GTmorris1970
10-17-2005, 03:07 AM
Posted on Sun, Oct. 16, 2005
USC's midseason report card
By JOSEPH PERSON
Staff Writer
For a program that has spent the past 111 seasons wallowing in mediocrity, it is fitting that USC sits 3-3 at just past the midway point of the first year of the Steve Spurrier Era.
The Gamecocks have played three games against top-25 teams and lost them all and have yet to defeat anyone with a winning record.
“We beat the teams we were supposed to, and we got clobbered by two of the teams that should have beaten us and played Georgia tough and close,” Spurrier said this past week. “But anyway, hopefully we can show up these last five games.”
USC had a chance to upset then-No. 9 Georgia in Athens but missed an extra point, a field goal and a 2-point conversion in the 17-15 loss.
If Spurrier is to reach his goal of earning a bowl bid, the Gamecocks will have to take care of Vanderbilt and Arkansas and find a way to beat one of the teams they are not “supposed to,” Tennessee, Florida or Clemson.
To do so, USC must fix some of the problem areas that surfaced during the first half.
QUARTERBACKS
Considering he attempted 22 passes before this season, Blake Mitchell has performed admirably. The redshirt sophomore has completed 65 percent of his passes and has the third-highest pass-efficiency rating in the SEC, behind Georgia’s D.J. Shockley and Alabama’s Brodie Croyle.
Mitchell is not comfortable audibling and needs to become more vocal, but those areas figure to be part of his progression in Spurrier’s Cock ‘n’ Fire offense. The backup situation is unsettled. Antonio Heffner looked overwhelmed at Auburn, prompting Spurrier to move receiver Syvelle Newton back to quarterback.
Grade: B
RUNNING BACKS
In hindsight, Spurrier admits he might have been asking too much of freshmen Mike Davis and Bobby Wallace, who were expected to contribute immediately following the losses of Demetris Summers and Cory Boyd.
Davis hits holes hard but lacks breakaway speed; Wallace showed great elusiveness in preseason camp but looks tentative in games. Getting the hard-running Daccus Turman more involved against Kentucky seemed to help.
The X-factor is Newton, who will see time at tailback against Vanderbilt as Spurrier seeks to improve a ground game that ranks 112th out of 117 Division I-A schools.
Grade: D
RECEIVERS
Told before the season that junior Noah Whiteside would be averaging one catch per game at midseason, most USC fans would have guessed the receiving corps was in shambles. But Sidney Rice has more than filled the void left by Whiteside, who has been slowed by a surgically repaired ankle.
Rice, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from Gaffney, has dazzled with his soft hands and leaping ability, tying a school record with at least one touchdown catch in five consecutive games. He will need to work hard to get open against the double coverage that is sure to come.
Newton, Rice and a cast of young receivers have been remarkably sure-handed.
Grade: B+
TIGHT ENDS
Injuries have taken their toll at this position. Starter Andy Boyd has missed four games with a sprained knee, and backup Jonathan Hannah will seek a medical redshirt after injuring his ankle. Walk-on Carson Askins has moved ahead of the oft-penalized Robert Pavlovic. The tight ends have combined for six catches.
Grade: C-
OFFENSIVE LINE
The front five was one of USC’s biggest questions entering the season, and the Gamecocks have yet to find an answer. USC has tried six line combinations in as many games, and it finally might have hit on something with the move of Na’Shan Goddard to right guard and insertion of right tackle Jamon Meredith into the starting lineup.
Besides failing to open many running lanes for the backs, the line has not protected Mitchell well. The Gamecocks have given up 18 sacks, more than any SEC team but Florida (20).
Grade: F
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Gamecocks made wholesale changes along the defensive front after failing to get production from ends De’Adrian Coley and Josh Johnson, who has since been suspended following an arrest. New starters Orus Lambert and Jordin Lindsey have been more active on the edge but only have one sack each.
The interior defense has been soft against the run, helping opponents rush for 188 yards a game, which ranks 95th out of 117 Division I-A schools. Chris Tucker has 12 tackles despite being the only defensive linemen to start all six games. Tackle Stanley Doughty is tied for the team lead with three sacks.
Grade: C-
LINEBACKERS
Thought to be a strength in the preseason, the linebackers missed a lot of tackles early in the season and appear to be tentative at the point of attack. Junior-college transfer Mike West has been among the biggest surprises with 34 tackles and three sacks, but he often is out of position in coverage.
Middle backer Ricardo Hurley leads the defense with six tackles for loss. Cody Wells has played well in limited action. The linebackers have combined for nine of USC’s SEC-leading 19 sacks.
Grade: C
SECONDARY
It took six games, but rover Ko Simpson finally broke through against Kentucky with the type of big plays that defined his 2004 season, when he was named the SEC’s freshman of the year. Against Kentucky, Simpson returned a fumble for a touchdown and recorded his first interception. He must build on that performance if the Gamecocks hope to go bowling.
The secondary has had big lapses on third down, none worse than a blown coverage that allowed Georgia to convert a third-and-22 late in the game. But USC has the SEC’s third-best pass defense, giving up 163 yards a game.
The defense’s failure to stop the run accounts for some of that. Still, the cornerback rotation of Fred Bennett, Johnathan Joseph and Tremaine Tyler has been decent.
Grade: B-
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kicking game cost the Gamecocks at Georgia, but the tandem of Josh Brown (placements) and Ryan Succop (kickoffs) has been mostly solid. Brown is 4-for-4 on field goals, and Succop leads the SEC with 14 touchbacks.
The return game is another story. Depending mostly on freshmen, the Gamecocks are near the bottom of the rankings nationally on punt returns (3.8-yard average) and kickoff returns (20.2 yards). That has hurt USC’s field position.
Grade: C
COACHING
Spurrier never promised he would turn the program around overnight, but he has at least brought a more exciting offense to a fan base that had tired of Lou Holtz’s antiquated approach. Mitchell’s development can be traced to Spurrier, whose reputation as a quarterbacks coach is well established.
But Spurrier did not have his team prepared to play at Auburn, which was evident from the first series when the Gamecocks burned two timeouts in the first 13 seconds. Some of the communication breakdowns resurfaced the following week against Kentucky, but the Wildcats’ turnovers made them moot.
Given his team’s rushing woes, it’s surprising Spurrier didn’t try Newton in the backfield sooner. The defensive staff moved quickly in addressing personnel problems but stuck with the stand-up look by its linemen a game too long.
Grade: C
Reach Person at (803) 771-8496 or jperson @thestate.com
USC's midseason report card
By JOSEPH PERSON
Staff Writer
For a program that has spent the past 111 seasons wallowing in mediocrity, it is fitting that USC sits 3-3 at just past the midway point of the first year of the Steve Spurrier Era.
The Gamecocks have played three games against top-25 teams and lost them all and have yet to defeat anyone with a winning record.
“We beat the teams we were supposed to, and we got clobbered by two of the teams that should have beaten us and played Georgia tough and close,” Spurrier said this past week. “But anyway, hopefully we can show up these last five games.”
USC had a chance to upset then-No. 9 Georgia in Athens but missed an extra point, a field goal and a 2-point conversion in the 17-15 loss.
If Spurrier is to reach his goal of earning a bowl bid, the Gamecocks will have to take care of Vanderbilt and Arkansas and find a way to beat one of the teams they are not “supposed to,” Tennessee, Florida or Clemson.
To do so, USC must fix some of the problem areas that surfaced during the first half.
QUARTERBACKS
Considering he attempted 22 passes before this season, Blake Mitchell has performed admirably. The redshirt sophomore has completed 65 percent of his passes and has the third-highest pass-efficiency rating in the SEC, behind Georgia’s D.J. Shockley and Alabama’s Brodie Croyle.
Mitchell is not comfortable audibling and needs to become more vocal, but those areas figure to be part of his progression in Spurrier’s Cock ‘n’ Fire offense. The backup situation is unsettled. Antonio Heffner looked overwhelmed at Auburn, prompting Spurrier to move receiver Syvelle Newton back to quarterback.
Grade: B
RUNNING BACKS
In hindsight, Spurrier admits he might have been asking too much of freshmen Mike Davis and Bobby Wallace, who were expected to contribute immediately following the losses of Demetris Summers and Cory Boyd.
Davis hits holes hard but lacks breakaway speed; Wallace showed great elusiveness in preseason camp but looks tentative in games. Getting the hard-running Daccus Turman more involved against Kentucky seemed to help.
The X-factor is Newton, who will see time at tailback against Vanderbilt as Spurrier seeks to improve a ground game that ranks 112th out of 117 Division I-A schools.
Grade: D
RECEIVERS
Told before the season that junior Noah Whiteside would be averaging one catch per game at midseason, most USC fans would have guessed the receiving corps was in shambles. But Sidney Rice has more than filled the void left by Whiteside, who has been slowed by a surgically repaired ankle.
Rice, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from Gaffney, has dazzled with his soft hands and leaping ability, tying a school record with at least one touchdown catch in five consecutive games. He will need to work hard to get open against the double coverage that is sure to come.
Newton, Rice and a cast of young receivers have been remarkably sure-handed.
Grade: B+
TIGHT ENDS
Injuries have taken their toll at this position. Starter Andy Boyd has missed four games with a sprained knee, and backup Jonathan Hannah will seek a medical redshirt after injuring his ankle. Walk-on Carson Askins has moved ahead of the oft-penalized Robert Pavlovic. The tight ends have combined for six catches.
Grade: C-
OFFENSIVE LINE
The front five was one of USC’s biggest questions entering the season, and the Gamecocks have yet to find an answer. USC has tried six line combinations in as many games, and it finally might have hit on something with the move of Na’Shan Goddard to right guard and insertion of right tackle Jamon Meredith into the starting lineup.
Besides failing to open many running lanes for the backs, the line has not protected Mitchell well. The Gamecocks have given up 18 sacks, more than any SEC team but Florida (20).
Grade: F
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Gamecocks made wholesale changes along the defensive front after failing to get production from ends De’Adrian Coley and Josh Johnson, who has since been suspended following an arrest. New starters Orus Lambert and Jordin Lindsey have been more active on the edge but only have one sack each.
The interior defense has been soft against the run, helping opponents rush for 188 yards a game, which ranks 95th out of 117 Division I-A schools. Chris Tucker has 12 tackles despite being the only defensive linemen to start all six games. Tackle Stanley Doughty is tied for the team lead with three sacks.
Grade: C-
LINEBACKERS
Thought to be a strength in the preseason, the linebackers missed a lot of tackles early in the season and appear to be tentative at the point of attack. Junior-college transfer Mike West has been among the biggest surprises with 34 tackles and three sacks, but he often is out of position in coverage.
Middle backer Ricardo Hurley leads the defense with six tackles for loss. Cody Wells has played well in limited action. The linebackers have combined for nine of USC’s SEC-leading 19 sacks.
Grade: C
SECONDARY
It took six games, but rover Ko Simpson finally broke through against Kentucky with the type of big plays that defined his 2004 season, when he was named the SEC’s freshman of the year. Against Kentucky, Simpson returned a fumble for a touchdown and recorded his first interception. He must build on that performance if the Gamecocks hope to go bowling.
The secondary has had big lapses on third down, none worse than a blown coverage that allowed Georgia to convert a third-and-22 late in the game. But USC has the SEC’s third-best pass defense, giving up 163 yards a game.
The defense’s failure to stop the run accounts for some of that. Still, the cornerback rotation of Fred Bennett, Johnathan Joseph and Tremaine Tyler has been decent.
Grade: B-
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kicking game cost the Gamecocks at Georgia, but the tandem of Josh Brown (placements) and Ryan Succop (kickoffs) has been mostly solid. Brown is 4-for-4 on field goals, and Succop leads the SEC with 14 touchbacks.
The return game is another story. Depending mostly on freshmen, the Gamecocks are near the bottom of the rankings nationally on punt returns (3.8-yard average) and kickoff returns (20.2 yards). That has hurt USC’s field position.
Grade: C
COACHING
Spurrier never promised he would turn the program around overnight, but he has at least brought a more exciting offense to a fan base that had tired of Lou Holtz’s antiquated approach. Mitchell’s development can be traced to Spurrier, whose reputation as a quarterbacks coach is well established.
But Spurrier did not have his team prepared to play at Auburn, which was evident from the first series when the Gamecocks burned two timeouts in the first 13 seconds. Some of the communication breakdowns resurfaced the following week against Kentucky, but the Wildcats’ turnovers made them moot.
Given his team’s rushing woes, it’s surprising Spurrier didn’t try Newton in the backfield sooner. The defensive staff moved quickly in addressing personnel problems but stuck with the stand-up look by its linemen a game too long.
Grade: C
Reach Person at (803) 771-8496 or jperson @thestate.com