The game last night game showed the definition of leadership and the man behind the word was Connor Shaw.
In a very “old school” SEC game, South Carolina (8-2 overall, 6-2 conference) managed to eclipse the Florida Gators 17-12. Coach Steve Spurrier kept the offensive on a tight leash, with short slant passes and a grinding run game that focused on a tenacious Brandon Wilds and an ever-scrambling Shaw who read the Gator defense at key points for successful run gains.
Carolina has swept the SEC East, and the old Ball Coach must be having a great breakfast in Columbia today.
Let’s dive into this game further…
Where to Start (Defense)
The Carolina defense, for lack of a better word, was HUNGRY.
The defense showed speed and poise all day long and I’m not saying it was a pretty game but you do not need pretty to win in the SEC… you need strength. Melvin Ingram and the “wrecking crew” didn’t give Gator QB Brantley any time to catch a groove and contained Florida both in the air and on the ground. Gator Rainey (season high 132 yards) had some explosive runs but for the most part it was a superb defensive day and the final score once again showed the stellar defensive ability of the Gamecocks.
Swearinger, Gilmore and Clowney. Dear Lord they were on fire. They combined for 13 tackles, a sack and a fumble. Clowney’s tackle and ensuing fumble set up the second TD. Not the most explosive stats, but the true beauty of the game was the timing at which Carolina stepped up and got the job done with these plays. In a low-scoring grind against Florida it was all down to a team hungry for the win, and Carolina simply outplayed the younger Florida squad at Williams-Brice.
Where to Start (Offense)
At some point during the second quarter, the CBS commentator referred to ex-QB “Jason” Garcia, forgetting his name is Stephen. I think that officially ends the “we lost our starting QB” and starts the “Gamecock QB Connor Shaw” era. The young man was resilient and adapted his game with a string of audibles at key points that showed his improving game presence. Florida was good at preventing any big plays from breaking, but Spurrier was content with the short pass plays and runs to maintain time of possession. Connor Shaw ran for two TD’s on two key drives, both with the offensive line creating gaps and Florida’s young defensive line being read over and over by Shaw’s exploitation of the line of scrimmage. Just under 300 yards of offense, with 120 yards coming from RB Brandon Wilds on 29 carries. He was exceptional and showed true grit in scraping out the few extra yards per carry that proved pivotal. The passing game, which lacked luster, came through when needed. Ace Sanders, limited to two catches, averaged 25 yards on each. Alshon Jeffery is now Carolina’s all time leading reciever with 2,784 yards – congratulation’s sir, thats quite the accomplishment. Special teams (which never really get any praise unfortunately) did their jobs on both sides of the field without any surpises and hiccups. Shaw simply got the job done yesterday.
Concerns
I don’t think we are going to Atlanta. Georgia ran over Auburn and Vanderbilt crushed Kentucky. Truth hurts, I know. Resting our hopes on Kentucky beating Georgia next week are, well, you know what I mean. In retrospect, winning the SEC East would be great but the shot of going 10-2 and beating Clemson sounds just as nice, let’s see what happens.
Shaw got dinged up again, and that’s gonna happen the more the young man decides to run the ball. He is an effective scrambler but needs to take advantage of his accurate arm a bit more and not worry about the secondary. Although averaging 5.5 yards per carry yesterday running, the focus needs to be him opening up the passing game. Playaction and scramble is great, but he needs to find the open reciever a bit more than he did yesterday, especially with his talented recievers.
Summary
A win is a win. We took advantage of Florida’s miscues and pushed on fourth goal for 3/4 conversions – I like that stat. Coach Spurrier has done a great job this year, and traditional teams we used to dread playing now know Carolina is a force to be reckoned with in the SEC. Florida has a young team, and we managed to get by them and mission accomplished.
I’m very excited thinking about next year already. An ever-maturing Connor Shaw, with a combination of a returned Marcus Lattimore AND Brandon Wilds in the backfield, definetely gets the mind thinking of what can happen in 2012. Don’t take the eye off the ball next Saturday, crush the good boys at The Citadel, and pray to the good Lord the Wildcats step up and surpise Georgia. Then bring on Clemson.
On a personal note, I have mentioned my best friend is a die-hard Gator fan. So this matchup was as ever personal in a fun way for us, and he proposed a great bet. This year, the loser will wear the opponents team hat and have a picture taken. I will be mailing my Gamecocks hat from London to Boca Raton, Florida, and will be waiting by the mailbox here in England for the picture to arrive in the mail.
Go Cocks!
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