Rushing performance leads to victory over Gators
It took a significant step forward on Saturday.
Playing host to a Florida defense that entered the week allowing 123.3 yards on the ground per game, the now–No. 14 Gamecocks rumbled to 215 yards on the afternoon behind the legs of Brandon Wilds and Connor Shaw, paving the way for a 17-12 victory and their second straight win over the Gators.
"We actually came in with more of a passing attack [planned]," Shaw said. "They played a lot of cover-one against other teams, and against us they came out in a big zone and forced us to run the ball. I think we proved that we can."
Shaw — who finished with 88 rushing yards on 16 attempts — put USC on the board with a crucial run midway through the second quarter. Trailing Florida 3-0 and with third-and-5 at the UF 10-yard line, Shaw dropped back to pass, scanned the field, then tucked the ball and ran for the left corner of the end zone, diving just inside the pylon to give the Gamecocks a 7-3 lead.
"When we snapped the ball they rolled into a one-high safety [coverage]. It wasn't what we wanted," Shaw said. "I just took off running and it ended up being a good play."
Wilds — who reached the century mark for the second time in three games with 120 rushing yards on 29 carries — nearly added a touchdown to his name on Carolina's following possession with a run from the UF 5, but the officials ruled the freshman's knee was down just before the ball crossed the goal line. Shaw capped off the drive moments later with a quarterback sneak, extending the lead to 14-3 before halftime.
"Brandon's a good back," said coach Steve Spurrier. "He's a good runner with the ball. He really is. The line played well, too. Give our offensive line credit for having some holes in there today."
The impressive rushing performance came alongside another frustrating outing from USC's passing game, racking up just 84 yards through the air, 46 of which came on a single play in the fourth quarter. Taking over after the Gators cut the lead to 14-12 on a 2-yard run by Jacoby Brissett moments earlier, Shaw kicked off the drive with a long pass down the left sideline, hitting Ace Sanders at the UF 17 to eventually set up a short Jay Wooten field goal.
"Ace came over and said, 'Coach, I think I can run by him,'" Spurrier said. "That was one of the few times they actually played this sort of off coverage with a safety in the middle of the field. It worked out for us."
Despite completing just seven passes on the day, Spurrier said past experiences were proof that a team can overcome a sluggish aerial performance.
"We beat Florida in 2005 completing seven passes — seven out of 17," Spurrier said. "Blake Mitchell hit Sidney Rice on a fade route in the fourth quarter to put us up, and we held on to beat them 30-22. We've won some that way.
"It was a beautiful day. You'd think this was a day you could throw for 300 yards, but we're just not very good at it right now. We'll keep working on it and see if we can't get better."
USC's defense provided a rejuvenated performance following a rough outing at Arkansas. A week after allowing 435 yards to the Razorbacks, the Gamecocks held Florida to just 261 while recovering a pair of timely fumbles, the second of which set the offense up for its second score of the day.
On second-and-5 from the UF 47, Jadeveon Clowney stripped the ball from tailback Jeff Demps, and Rodney Paulk managed to fall on it at the 46, paving the way for Shaw's 1-yard touchdown run.
"I thought overall the most pleasing thing defensively was we didn't lose our poise," said associate head coach for defense Ellis Johnson. "We didn't play particularly well early in the game. A lot of mistakes we had to clean up when they got off the field, but we didn't lose composure like I thought we did last week [when we] started making mental errors."