when our teams used to score a bunch of points," Spurrier said. "But we understand that's what we've got to do."
Against the lowly Vols, the to-do list was pretty simple. The defense continued its stellar play, holding Tennessee to 186 total yards and only three points while twice recording interceptions to swing momentum and prevent Tennessee from adding points.
And the offense? It simplified an already simplified playbook and, for all intents and purposes, ran two plays for the vast majority of the game — Brandon Wilds for a zone read and Connor Shaw for a quarterback draw — after identifying the passing game wasn't working and letting that fact lie instead of forcing things.
It was a strategy that helped author a Navy-esque (the United States, not the Volunteer) 20 play, 98-yard drive in the third quarter that ran 11:35 off the clock and proved life can go on despite the loss of Marcus Lattimore. It also provided USC's second touchdown, ensuring a third consecutive victory.
"So that's what we do," Spurrier said. "We're not a great passing team, obviously. But we just kind of keep running, playing defense and trying to win these low scoring games. We got two touchdowns again. That's about all we ever get, to tell you the truth. Two per game. Won about all of them, except one. That's all we get."
Now, here is where some context needs to be established. Since the one loss that got away — the 16-13 debacle against Auburn on Oct. 1 — the Gamecocks have ripped off three wins, the last two of which have come on the road in gritty-yet-unsightly efforts.
But the three victories have come against teams that are a combined 1-13 in the Southeastern Conference. And the only reason for the victory is because Kentucky played Mississippi State this weekend and someone, in this case State, was forced to win a game. The act is unlikely to fly in this next game against Arkansas, even considering the Razorbacks' recent struggles against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
"We may need more next week," Spurrier said. "Arkansas, they have the ability to score a little bit."
USC is going to need a lot more, yes. But it should go into Fayetteville believing it can get what it needs. Spurrier has had a tremendous number of defining moments in his career, good and bad, occur at Neyland Stadium. The Johnson City, Tenn., native helped lead Duke to improbable victories here in the 1980s. He suffered the worst loss of his tenure at Florida here — a 45-3 debacle in his first year in Gainesville. He handed the Vols their last shutout loss here in 1994. He led the Gamecocks to their first-ever win here in 2005. He lost to Tennessee in overtime here in 2007, a top 15 team spiraling toward 6-6, and was beaten here by Lane Kiffin in the first (and only, it turned out) grudge match between the two in 2009.
This game could end up being another one of those days. Chances are Georgia won't lose again. The Bulldogs' come-from-behind win over Florida was the test they needed to validate what had been a five-game win streak against inferior competition going into Saturday. UGA is no longer a creation of the schedule.
The Gamecocks will now face a similar challenge against Arkansas. But given all they've weathered so far, you'd have to imagine they won't back down from it. And they definitely have a blueprint for how to go about succeeding now. This team, with its defense and its run game, is built to win ugly. It has been winning ugly. And it can continue to win ugly.
A few weeks ago, such a notion wasn't appreciated in Spurrier's mind. He wants to win by throwing the ball up and down the field, and he said his team will still work on moving toward being able to do that. But while earlier this year he seemed hesitant to come to grips with the fact that might not happen and the best road back to Atlanta was a ground attack coupled with stout defense. But having seen it work on Rocky Top, acceptance seems to have arrived.
"I'm not much of a passing coach any more, but we're 7-1 somehow," Spurrier said. "We're 7-1. And that's the most important thing."
Spurrier the passing coach became Spurrier the power running coach when Lattimore emerged last fall. And now that Lattimore and others have been lost for the season, Spurrier the power running coach has become Spurrier the whatever is necessary coach. And it's working. At the end of the day, only one statistic matters to South Carolina at this point — the win category. The Gamecocks are winning ugly, but winning nonetheless.