South Carolina Gamecocks: 5 Positive Signs from the Win over ECU

First of all, I will say that the first half of the ECU-SC game was my personal nightmare scenario. Watching a team so hyped up fall so early would be crushing.

Connor Shaw played poorly...fumbles were popping out everywhere, receivers were dropping balls, quarterbacks were overthrowing receivers...

Yet the Gamecocks still put up 56 points and won by 19, almost reaching the lofty 20-point spread.

So, yes, it is great to be a Gamecock.

However, some unknowledgeable read-hound writers on this site and others think that "South Carolina's lofty goals are shot" because of ONE POOR QUARTER.

Give me a freaking break.

I strongly believe that this performance only established what we already knew coming into the season. The defensive line is incredible, the offense led by Stephen Garcia is incredible and the defensive backs are going to still need improvement.

We knew this heading in and still have lofty goals.

However, there were also some serious pluses that these so called writers are forgetting to mention.

1. Special Teams Play Was Greatly Improved

Other than a few fumbles from Stephon Gilmore, who had an absolutely appalling game overall, the special teams looked very good.

Coverage was solid, something that has been a major problem for years. Ace Sanders took a punt to the house, and Bruce Ellington was the truth on kickoff returns (more on him on another slide). 

This was a major improvement over what was seen in 2010.

2. Bruce Ellington Could Be a Star Football Player

While he is already a star basketball player, Bruce Ellington showcased his ability to be a big time weapon in an already loaded offense in last night's performance against ECU.

First of all, he will take at least one kickoff back to the house this season. He looked amazing, taking back kicks. 

The Wildcat has a real chance to be successful with Ellington running the show. 

He also saw time as a receiver. While he didn't get a catch (no one threw him any passes), this shows that he has a skill set that allows him to be everywhere on the field. 

3. Jadeveon Clowney Is the Real Deal

Seven tackles, one pass deflection (that was almost intercepted) and enough quarterback hurries to haunt quarterbacks' dreams, Jadeveon Clowney lived up to his massive billing.

Even though he didn't get a sack (due to ECU's two step drop system), he basically lived in the backfield. He will get some sacks against Georgia. 

Clowney was all over the field, making tackles, pursuing and never giving up. 

He is special.

4. Stephen Garcia Is a True and Gritty Leader

Enough of the Shaw versus Garcia nonsense. Garcia is the man and will be for the remainder of the season. 

He showed enough grit and determination in the game to last a lifetime. He also has some strange ability to rally his troops. 

With Shaw in the game, ECU outscored South Carolina 17-0.  When Garcia took over, he led the team back, plain and simple.

5. This Team Has Heart

Normally in the past, if South Carolina gets down, they hang their heads and give up.

Not these Gamecocks; not this year.

The defense stepped up and made some stops. The special teams contributed, and the offense exploded from the second quarter on. 

Take away one bad quarter, and you had a fine performance against a team that we all knew would be able to score. 

So, all of you negative folks, you can back off...at least for one week. Next week will be a much tougher test.

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