On Sunday night, Gamecock football head coach Will Muschamp discussed what the team wasn’t delivering on in Saturday's game against Texas A&M.
Muschamp said the loss against Texas A&M had to do with things such as the lack of establishment of a line of scrimmage early in the game and missing “two great opportunities, one for probably a score.”
With the team losing opportunities to stay on offense, Muschamp said "the only consistent production" in the receiver position is from Shi Smith.
"It's disappointing, six games in,” Muschamp said.
According to Muschamp, in the last two years, there has been a problem with the lack of physicality on the offensive line, specifically against Texas A&M.
“They've whipped us two years in a row on the offensive line; we’ve really struggled to run the football against them,” Muschamp said.
Muschamp also discussed some of what can be expected in the remaining games of the season.
When it comes to quarterback play, Muschamp said he has spoken with all quarterbacks – Collin Hill, Ryan Hilinski and Luke Doty – to make clear that whoever performs the best in practice and gives the team the best opportunities is who will play in the games. As of Sunday night, Muschamp said, there is not a clear starting quarterback.
Continuing to practice with the backup quarterback, Hilinski, and the third-string quarterback, Doty, has built Muschamp's confidence in their athletic abilities.
According to Muschamp, Doty has primarily been practicing as a quarterback and not a wide receiver for the past month and a half.
“He’s continued to build our confidence in him and execute what we’re asking him to do, week in, week out,” Muschamp said.
Hilinski has grown in practice as well, as he is challenged by the offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, on different areas the coaches deem improvable.
“He has improved tremendously on those things and, I think, mastering the offense," Muschamp said. "I think that he's grown in all of those areas.”
Muschamp said the coaches and the team have done good things, but it is easy to lose sight of that for fans, which can be "frustrating" for him at times. However, Muschamp said he is looking forward to more “good opportunities” in this weekend's game against Ole Miss and games for the rest of the season.
The Gamecocks travel to Oxford to play Ole Miss on Saturday. The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and can be watched on SEC Network.