We handled an obviously dangerous opponent in a trap game against a team considered on the rise and we hid so easily. Not bad for week 1 given our considerable questions on both sides of the ball. We shut down a solid offense and played as we should have against a bad D. This week…Spurrier…enough said.

About the OSU game

The biggest question going into Saturday was how would our OL respond given their youth, relative inexperience and new OL coach. We answered the question relatively well (only 2 sacks, controlled the clock but didn’t run effectively), but we’re hardly out of the woods on the OL front. Keep in mind we were facing one of the weaker DLs we’ll face although they will end up being pretty good in terms of QB pressure but they’ll likely struggle against the run. Because of that, our gameplan took a lot of pressure off the OL by utilizing quick passes and a power running game. We’ll be facing a whole different animal this weekend, but considering how they handled their first test, I honestly feel better than I thought I would.

OSU was a team that had protected the QB pretty well in 2006. With essentially the same OL, we managed 11 TFLs and 5 sacks (over a quarter of the number they gave up in the entire 2006 season). Given that probably our number 2 question mark this season was DE production, it was nice to see our DEs pull in a few sacks and more than a few tackles behind the LOS.

Our offensive gameplan was clearly to pound it at them, mix the pass in and keep their offense off the field. It worked. We won the possession battle, holding the ball for over 36 minutes. When Richt came to Athens, he always pointed out that time of possession wasn’t a big stat for him and we often lost that battle. With that being said, if you can hold the ball 12 minutes more than your opponents, it can’t be all bad.

SC Offense

Any Spurrier coached offense is going to be dangerous. He’s a master schemer and does a great job getting his team prepared to attack whatever they’re up against. He’s got a rep for slinging it around 100 times a game but he’s actually very balanced run/pass (as most successful offenses are). I think he took the shutout last year as a personal offense, so he’s looking for revenge.

At QB, USC trots out a 5th year senior with a penchant for skipping classes in LaGrange native Blake Mitchell. Mitchell sat the opener due to University policy on class attendance but will return for another shot at UGA. He’s a streaky passer and has struggled in his biggest rivalry games, throwing a mere 1 TD to 8 INTs against UGA and Clemson [4] over his sophomore and junior seasons. He’s not immobile, but his runs will be pure adlib, we won’t see many called QB draws. For his career, he’s got a better than 61% completion percentage and 28 TDs to 21 INTs. Decent numbers, but not spectacular. He also wears quite possible the largest facemask in football…it’s a good 6” from his face. Behind him they have a pair of inexperienced guys in Chris Smelley (questionable due to a shoulder) and Tommy Beecher. Both looked good in week 1, completing over 70% each, but neither is a real threat to unseat Mitchell at this point.

The SC RBs are very good. They are a different type of RB than we faced in week 1, where speed and shiftiness were the descriptors. Mike Davis and Cory Boyd are both much more physical backs. Davis, a Junior, is 5-9, 212 and has been extremely consistent, averaging right at 4.7 yards each of his first two seasons. He’s not a big breakaway threat. In 100 carries last season, his long was 25 yards, but he’s going to bring toughness and is generally consistent. In 261 career carries he’s yet to fumble. The more dynamic back in their rotation is Senior Cory Boyd. Boyd has averaged 5.0 ypc each of the last two seasons he played (bookending the 2005 season where he was suspended). Boyd made the infamous “back like cooked crack” quote on national TV last season after returning from suspension. He’s also a threat out of the backfield receiving the ball, hauling in 35 catches each of his last two seasons for over 10ypc. He was 3rd on the team in receptions in 2005. At 6-1, 214, he’s got good size and won’t shy away from contact, but he’s fast enough to hurt you a couple of different ways. He’s got great body lean and always seems to move the pile. True freshman Brian Maddox is the future star but they’ll likely rely on Davis and Boyd for the bulk of their attack Saturday.

The Gamecocks are faced with the daunting task of replacing all-everything WR Sidney Rice who took his game (and his 70+ receptions and nearly 1,100 receiving yards) to the NFL. Rice was a big, fast, physical WR that dominated in the redzone but excelled in space as well. SC doesn’t really have a WR that replaces Rice (hard to do that anyway), but the WRs they return are more the size that Spurrier featured in his prolific UF offenses of the 90s. Jr. Kenny McKinley is a burner and his stats last season actually compared very favorably to Rice, as he had nearly 900 receiving yards and averaged over 17 ypc although he’s not the same redzone threat. His 5 TD grabs was tops among returning players. He started off 2007 on the right foot, with 6 catches and a TD in week 1. A slew of complimentary WRs fills out their depth chart but none has really done anything to separate themselves yet. SC does have a pair of fine TEs, with senior Andy Boyd being a newfound target and backup Jared Cook (former WR) being a threat as well. Boyd pulled in 3 grabs for 48 yards and a TD in week 1, nearly eclipsing his career output. Cook is a very good athlete, snagging 2 catches as well last week and averaging 17 ypc. Spurrier spreads the ball around much more now than he did in the past, getting WRs, RBs, TEs, etc. involved in the passing game.