The 3-2-1: Three key plays, two game balls, one burning question from South Carolina's loss to Ole Miss
Three Key Plays
1. Fake punt
On South Carolina’s first possession, the Gamecocks ran the ball on third and six and picked up five yards. That made it fourth and one, an obvious time to go for it. Shane Beamer sent the punt unit on, but Ole Miss wasn’t biting. Maurice Brown, the upback, got the direct snap but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage and Ole Miss took over at the Gamecock 36. The Rebels scored five plays later.
2. Robby Ashford fumbles
South Carolina had some sort of wrinkle planned where Robby Ashford would come in for LaNorris Sellers. We don’t know what was supposed to happen. Ashford and Raheim Sanders weren’t on the same page on a zone read and the football squirted out of Ashford’s hands and was recovered by Ole Miss. South Carolina got too cute and instead of a game-tying drive, it was a turnover and two-touchdown deficit. Ashford didn’t get another snap until the final minute of the game.
3. Unsportsmanlike conduct
In the third quarter, Dylan Stewart sacked Jaxson Dart on third down to force a punt. Then Stewart pretended to fire an imaginary machine gun at Dart while he was on the ground. That drew a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down. The game was already over by this point so the penalty didn’t change the outcome, but it was emblematic of how undisciplined South Carolina was and how the Gamecocks constantly got in their own way.
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Two Game Balls
Judge Collier
Collier spent much of the game matched up with Antwane Wells and did a fine job. He had three pass breakups and three tackles.
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Jalon Kilgore
Kilgore had five tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. The tackle for loss came on fourth down and forced a turnover on downs.
One Burning Question
This was the low point, right?
The ingredients were there for an upset – South Carolina was coming off a bye week, Ole Miss was coming off a game in which it had been exposed by a team South Carolina had dominated. But South Carolina completely laid an egg. Under Shane Beamer, there have been some huge no-shows, and this was one of the biggest.
The Gamecocks were sloppy and undisciplined and the coaching decisions were questionable. Can they at least show improvement next week? Beating Alabama is a lot to ask, but can the Gamecocks at least be competitive enough to make winning the Oklahoma game seem possible?
