USC vs. ECU: Quick Postgame Impressions

garcia_5The South Carolina Gamecocks got the win by the score of 56-37 over East Carolina.  It was not pretty and really should not have been so tough but as the saying goes “a win, is a win.” 

Here are some quick postgame impressions:

–Jadeveon Clowney is as good as advertised.  Looking forward to seeing him getting better, which is scary.
–Marcus Lattimore looks so much stronger than last year.  He is the real deal, just keep feeding him the ball.
Stephen Garcia is the leader of this team.  Enough said.  Spurrier needs to face it.
–Connor Shaw is 1-0 as a starter.  He owes Garcia a steak dinner for that.
–Bruce Ellington is a playmaker.  Glad to see him on the football team and hope to see more of his abilites in the “WildCock.”
–Ace Sanders is a good weapon on special teams and the #2 WR.
–CC Whitlock did well at CB.  Needed that.
–Jason Barnes, you can never say you did not get a chance.
–You can really see the “Team First” attitude in this team, which is refreshing and helps win games like this.
–USC’s passing attack must improve going forward.  Garcia needs to distribute the ball a little better and not cue in on Alshon Jeffery at all times.  Need to work in the tight end or some sort of crossing route.
–USC’s defense needs to sharpen.  It was good at times but always can do better.  The line played well and loved the play of Antonio Allen.  If you recall, I said to Garnet & Black Attack that he is a player that will have impact in 2011 that no one is talking about.  Allen finished with a career-high 16 tackles, caused two fumbles, recovered two fumbles, returning one 25 yards for a touchdown, and had one tackle for loss.  Not too shabby.
–Lastly, thanks ECU for the turnovers as those really helped.

First Thoughts on UGa next week:

–USC will have to shut down the running game of UGa, seems that is the key to the UGa offense. Disrupt that and you disrupt UGa.
–For USC, they need the passing game to open up as UGa will try to stop the run.  Garcia will need to be sharp.
–Mark Richt will have his boys pumped to play.  USC will have to match the hype.  Can not start slow like they did in the ECU game.
–One big key for UGa will be the play of USC’s special teams.  UGa’s Boykin is dangerous as a returner and for the love of god, USC does not need any shanked punts as field position will be a key point in this upcoming game.
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That is all for now but do check back as we will continue to talk ECU and start giving some insight on UGa.

About flounder

Two-time grad of THE University of South Carolina.

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