|| By FITSNEWS || In what was billed as a battle of high-octane offenses, the University of South Carolina football program managed to survive a defensive struggle against a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic Coast Conference squad.
Head coach Steve Spurrier‘s Gamecocks (1-0, 0-0 SEC) outlasted the University of North Carolina 17-13 in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday night – a shaky season opener for a pair of teams looking to rebound from disappointing 2014 campaigns.
Making his first career start for the Gamecocks, redshirt sophomore Connor Mitch completed nine of 22 passes for 125 yards and his first career touchdown – an 11-yard strike to preseason All-SEC wide receiver Pharoh Cooper. Mitch also showed surprising mobility – rushing ten times for 44 yards.
Backup quarterback Perry Orth completed his only two passes for 24 yards.
Still, it was a depressing effort for Spurrier’s offense – which put up big numbers a year ago only to be sabotaged by a porous defense.
This year’s defense looks pretty porous, too … relying on mistakes by North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams to steal a win in this rekindled rivalry.
Looking on the bright side, junior linebacker Skai Moore had a huge 2015 debut – recording ten tackles and making two clutch end zone interceptions to kill North Carolina drives. Thanks to Moore – and junior college transfers Marquavius Lewis and Dante Sawyer – South Carolina shut out head coach Larry Fedora‘s up-tempo offense during the second half.
It wasn’t pretty though …
Despite putting up only 13 points, the Tar Heels (0-1, 0-0 ACC) wound up exceeding their average per game yardage from a year ago – amassing 440 yards against a unit led by the much-maligned Lorenzo Ward and his new co-coordinator, former Chicago Bears’ defensive coach Jon Hoke.
Where do the Gamecocks go from here? Well, we can tell you where they won’t be going: The Top 25, where Spurrier’s program was a fixture from 2010-13.
Spurrier and Co. will have nine days to work out the kinks before opening Southeastern Conference (SEC) play at home on September 12 against the University of Kentucky – one of the three teams which stole wins from South Carolina a year ago.
After that, the Gamecocks go on the road against ninth-ranked Georgia on September 19 before returning home to play unranked Central Florida on September 26.
44 comments
The 4th quarter was a quarter where both head coaches tried to out do each other with calling the worst plays they could come up with.
it was 4th and goal from the 8, and in a goal line d they weren’t going to get 8 yards. he had to pass or it would be a turn over on downs, it was just covered well. the rest of the calls though were very very bad for both teams. USC won, and won ugly, but Clemson fan would claim they won because their D made tem make those bad plays. However Fits claimed it to be a game of 2 high-octane O’s? who the hell said USC was going to have a good O with a QB that had a total of 6 passes in his career? that is a bait statement for clicks all day. The D made good adjustments at half and allowed 0 2nd half points. Spurrier should have taken the FG but ego got him but he ran a run up the middle as he always does in the shotgun for a 1 yard loss then ran it up the middle again on 4th. the whole drive it was outside the tackles that drove the ball and the drive before they busted one for 49 outside the tackles.
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That last interception was meaningless because it was already 4th down. He and the end zone were pretty much blanketed and it was goal to go so I think the fact that it was an interception is being made a bigger deal than it should be.
That games was hard to watch; how can the defense *STILL* be that shaky? At least watching Mitch will be entertaining, if nothing else. I loved watching him make faces and gesture at the goofballs on the sidelines when they were dragging ass getting the plays in and screwing him out of his play clock
Leading rusher had 75 yard which included a 48 yard run. 90% of Mitch’s completions were thrown behind the line of scrimmage. Defense held UNC to less than 500 total yards against a quarterback who would be lucky to start on a decent high school team. Arm tackle miss after arm tackle miss. The only impressive player was the punter.
“90% of Mitch’s completions were thrown behind the line of scrimmage.”?
Last year Clemson’s Watson got credited for handing the ball off forwards so it was a considered a pass, and everyone claimed he beat USC. A yard is a yard and the W is still a W
What does my comment have to do with Clemtech? Dirtpeckers are always so defensive and looking to blame Clemson. It’s like Obama supporters blaming Bush for everything even though he hasn’t been in office for nearly a decade.
don’t get your G-string stuck up your ass. I used an example I knew you would know as you are always jabbering on here like a troll hating on USC for no real reason all the while denying you pull for Clemson. I never once actually said you pull for them did I? No, you just assumed I did. It was a good example of if it happens one way its all good, but if happens another it shouldn’t count. Kind of like a link a friend sent me from Tigernet today where they are rejoicing their “excellence” about beating USC in soccer last night, while any time if someone mentions 2 national title in baseball vs Clemsux’s zero the same people claim only football matters. then why celebrate a soccer win? It is actually a mental condition called “Tater Hypocrisy” It is defined as “nothing matters if we haven’t done it, but if we do something its all that matters”. Clemsux fans are much like the Clintons in that manner.
You talk too much.
You troll to much
and we will still run Clempson out of Cola by 10 handing them their 5 loss of the season and a nice trip to El Paso!!!!!
but.. but.. it’s still FOOTBALL
So very true!
Mke at the Beach,
I don’t think a defense that shuts out North Carolina in the second half is “that shaky”. I think they are better coached this year, and its going to show.
Sure, they made great adjustments in the second half, but still allowed huge breaks. The best thing the USC D had going for them late in the game was the NC QB. I agree on the coaching and I surely hope you’re right about the remainder of the season.
400+ plus yards given up by the defense is acceptable, when the offense only puts up 17 points?
Um, it’s not shaky. North Carolina averaged 35 a game a year ago and returned 9 on offense. South Carolina shut them out — zero points — in the second half. Did they rack up some yards? Sure. But, you know, scoreboard.
Why so sensitive everyone? ;-)
I didn’t insult their mothers or say it was the worst display ever, but most rational folks would not be thrilled to miss tackles and coverage like USC did. I’ll take the W, no doubt, but people who think it was pretty are delusional.
Defense looks better. Offense should improve as the young quarterbacks get some experience. Good running backs. Big offensive line. I predict a better than expected season. Its not a top ten team. But a winning season with a bowl invite looks doable.
Agreed, it is going to be a long season but I was pulling for the dirt peckers tonight. Had it in my gut they would cover 3…and they did. I won on the Utah/Michigan game and the WKU/Vandy game…now just need BYU to cover +6 and I gets paid!!!!!
UNC and UGA are two teams that need to get stomped by whatever SC team plays them.
PRO TIP:
Don’t bitch when you win. There will be plenty of occasions for that later.
If you play like shit but win every game you’re still the champ.
Let’s not forget that Thursday night 3 years ago that USC went into Nashville to play a crappy Vanderbilt team and barely eeked out a 17-13 win. They went 11-2 that year. Not that I’m arguing this team has any chance of going 11-2 this year but the point is that Spurrier teams have looked notoriously bad the first games of about every season. There is a lot to be desired with this team but you can’t tell anything by the first game except a win or loss. I hate people talking about how USC “looked”. It’s easy to look bad your first game, especially when you’re SC. History shows how they look first game is meaningless. They were blown out of the water at home by A&M last year and two weeks later beat Georgia.
I miss the days when the first game of the season was Georgia and the game actually was worth being concerned about. I feel sorry for those suckers who paid $200 for a game that was basically meaningless except in the overall win-loss columns.
very true, however that team had Lattimore, Clowney, Shaw, that DB who was really good ….. a lot of special players, not sure this team has anyone special. Will probably get 7 wins which is not bad, but the years of winning 10+ are over
Short on talent, thin on experience, it will be a long season.
Gamecocks have a lot of fresh players that will need some seasoning, that’s all.
I saw the same thing. Won’t be this year though.
WOOHOO, BIG WIN, SMACKED EM DOWN LAST NIGHT. THE MIGHTY GARNET MACHINE ROLLED. COCKS ARE GOING ALL THE WAY. UNDEFEATED! PICKS, SACKS, SPILLS, THRILLS AND CHILLS COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR ANYTHING MORE. HBC SHOWED THEM HOW IT’S DONE BABY! WARD AND HOKE PUT IT TO THEM SACKS, PICKS SMACKS AND LICKS, LAID THE WOOD TO ARCH RIVALS NORTH CAROLINA, GONNA PUT A HURTING ON ALL THE REST.
CONNOR, WILLIAMS AND COOPER ALL PLAYED SUPER DUPER
SKAI CLOSED THE DOOR, YOU COULDN’T ASK FOR ANY MORE
A NEW KELSEY TOOK A STANCE, QUARTERBACK DIDN’T STAND A CHANCE
Yeah, I was watching the same game, I just really like winning!
Remember: This site also told us Thomas Ravenel (or at least take enough votes so Brad Hutto) would be South Carolina’s U.S. Senator. And FITSNews told us Tom Ervin was a Republican, who would be elected governor in 2014.
And: I’m still waiting for the USC baseball team to “VACATE” it’s CWS wins, because FITSNews told us that would happen.
FITSNews and Obama have a lot in common. They both make all kinds of grandiose claims to exalt themselves, only to be wrong on just about everything. And not just a little wrong, BIG FUCKING WRONG.
In that, Gamecocks fans can take solace.
Remember: Your site failed miserably. On this point, Gamecocks and Tigers can unite. So STFU.
Is that you FITS? Looks like he (or her) kicked you square in the nuts.
Didn’t you also guarantee the Brady suspension was a lock, and no team would give Tim Tebow a chance?
With Hillary crapping out, you sure do look like a GIGANTIC Dumbass.
Who among the experts, including FITS, expected a return to 11-2 this season? If so, you were not thinking clearly. This win was huge for the season, and goes a long way in securing a respectable 8 win season, with a shot at 9 in the bowl game. Given our schedule, and where those games are played, that is a very good result for the Gamecocks. This is a game we lose last year. The good news is we won and have opportunities to correct the issues we saw last night that need correcting. As far as Mitch is concerned, it would help of receivers would catch the ball when thrown to them. More consistency is needed on Defense as one play a defender misses an arm tackle, only later to come back with a nice form tackle. I have to remind myself that the internet is designed for complainers and haters.
UNC pretty much handed the game to us. Though we looked horrid, let’s remember this is only game 1 of the season. The W is what matters most. Hopefully by the time we start sunbelt eastern conference play in 8 days, we will be much improved.
2014
Clemson 17 Boston College 13
Clemson 16 Syracuse 6
A WIN IS A WIN!
During preseason training, a Clemson football
lineman married one of the team’s cheerleaders.
The coach was a bit surprised and remarked to his star football player, “You are such a big, burly guy. Why in the world did you marry such a
tiny, petite woman? She is no bigger than your hand.”
“That’s right, Coach,” replied the lineman. “But, she’s much better!”
Just goes to show you most stats and “Sunday Morning QB’s” opinions on a blog site mean nothing. So what if the D gave up close to 500 yards. Did they allow more points than they scored? No, they kept the points off the board and that’s the actually point of a defense, to stop the other team from SCORING. Yes they could have done better, but they did do what was needed to win and that’s all that matters. “But the QB threw the ball down the field all night”. Well did they score? NO! Its why there are 100 yards on the field. Who gives a damn about the other 99, if they didn’t get it in the end zone they don’t matter, and the Defense stopped them. Giving up 1 td and 3 fg’s is hardly a bad defense. Now I don’t want to rely on a bend don’t break defense all the time but sometimes they can work especially against a fast paced Offense. Ask UNC if they would rather have had more yards or more points in the end. That’s a win all night in the end.
Someone found their sunshine pumper.
Or someone just knows more than you about football. Good point band camp. By the way as someone who claims not to like the rival, but really doesn’t like USC such as yourself, why are you even posting on this story? Oh that’s right you are a troll and have no friends to talk to so you come here.
Look who think’s he a psycologist… isn’t that cute.
“band camp”, that’s great… I bet you went through school wishing you were as cool as the people who went to band camp. You were probably on the yearbook staff.
no, I was just a division 2 basketball player.
win is a win. Most improvement between week 1 and 2. STF Home anyway fits. Oh I hope I see u at WB this year!!!!