Everything Akron head coach Joe Moorhead said after South Carolina's 50-7 win
Akron head coach Joe Moorhead spoke to the media following the team’s 50-7 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. But he was only made available to share a brief statement. Here’s what he had to say.
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Opening statement
“Obviously, (today was) our third money game against a very quality Power Five opponent. You know, (former Secretary of State) Collin Powell once said, ‘A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.’ And when you’re playing a team that’s this talented and well-coached and kind of getting fired on all cylinders in all three phases, you can’t make a ton of mistakes.
“We didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t execute well enough. (I) thought the kids played hard, and I thought the effort was there. But you’re starting to see the cumulative result of playing three teams that are probably going to end up in the top 25 on Sunday.”
No Sellers, no problem: South Carolina returns to winning ways in dominant display against Akron
By Griffin Goodwyn
Strong starts to the season have not been South Carolina’s forte, dating back to well before Shane Beamer took over as head coach.
Over the last six years, the greatest number of wins the Gamecocks have earned through its first four games is two. South Carolina has accomplished the feat five times during that time frame – only in 2019 did it fail to do so.
But in 2024, the Gamecocks will surpass that mark. After a 50-7 win over Akron on Saturday, South Carolina is off to its best start to a season since 2017.
The biggest question about South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) was officially answered 30 minutes before kickoff, when it was announced on the scoreboard that Robby Ashford would be starting in place of LaNorris Sellers, who suffered an ankle injury in the team’s loss to LSU last weekend. After a shaky start to his Gamecock career, Ashford helped South Carolina pick up an early lead and keep it for the rest of the contest.
The Gamecocks did not score on their first drive of the game, going three-and-out after receiving the opening kickoff. But Ashford led South Carolina to the end zone on its next possession.
He showed his ability to affect the ground game throughout the drive, totaling 61 yards on three carries. After bringing the Gamecocks within striking distance of scoring on a fourth down conversion, Ashford would hand the ball off to Oscar Adaway, whose two-yard touchdown was his first for South Carolina.
