The 3-2-1: Three key plays, two game balls, one burning question from South Carolina's win over Old Dominion
Three Key Plays
Fumble
On the second snap of the game, Kyle Kennard got into the backfield and hit Grant WIlson, foreign a fumble. The ball popped into the air and was recovered by Debo Williams and the Old Dominion 3. Three plays later, Rocket Sanders plunged into the end zone for the touchdown. The three-play, three-yard drive was a harbinger of things to come: South Carolina struggled to move the ball but was able to take advantage of turnovers.
Scramble drill
In the third quarter, Old Dominion faced fourth and seven from the South Carolina 36. South Carolina had been successful in getting to Wilson without bringing extra pressure but on this play, Clayton White brought the all-out blitz. They didn’t get to the quarterback or maintain gap discipline. The middle of the field opened up and Wilson was able to scramble up the middle with nobody home. He made one move downfield and dove into the end zone. The touchdown made it 16-13 South Carolina and jump-started the struggling Monarch offense. Old Dominion scored 12 straight points to take a 19-16 lead in the fourth quarter.
Fumble (again)
Trailing 19-16 and unable to move the ball on offense, South Carolina needed a play from its defense. Old Dominion was pinned at its 10-yard line. On first down, Kennard stripped Wilson, but the quarterback recovered his fumble. After a false start, the Gamecocks got pressure on Wilson, and he stepped up to scramble. Dylan Stewart hit Wilson from behind to force another fumble, and South Carolina recovered at the six. Two plays later LaNorris Sellers was in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
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Two Game Balls
Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart
South Carolina’s two edge rushers were a nightmare for Old Dominion quarterback Grant Wilson. Their pressure led to both of South Carolina’s touchdowns and they spent most of the game in the offensive backfield.
Kennard, the Georgia Tech senior transfer, finished with 5 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Stewart, the freshman from Washington, D.C., had four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss (all sacks), a quarterback hurry, and two forced fumbles.
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One Burning Question
Was that first-game jitters, or is that South Carolina’s offense?
South Carolina managed just 288 yards against Old Dominion. The numbers get uglier from there. The Gamecocks averaged just 3.6 yards per play. La Norris Sellers was just 10-23 for 114 yards, and most of his passes either sailed over the receivers’ heads or landed in the grass at their feet. Just one completion – a 41-yard catch and run by Vandrevius Jacobs – went for more than ten yards. The ground game wasn’t much better: 195 sack-adjusted yards on 52 carries.
There were flashes. Sellers made some nice runs and the pass to Jacobs was pretty. Rocket Sanders ran the ball well when he wasn’t dodging tacklers in the backfield. But those flashes were few and far between.
If things don’t look different going forward, it’s going to be a long season.
