Analysis: The missed chances against Ole Miss and what they could mean for Gamecocks
After two weeks where the complaint was that the Gamecocks weren’t even competitive, they did in fact compete in a 59-42 loss to Ole Miss.
But the South Carolina football program might be moving to a point where competitive doesn’t count for much, and the chances for wins are growing scarce.
Will Muschamp, speaking after the game with reporters, focused on a second and 15 early in the second half. His team had just taken a lead, 35-31, and forced the Rebels into that spot on their own 31. The safety who was supposed to be in the middle of the field wasn’t, and cornerback Cam Smith got beat over the top on a Matt Corral throw that was pretty majestic.
One could also look to the next drive, when after South Carolina regained the lead, safety Shilo Sanders bit on a pump fake, a breakdown that left a Rebels receiver uncovered on the way for a 91-yard touchdown and had Lane Kiffin launching his play sheet 30 or so feet skyward.
That was the last Gamecocks lead Saturday and one of the last missed chances on a night that was unlike South Carolina’s past few outings in some ways, but similar in others.
The Gamecocks’ offense competed better against Ole Miss than they had against LSU and Texas A&M. But the defense also put up another ghastly performance, getting tagged for a school-record 708 yards and 59 points (after allowing 48 and 52 the previous two games).
This came after a reopening of the quarterback battle, one that led to the same result, Collin Hill playing ahead of Ryan Hilinski. Hill delivered 230 yards on 28 passes. He did well enough most of the game, though an early interception and a late double-clutch on a screen were blemishes of note.
And it all comes with the backdrop of a fifth-year coach, with a 28-30 overall record at USC and 2-5 mark this season, trying to collect as many wins as possible with a future that’s far from settled.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, this year had the makings of a season where the current staff had to prove something to hold on. That seemed to abate with the financial concerns tied to the pandemic, but the current reality is making that assumption seem less certain.
After a 2-2 start that included a tight loss to Tennessee and upset of Auburn, the two listless performances prior to Saturday started to create a rising tide of fan discontent. The back end of the 2020 schedule promised more winnable games, but those needed to actually turn into wins to keep anger around the state of the program from becoming apathy.
Muschamp’s boss, Ray Tanner, was in Vaught–Hemingway on Saturday, even viewing part of the game from the regular press box. To date, Muschamp is the former baseball coach’s only football hire, and far and away the highest-profile decision he’s made in that role.
Between Muschamp’s contact buyout, his staff’s multi-year deals, a new hire’s buyout and staff overlap, any large-scale change could be an eight-figure proposition. That’s for a department that at one point was fighting through a $40 million-plus deficit during the pandemic, with the cutting of staff and maybe even losing entire sports programs not off the table.
Two more wins this year would’ve likely meant the ability to punt the decision, and one more might yet make it a little tricky. But Saturday by The Grove was one of the strongest chances for a victory, and it came apart in a way that highlights breakdowns around the identity that Muschamp brought to Columbia.
He was a defensive coach who specialized in recruiting. His defense is allowing 36.7 points a game, a total that would’ve ranked in the 120s nationally last season. His roster, five years into his tenure, is thin in the back seven defensively, playing a former walk-on serious snaps, and his new offensive coordinator is having to make do with a dearth of play-makers at several spots.
After the game, he said he remained proud of the fight, waving off questions about a lack of confidence among players.
“I think if you question anything about their effort and their toughness and how we played the game, me and you are going to have a huge disagreement as far as that’s concerned,” Muschamp said. “They fought their asses off. We didn’t make enough plays defensively. Call it like it is.“
South Carolina 2020 football schedule
Sept. 26: Tennessee 31, South Carolina 27
Oct. 3: Florida 38, South Carolina 24
Oct. 10: South Carolina 41, Vanderbilt 7
Oct. 17: South Carolina 30, Auburn 11
Oct. 24: LSU 52, South Carolina 24
Oct. 31: OPEN
Nov. 7: Texas A&M 48, South Carolina 3
Nov. 14: Ole Miss 59, South Carolina 42
Nov. 21: vs. Missouri, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network Alternate
Nov. 28: vs. Georgia
Dec. 5: at Kentucky
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 1:21 AM with the headline "Analysis: The missed chances against Ole Miss and what they could mean for Gamecocks."
