South Carolina Football 2011: "Pick 6" Things We Learned from USC-ECU Opener

With apologies to our friend Chris Berman at ESPN, our South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a “rumblin’,  stumblin’, fumblin’, bumblin’” (that is the right order, isn’t it?) start to their 2011 football campaign.  It really was all that, and more. There was much to like—and to be concerned about—in the Gamecocks’ 56-37 opening win over the East Carolina Pirates. 

In no particular order, here’s a “pick six” list of things I think we learned from the Gamecocks’ win on Saturday night in Charlotte.

1. The “not quite ready for prime time” Gamecocks.

When Carolina gets picked to paste somebody, the historical pattern has been to just show up and go through the motions.  It did it again in the first half, falling into a 17-0 hole against the Pirates, all thanks to Gamecock turnovers. 

Once Carolina got rolling, it was 56-20, which is the kind of score a team with these goals is supposed to post to win their openers.  Fall in a hole like this in the meat of the conference schedule and the Gamecocks might not be able to dig out.

2. The pass defense might be in trouble.

Interestingly, given the final score, ECU quarterback Dominique Davis was 37-of-56 for 260 yards with four touchdowns and one interception.  The Gamecocks are dealing with injuries and suspensions in the secondary, but it needs to tighten up quickly.  The Gamecock pass defense was porous in 2010 and we saw little against ECU to indicate any improvement.

3. Garcia is the quarterback, period.

OK, we had our quarterback competition.  Shaw outperformed Garcia in summer camp, so he got the start.  Shaw was not effective.  Coach Spurrier has proven his point and it is one that needed to be made. 

Competition has raised the performance of both players.  In time, Shaw will be fine.  Garcia reportedly met a set of standards mandated by the coaching staff and by the university to be re-instated to the team after his fifth suspension. 

Garcia sat at the beginning of the game Saturday night, his 28-game starting streak snapped and the credit for last year’s SEC East title largely given to others.  And the Gamecocks senior field general answered the call and led the Gamecocks to victory. Spurrier has made his point.  Garcia will lead this team to lots of victories this season.

4. Make better decisions with the football.

The Gamecocks lost four fumbles.  Shaw was 3-of-9 passing, Garcia only 7-of 15.  The fumbles must go away and the completion percentage must rise.

5. Bruce Ellington and Jadeveon Clowney are going to be just fine, thank you.

Ellington, a Gamecock basketball guard, was stellar on the gridiron in high school and walked on with the football team this spring.  He had two kick returns, one for 35 yards and one for 20. He had two rushes for 18 yards. He gives the Gamecocks a return threat and will see time in the Wildcat and at receiver. 

Clowney logged big time on the defensive front with seven tackles, shared on a tackle-for-loss, a few quarterback hurries, and a blocked pass he almost intercepted.  As he learns more about what he needs to do, his production should soar. 

6.  For now, just win . . . and they did!

The Gamecocks did not live up to the pre-season hype in this game.  The Gamecocks fell in an early hole against a team that has historically given them problems—and the Gamecocks leaders stepped up and answered the call.  Something like that does not happen very often in these parts.

This game was not pretty and there are concerns—pass defense, hanging on to the football, playing four solid quarters of football, Garcia taking command of the game at quarterback. But you sense something different now, something you have never really been able to say in Columbia—these Gamecocks have got the players who can make that happen.