Fifth-year senior tailback Brandon Wilds was not happy after Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. Wilds used most of the time in his press conference as a pitch to get the ball more. In his opinion, the Gamecocks lost the game because they did not run the ball enough.
He’s right.
The Gamecocks ran 18 plays in the red zone on Saturday night. Wilds touched the ball just three times inside the 20, or just 16.67 percent of the time. The Gamecocks scored three field goals in three second-half, red-zone possessions.
Basically, the Gamecocks lost 12 points in the first three drives of the second half by refusing to run the ball with a player that averaged 6.6 yards per carry on the night. Even worse is that this lopsided play-calling occurred with a second-string, former walk-on in the first meaningful playing time of his career.
However, Wilds was not the only Gamecock to produce on the ground. As a team, the Gamecocks averaged 5.7 yards per rush. True freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez showed off his speed on his two rushing attempts, but did not touch the ball in the red zone.
Since the start of last season, the Gamecocks are 5-1 when they outrush their opponents. The one loss was against Kentucky last season, when quarterback Dylan Thompson threw interceptions on South Carolina’s final two drives.
Conversely, the Gamecocks are 3-6 when they rush for fewer yards than the opposing teams. In last year’s 38-35 win over Georgia, the Gamecocks were outrushed but still amassed 176 yards on the ground. In the other two games, however, the Gamecock offense averaged just 23.5 points and 311 yards per game.
Saturday, the Gamecocks racked up 195 yards on the ground but passed at an overwhelmingly high rate in the red zone. Writers and analysts all over the country stated before the season that if South Carolina could get steady production from its running backs, the Gamecocks could have a successful season.
Through two games, the Gamecocks have averaged 224.5 yards on the ground but have only come away with 39 total points.
In the red zone on Saturday, the Gamecocks ran seven times for 31 yards and passed seven times for nine yards. With numbers like that — especially on a South Carolina team with just 362 passing yards in two games — the ratio should have been closer to two runs for every pass.
All-American wide receiver Pharoh Cooper agreed with Wilds in hindsight.
“We probably should have run the ball, looking back at it,” Cooper said. “We were running the ball pretty decently the whole night.”
When a team has an inexperienced quarterback, it makes sense to run the ball more often, especially in the red zone. Still, the glamour of the passing game has enamored more than just the Gamecock coaching staff.
In the Charlotte, North Carolina season opener, tailback Elijah Hood ran the ball 12 times for 138 yards. However, North Carolina made the bizarre decision to keep Hood on the sideline once the Tar Heels entered the red zone. In fact, Hood’s last carry was a 29-yard burst down to the Gamecock 23-yard line.
The running game is not dead in college football, nor should it be. Teams seem to be shifting away from power football in favor of more screens and “run-like” passes.
If South Carolina can learn from its mistakes against Kentucky and run the ball consistently against Georgia, the Gamecocks will have a chance against the No. 7 Bulldogs on the road. Teams that can control the clock and run the ball can challenge more talented teams.
As the underdogs for much of the rest of the season, the Gamecocks need to do just that. Head coach Steve Spurrier knows that; if the former quarterback will rely on Wilds and fellow tailbacks David Williams and Shon Carson, South Carolina can, and will, compete with better teams for the rest of the season.