South Carolina stressing run defense ahead of Georgia
In the South Carolina football operations building, there are signs plastered all over the walls with the simple messaging of run the ball and stop the run.
Shane Beamer talks vociferously about the ability to stop the run being a key to winning games, something South Carolina didn’t do last week against Arkansas.
Since then, the Gamecocks’ head coach has mentioned it in every media availability this week, from his Sunday teleconference to his Thursday radio call-in show.
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Beamer’s concern is certainly warranted, through two games South Carolina ranks 99th nationally allowing 4.8 yards per rush. The only Power 5 schools to allow more yards per rush are Northwestern, Oregon, Louisville, North Carolina, Nebraska and Colorado.
“Georgia’s watching our tape from that Arkansas game last week probably feeling really good about getting up and handing the ball to those big running backs that they got over in Athens,” Beamer said.
At times last week, it felt like the Gamecocks simply couldn’t buy a tackle. Beamer said that he was disappointed in how many missed tackles the defense had in Fayetteville, adding that there has been some added emphasis on tackling in practice this week.
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“That’s disappointing because we’ve been a pretty good tackling team in practice and in games as well,” he said. “Give Arkansas some credit, it’s not easy to get those running backs and that quarterback down but at the same time there was some poor fundamental things in there.”
These missed tackles killed the Gamecocks and helped Arkansas collect 161 rushing yards after contact during the game. For comparison, South Carolina only has 119 total rushing yards on the season.
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Defensive coordinator Clayton White said that to decrease that number the Gamecocks need to be better at finishing plays.
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“Yards after contact is something that you don’t want to have on your defense, you want your first or second guy there to knock the ball down and stop the charge,” White said. “It’s one of those things where I think our defense right now – as a whole it starts with me – we’re taking a lot of pride in being more physical at the point of contact, we gotta make those tackles.”
White will need to rely on his defense’s ability to be “multiple” this week to stop a talented Georgia offense.
While the Bulldogs have an uncharacteristically low run offense PFF grade of 63.9, it’s early in the season and they’re still returning an entire offense full of NFL-level talent.
Junior running back Kendall Milton was behind several top-tier running backs last season and has already begun to shine in 2022. So far he’s already averaging 7.5 yards per carry, good for No. 7 in the SEC.
If South Carolina wants any legitimate shot at beating Georgia this week, they’ll need a depleted defense to step up against Milton and the Bulldogs’ run game.
