The 3-2-1: Three key plays, two game balls, one burning question from South Carolina's loss to LSU
Three Key Plays
Sellers is sacked
It seemed like a routine play. South Carolina had a third and ten, and LaNorris Sellers dropped back to pass. The pocket collapsed and Sellers was sacked for a loss of four. It went almost unnoticed that he suffered a sprained ankle on the play. Sellers returned briefly in the second half, but he only played three snaps on one possession and the Gamecocks weren’t the same. South Carolina piled up 265 yards of offense in the first half but managed just 133 in the second half (with 66 coming on one play). In relief, Robby Ashford carried 11 times for 11 yards and went 2-4 passing for 42 yards.
Offensive Pass Interference
You rarely see offensive pass interference called, and when you do it is usually blatant. Ashford hurled a deep jump ball toward Dalevon Campbell, who was locked up with Zy Alexander. Campbell came down with the jump ball for a 43-yard gain. But nearly 20 yards away, Mazeo Bennett made contact with a defender, and a flag was thrown for pass interference. Bennett’s move was nowhere near the ball and had no impact on the play, and far more contact routinely goes uncalled, but the flag-happy officials called a penalty and negated a huge play.
Pick Six
After a Gamecock turnover, LSU had the ball at the South Carolina 12. After a false start backed the Tigers up five yards, Garrett Nussmeier tried to throw for the go-ahead score, but didn’t see Nick Emmawori lurking in underneath coverage. Emmanwori picked off the pass at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown that would have put South Carolina ahead 40-29. But Kyle Kennard was flagged for blocking Nussmeier, who was chasing Emmanwori, after the pick, negating the return. It was one of two pick-sixes South Carolina had taken away by questionable penalties on Saturday.
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Akron football game]
Two Game Balls
Raheim Sanders
Sanders rushed for 143 yards on 19 carries for a pair of touchdowns. He ran with power and explosiveness. He also had a pretty spectacular 11-yard reception where he reversed field. In the second half, Sanders was almost the entire Gamecock offense, and he seems to be getting better each game.
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Nick Emmanwori
Emmanwori was his vintage ball-hawking self. He had nine tackles, and should have had his second pick six in as many weeks. He appeared to be cramping by the end of the game, but kept coming back in.
One Burning Question
Will LaNorris Sellers be ready next week?
Let’s, for a moment, ignore the officiating, which was pretty awful from the bad calls, to the constant huddling after nearly every play, to repeatedly spotting the ball wrong. Let’s also skip all the goggles/contacts noise. The bottom line is that South Carolina needs Sellers at quarterback. He is far from perfect, and Selelrs missed some throws and had a couple more turnovers Saturday. But he also is capable of explosive plays, and Robby Ashford has yet to show any ability to move the offense. Akron is a bad football team, but if Sellers can’t play it becomes a scary game.
