Miles, Davis will have opportunity to step up after Lattimore injury
After South Carolina’s 38-35 victory over Tennessee, USC sophomore defensive end Jadeveon Clowney called the Volunteer offensive line the best he has faced this year.
For about three and a half quarters, the Gamecocks’ front four were unable to get any pressure on UT quarterback Tyler Bray. It allowed the junior to pass for 368 yards and four touchdowns in the loss.
“He only had 368,” said coach Steve Spurrier. “The way they were flying, I thought it was more.”
Clowney credited the UT offensive line for that effectiveness in the passing game.
“I give that to them, those guys are good up front,” Clowney said. “They got it down pat. They kept us out of the quarterback’s face a lot. We usually put more pressure on them than we did today. We have to help the (defensive backs) out and get back there quicker and get the ball out of his hands. They had a lot of time back there.”
Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said that he expected his defense to get more pressure on Bray, but said that the Volunteers came in with a good plan and noted that Bray had only been sacked three times all season before Saturday.
Ward also said that he thinks the Volunteers had a plan to throw away from redshirt sophomore cornerback Victor Hampton and try and take advantage of redshirt junior cornerback Jimmy Legree and redshirt freshman cornerback Ahmad Christian.
"They felt like, I guess, Jimmy or Ahmad was going to play soft so they threw the ball over there,” Ward said. “We tried to do some stuff to adjust, (but) they had a good game plan.”
Christian was playing in place of senior cornerback Akeem Auguste, who tweaked his groin in practice on Thursday. Ward had said he thought Auguste would be ready to go, but that was not the case. In addition, redshirt senior defensive tackle Byron Jerideau re-aggravated his ankle in the game, according to Ward.
Backfield questions: With the devastating injury to Marcus Lattimore, the other tailbacks will now have to step up. After the game Saturday, Spurrier seemed particularly pleased with true freshman running back Mike Davis, brother of former Clemson star James Davis, saying he had some nice runs and that he is a good back. But he said in his Sunday teleconference that redshirt senior Kenny Miles would be the starting tailback.
Davis had five carries for 20 yards against Tennessee.
Offensive outburst: After gaining under 200 yards of total offense last week at Florida, the offense came back to life against the Volunteers, who have the worst defense in the SEC.
USC had 510 yards of total offense, while junior quarterback Connor Shaw passed for a career-high 356 yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Spurrier said that if it was not for some dropped balls, the Gamecocks could have had “well over 500 yards passing.”
“Coach harped on it all week, just to get on the edge, make quick decisions and be decisive,” Shaw said. “That’s what I worked on all week and I think it showed today.”
Much-needed bye week: All the players and coaches who spoke at the postgame press conference said that the upcoming bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. After playing for nine straight weeks and having to deal with the emotional trauma of the Lattimore injury, Ward said that everyone, particularly the defense, needs a break.
“Hopefully we can get all the injuries healed up and get ready for another passing team,” Ward said. “We know Arkansas is going to come in here and throw the football. Hopefully, we can get Akeem back (and) get the defensive front (turned) around. It’s coming at the right time.”