Clowney says Murray gave away snap by tapping center’s leg
From the first series of the game, South Carolina sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney had a leg up on the Georgia offense.
Because of the noise at Williams-Brice, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray had to tap his center to let him know when to snap the ball. Clowney figured out the strategy, and with his four tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack, he helped the Gamecocks shut down the Bulldog offense.
“I couldn’t hear, so I know they couldn’t hear,” Clowney said. “He had to tap him and tell him when to snap the ball so I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get a jump on this.’ I was kind of excited. I was like, ‘Well, I know when they’re going to hike the ball every time.’”
Clowney, along with the rest of the defensive line, harassed Murray all night and the junior finished 11-31 with 109 yards and an interception, his worst performance of the season.
“What you put on video will affect quarterbacks,” said defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. “They’ve seen us the first five ball games get after the quarterback and I thought (we) did a great job of affecting him tonight. We only sacked him twice, but I thought we really affected his throwing.”
At the end of the first half, the Bulldogs had a first-and-goal at the four-yard line, but UGA came away with no points after seniors D.J. Swearinger and Shaq Wilson stopped UGA wide receiver Rantavious Wooten on the 1-yard-line.
“If they don’t score, they don’t win,” said senior spur Devonte Holloman.
The goal-line stand was especially demeaning for the Bulldogs because it came at the end of a 15-play, 80-yard drive that took more than five minutes off of the clock -— all for naught.
“I wouldn’t call it arrogance, but we are pretty confident in the things that we do as a defense,” Holloman said. “We trust one another to do what they’re supposed to do and that’s how we get stuff done.”
Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward says there’s been an added emphasis on red-zone defense for the Gamecocks this season.
“We really address when people get into our red-zone,” Ward said. “We spent extra time; we dedicate two days a week to our goal line defense. Back in the day, they would say, ‘Bow your necks,’ and that’s what we want to do. We are real simple in what we do down there. The bottom line is to get lined up and try to play on their side of the ball.”
The unit has allowed just six touchdowns in six games, with half of those scores coming in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.
USC became the first team to effectively stop the Bulldog freshman tailback tandem of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. The two combined for 81 yards on 25 carries with no touchdowns after combining for 964 yards and 14 touchdowns through the first five games.
“We made a conscious effort to not let them get on the outside,” Ward said.
“We really tried to make them one-dimensional and stop the run,” Clowney added.
“I believe in the young men that I coach every day,” Ward said. “We believe in the system that we run and we feel like we can play with anybody if we do the little things.”
As for Clowney in particular, Ward credited him with starting to notice the little things, like an opposing quarterback tapping the center for the snap.
“He is growing in knowledge,” Ward said. “He’s learning what we’re doing and he has always been blessed with the ability to rush the passer so he’s buying into (defensive line coach Brad) Lawing’s teachings.”