Finding 'a formula' becoming the key for Loggains in stringing together balanced offense
With a chance to finish the game out on offense, Dowell Loggains would’ve loved to mix things up. But that wasn’t in the cards with a feeble passing game.
Up by four, with minutes to go against Old Dominion, Loggains chose to run the ball three straight plays with no success in picking up a first down. Instead, the Monarchs got the ball back and would end up turning it over to hand South Carolina the win. But deep down, Loggains probably wishes he could’ve done more to get that first down to seal the deal.
Heading into last Saturday, the Gamecocks had plenty to prove offensively. They needed to show at least a pulse and prove they could play through the air. And maybe, if they had a late lead, Loggains could call more than just runs to melt the clock.
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The good news for the second-year offensive coordinator, though, he didn’t have to worry about doing that. South Carolina was able to play better offensively, which came down to hitting on some big pass plays. And it would be good enough to earn a 31-6 win over Kentucky.
“You get to a point in the games, part of being a coach is you got to manage your players, manage the game,” Loggains said. “You got to understand what’s going to win that individual game and you treat each game differently and there’s a different formula. There’s always a formula to win, you got to find it as a coach.”
Right away in the first quarter, LaNorris Sellers connected on his early pass attempts, which led to a 24-yard touchdown to a wide-open Mazeo Bennett Jr. for the first score of the day.
The Gamecocks still ran the ball a considerable amount, but not to the same success they had a week earlier. They only managed to run for 86 yards and one touchdown against the Wildcats defense. But Sellers was good in the passing game to where he finished 10-for-14 for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
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With Sellers finding more of a rhythm, Loggains could now call what he wanted. He didn’t have to cater solely to the run game. And it made a big difference.
“At that point, I thought our guys were protecting well and seeing things well and the offensive line was protecting well and LaNorris was seeing things well,” Loggains said. “So I think it did create a little bit of balance. I think the biggest thing was we hit some shots that we didn’t hit the week before in the passing game.”
Still, it was only one game. South Carolina admittedly still has ways to go to reach its full potential as an offense. As the Gamecocks move into a big matchup against No. 16 LSU this weekend, creating more connections between Sellers and the receivers will be key.
“Balance in the offense is not run pass all the time. It’s is it your guys touching the ball? Is Mike Smith touching, is Josh Simon touching it, is Jared Brown, is Rocket Sanders, is it Robby Ashford and LaNorris Sellers?” Loggains said. “So, the ball distribution is important, especially when there’s only one football. We only played 50 plays total anyway, but all of a sudden, it’s now 50 percent of that time you’re passing, 50 percent of the time you’re running. You have to have that ball distribution and it keeps everyone locked in and everyone understands their role.”
