South Carolina football: 3 takeaways from the season opener
By Jacob Elsey
Key takeaways for South Carolina football
The O-line needs to be better
The numbers looked good. South Carolina rushed for 258 yards, and it could’ve been more had a 60-yard touchdown by Jaheim Bell not been called back for holding. But the Gamecocks’ offensive line allowed the Eastern Illinois defense to get into the backfield too many times.
While ZaQuandre White averaged more than 10 yards a pop, that total was bolstered by a 63-yard touchdown run early in the fourth-quarter. MarShawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell combined for 97 yards on 26 attempts, an averaged of just 3.7 yards a carry.
Now, to be fair, the Panthers were loading the box and sending seven or eight guys at a time, as the rushing attack in Columbia is far ahead of the passing game. Still, when handling an outmatched FCS opponent, you don’t want to have them living in the backfield.
I fully expect the Gamecocks’ front five to improve against East Carolina this weekend. The offensive game plan should be a little less vanilla in week two, and the coaching staff will be more eager to use play action should the Pirates start stacking the box with eight players.
The Gamecocks should also get Luke Doty and Kevin Harris back, further strengthening the South Carolina rushing attack. East Carolina struggled with Appalachian State’s run game last weekend, and the Gamecocks need to make the Pirates pay by opening up holes for their talented backs.