USC determined to win division again in spite of personnel losses
After it was announced that the left knee injury tailback Marcus Lattimore suffered at Mississippi State was season-ending, the tweets came rolling in from, of all people, the baseball team.
There was former left-handed reliever Bryan Harper's tweet that said it all: "The baseball team fought through injury problems all year long and found a way to win!! #CarolinaFB you just have #WinAnyway and #Battle!!!"
Just like that, the "win anyway" motto was attached to not only the 2011 baseball squad but also the 2011 football team. After suffering numerous injuries throughout the season, including outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Adam Matthews as well as catcher Brady Thomas for a short time, the baseball team adopted the slogan en route to its second consecutive national championship.
When injuries continued to occur after Lattimore went down, fans would tweet with the "win anyway" hashtag. T-shirts were made. Injuries would not be used as an excuse for the season as the South Carolina faithful looked to the team to continue to win despite the personnel losses.
Though the USC football squad has been ravaged by key injuries this season, it's not complaining about the motto, as the Gamecocks know they'll need to win against Florida despite the injuries to stay alive in the SEC East pennant race.
"You can't be mad at the champs," said tight end Justice Cunningham on the baseball slogan being attached to the football season. "Whatever it takes to win, that's how I like it."
Against Arkansas, the Gamecocks were exposed as the depleted squad that they are. With the season-ending injury to Kyle Nunn, the offensive line struggled to block for quarterback Connor Shaw, leading to him suffering a concussion in the fourth quarter from Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette's hit.
Fortunately for the Gamecocks, Shaw is expected to play Saturday. But USC is still looking for a solution to replace Nunn as offensive linemen Mike Matulis, Cody Gibson and A.J. Cann have all been inconsistent.
In preparation for Florida, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott said it was a "toss-up" between Matulis and Gibson at right tackle, but Elliott felt strongly about the fact that putting Cann at right tackle during the Arkansas game was a mistake. With the injuries continuing to occur, it has been challenging for USC to find consistency from game to game.
With fans popularizing the "win anyway" motto for the football team, Elliott will look to the fans in attendance on Saturday to help fill the hole that's been left on the offensive line with the injury to Nunn.
"There's going to be about 85,000 here Saturday — that's how much help we're going to need," Elliott said. "They're all going to be behind that right tackle Saturday at 12 o'clock. That's the help we need."
Elliott knows that in order to "win anyway," the focus needs to be on who can play, rather than who can't.
"You've got to make adjustments, and you've got to play who you've got, and you've got to coach those guys hard," Elliott said. "You can't sit around and say, 'Wow, we don't have this, or, 'We don't have that.' You can't make a story out of that. You've got to coach the guys you got and get those guys prepared to play."
While injuries to USC's offense have been more evident, the defense has struggled with missing personnel as well. With spur Antonio Allen injured on the sideline, the Razorbacks scored more points than any other opponent the Gamecocks have faced this season. Though the defense credited a lack of communication as the main reason Arkansas' offense was able to have so much success, Allen was frustrated at not having a chance to play. He will be in the lineup against Florida.
"It was very frustrating," Allen said of having to watch the game. "Of course, we lost, but it is what it is. We have to put it behind us and worry about this week."
And the defense will likely suffer another blow Saturday, as DeVonte Holloman, who has a concussion, was ruled out by defensive backs coach Lorenzo Ward Tuesday. Even if Holloman were cleared to play, his return would be very doubtful, assistant head coach for defense Ellis Johnson said Thursday.
When asked if he'd ever been part of a team with as many injuries as the Gamecocks have had this season, Cunningham said he couldn't recall a time..
"It's a first for me," Cunningham said. "I like how we're turning out and how we're playing through it."
Similarly, head coach Steve Spurrier hasn't dwelled on the negatives but rather on the positives.
"It's a little unusual," Spurrier said about the accumulation of injuries. "Again, we're 7-2 and 5-2 in the conference with the chance to win more conference games than ever around here in 20 years of ball. We can't sit here and feel sorry for ourselves. Even though we haven't played spectacular, we have won a bunch of games. We'll try to play our best this week with the players we have. That's what we'll try to do."
Just as the Gamecocks no longer control their own destiny in the SEC East race, they can't control who gets injured and when; however, the team can control its attitude, and it has chosen to take on that of the 2011 baseball squad.
"You can't really help injuries," Cunningham said. "It's God's plan, but we try to work through it the best we can every week."