Let’s get an early jump on this breakdown: I’m not overjoyed.
Yes, South Carolina rolled up around 600 yards of offense in the debut of its new offensive coordinator. The ground game looked strong, the offensive line created running lanes, and the backs took advantage of them. That was the most encouraging part of the performance.
But let’s be honest—that wasn’t Alabama standing across the line of scrimmage.
On the fifth play of the game, the offensive line committed an illegal procedure penalty. They settled down afterward, but it was an eerie reminder of the pre-snap mistakes that plagued this team last season.
LaNorris Sellers put up good numbers, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. There were four dropped passes in the first half, and every one of them was underthrown. Even the long touchdown to Donovan Murph was underthrown. Fortunately, Murph was already in the end zone and was able to stop, step back and make the catch.
Defensively, we generated very little pressure on the quarterback. And for some reason, South Carolina still cannot stop a screen pass—even when everybody in the stadium knows it’s coming.
Sellers isn’t moving into the Heisman conversation with this kind of performance. He has to be sharper and more accurate, especially against this level of competition.
There were positives. The offense produced. The offensive line and running backs gave us something to build on. But overall, this team looked sloppy.
I said before the season that I needed to see this team play before committing to eight wins. After today, I’m still not ready to make that commitment.
