Shaw to face familiar foe in East Carolina
What a difference a year makes – and yet some things never seem to change.
In 2011, quarterback Connor Shaw, then a sophomore, was named South Carolina’s starter just days before the season-opener against East Carolina. He quickly made that decision look like a mistake, turning the ball over on the Gamecocks’ first possession and struggling to a three-and-out in the second.
Facing him was senior quarterback Dominique Davis, now a member of the Atlanta Falcons. He guided the Pirates to a 17-0 lead before senior Stephen Garcia spearheaded a Gamecock comeback. Garcia was dismissed from the team after USC’s loss to Auburn, opening the door for Shaw once again.
In the first game of 2012, it was Shaw who willed USC to its first victory, overcoming a “deep bone bruise” in the right shoulder to lead the fourth-quarter scoring drive that secured a 17-13 victory over Vanderbilt. But as Shaw’s familiar opponent of ECU comes to Columbia on Saturday, coach Steve Spurrier said Shaw will not play against ECU if his shoulder is in pain, though he will take the decision all the way until gametime.
The wait this week has brought back shades of the uncertainty of last year, even though the characters have changed. The Gamecocks plan to start sophomore Dylan Thompson as quarterback if Shaw is unable to play. Just like last year, the mantra from the team this week has been preparing to win no matter who the signal-caller is.
“We’re a team, and we are confident in whoever goes back there,” said senior center T.J. Johnson. “We believe in Dylan (Thompson), we believe in Seth [Strickland], we believe in [Andrew] Clifford. Whoever goes back there, we will block the same for them, and we believe in all of them.”
If the Gamecocks learned anything from last year’s season-opener, it was that they should not underestimate the Pirates as an opponent.
“Just being ready [is the biggest lesson from last year],” said senior linebacker Shaq Wilson. “Going out there playing full speed. Being ready and [knowing] that these guys can play football. They are a good team and they can win. Last year, we weren’t ready. We got down early. Also, we showed that we can come back and get a big win.”
Spurrier said small schools outside major conferences often present a challenge to well-established programs.
“I don’t have the exact reason for it,” Spurrier said. “They really come to play. It’s a huge victory for them if they’re able to beat a big college team, and it’s not that big a deal for the big college school, so you have a lot of tight games. [ECU will] be ready to play. They had a really good chance to get us last year. They sort of fumbled it away. They all know that they can play with us very well.”
But with all the changes for both teams, this game will take on dimension completely different from last year’s. USC has lost not only Garcia, but also wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who moved into third all-time in receiving yards for South Carolina with his 92 yards that day. East Carolina’s defense has been reshuffled after it lost three key players from its secondary.
“I think we played pretty well last year,” said co-offensive coordinator Shawn Elliott. “We can play a lot better. It’s going to be a whole different ball game. We’ve got new guys. They’ve got new guys. They’ve got new ideas, same as us. So we will see what happens out there on Saturday. I don’t even reflect on last year’s game.”
Hosting the game gives USC an additional reason to be optimistic. The Gamecocks have defended their home turf well in recent years.
“[We’re] looking forward to being back home here at Williams-Brice,” Spurrier said. “We’ve won 18 of the last 21 here. We should feel comfortable here at home. Hopefully we’ll get our offense a little on track. Hopefully we can pitch it around better than we have, but the object is to win the game.”
A year changes a lot, but not everything. No matter who takes the field, the Gamecocks will take the field Saturday confident that they will leave with their second win.
“This year we just have to be ready, going full speed, having fun and just enjoying the home atmosphere,” Wilson said. “We take this game really seriously. This is the most important game of our lives. It is the next game. It is win No. 2 coming up. We just got to do what we got to do to get the W.
“The fun is in the winning. We just got to go out there and give it our best.”