Booing for winning? Really?
posted by David Cloninger, 11/02/2008 12:16:00 PM
---------- FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
It’s been a long, long while since South Carolina was in the situation it was on Saturday – comfortably ahead against a high-profile opponent, able to piddle around on offense because the main objective was running clock, not running up the score.
Whether the Gamecocks could have run up the score, with Stephen Garcia dazed on the sideline and Chris Smelley under center, plus a running game that averaged 2.3 yards per carry, is irrelevant. USC didn’t need to score, with its defense playing a masterful game and Tennessee’s punchless offense never within 17 points of the lead.
So Steve Spurrier swallowed a big chunk of pride and shelved his playbook, calling in basic runs that went nowhere because he knew he didn’t have to unveil any kind of double-tight end gimmick that might work. He knew that Mike Davis and Company were usually very good holding onto the ball, and as long as they kept the ball tucked high and tight and stayed between the tackles, the clock would run.
Spurrier wasn’t pleased with his overall offense – the man could never be satisfied with a middling 255-yard effort. But he was happy with the 27-6 win over a Volunteer team USC had recently had on the ropes but could hardly ever deliver the haymaker against.
“Offense … best thing we did was only had one turnover, I think,” he said. “Played field position. We gave a game ball to our punter, Spencer Lanning.
“I can’t remember the last time I won a game punting eight times. Cannot remember one.”
It wasn’t asked if Spurrier heard some of the boos late in the game because he kept calling those short runs, only deviating when USC was backed deep in its own territory on third down (Smelley responded with a 15-yard strike, his only pass of the night, to Weslye Saunders for a first down). He probably didn’t, and if he did, he shouldn’t pay attention to them.
They were the product of a small segment of clueless persons who didn’t see what was right in front of them – a convincing win over an SEC East rival – because of the grander picture – the possibility of continuing to pass and humiliating an outclassed team.
Spurrier put it best when he said no matter what the score was, the game only counted as one win. That gives USC six, making it bowl-eligible but not satisfied with what six wins can get (hangover from last year).
Why didn’t he run up the score? He didn’t have to. I believe it was Woody Hayes or Robert Neyland who put it best when he said, “There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad.”
The Gamecocks were up 24-0 with 7:33 to play in the third quarter. Sure, Spurrier could have kept throwing, and he tried to after the Volunteers scored their only touchdown. That was when Garcia was rushed and tried to thread a pass down the middle to Jared Cook, only to see interception machine Eric Berry do what he does best.
His starting quarterback on the bench and an already-thin offensive line made razor-like by an injury to Lemuel Jeanpierre, Spurrier made a smart decision.
Run.
It may not get USC anywhere, but it’ll move the clock. The offensive line’s pass-blocking was decent on Saturday but was now missing one of the five responsible for it, so why ask it to keep doing it when it could simply push aside the defense and make a running lane?
Better to burn clock than throw an unnecessary pass that could be picked off, or drop back for a throw and get sacked, or give Tennessee any slight chance to crawl back in the game.
USC’s defense stuffed UT, Spurrier kept running and the game was safely in hand. Ten years from now, nobody’s going to remember how he won the game, only that he won.
Spurrier said earlier this year that he wanted to keep throwing downfield because that’s what the fans wanted to see. Judging from the reactions of a few souls on Saturday, that’s accurate.
But those fans ought to realize what they have – a winning record and a very good chance to make 2008 an eight- or nine-win season. Check back through the books to see how often that’s happened.
To the fans who realized what was going on and kept waving those white towels, well done. From what the defensive players said after the game, they appreciated your support and effort by making it difficult for Tennessee to get its plays off.
To the others, for the umpteenth time, this isn’t Spurrier at Florida and it never will be. That was then, this is now.
Winning and looking pretty doing it comes second to winning.
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“Relax.”
---------- FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
It’s been a long, long while since South Carolina was in the situation it was on Saturday – comfortably ahead against a high-profile opponent, able to piddle around on offense because the main objective was running clock, not running up the score.
Whether the Gamecocks could have run up the score, with Stephen Garcia dazed on the sideline and Chris Smelley under center, plus a running game that averaged 2.3 yards per carry, is irrelevant. USC didn’t need to score, with its defense playing a masterful game and Tennessee’s punchless offense never within 17 points of the lead.
So Steve Spurrier swallowed a big chunk of pride and shelved his playbook, calling in basic runs that went nowhere because he knew he didn’t have to unveil any kind of double-tight end gimmick that might work. He knew that Mike Davis and Company were usually very good holding onto the ball, and as long as they kept the ball tucked high and tight and stayed between the tackles, the clock would run.
Spurrier wasn’t pleased with his overall offense – the man could never be satisfied with a middling 255-yard effort. But he was happy with the 27-6 win over a Volunteer team USC had recently had on the ropes but could hardly ever deliver the haymaker against.
“Offense … best thing we did was only had one turnover, I think,” he said. “Played field position. We gave a game ball to our punter, Spencer Lanning.
“I can’t remember the last time I won a game punting eight times. Cannot remember one.”
It wasn’t asked if Spurrier heard some of the boos late in the game because he kept calling those short runs, only deviating when USC was backed deep in its own territory on third down (Smelley responded with a 15-yard strike, his only pass of the night, to Weslye Saunders for a first down). He probably didn’t, and if he did, he shouldn’t pay attention to them.
They were the product of a small segment of clueless persons who didn’t see what was right in front of them – a convincing win over an SEC East rival – because of the grander picture – the possibility of continuing to pass and humiliating an outclassed team.
Spurrier put it best when he said no matter what the score was, the game only counted as one win. That gives USC six, making it bowl-eligible but not satisfied with what six wins can get (hangover from last year).
Why didn’t he run up the score? He didn’t have to. I believe it was Woody Hayes or Robert Neyland who put it best when he said, “There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad.”
The Gamecocks were up 24-0 with 7:33 to play in the third quarter. Sure, Spurrier could have kept throwing, and he tried to after the Volunteers scored their only touchdown. That was when Garcia was rushed and tried to thread a pass down the middle to Jared Cook, only to see interception machine Eric Berry do what he does best.
His starting quarterback on the bench and an already-thin offensive line made razor-like by an injury to Lemuel Jeanpierre, Spurrier made a smart decision.
Run.
It may not get USC anywhere, but it’ll move the clock. The offensive line’s pass-blocking was decent on Saturday but was now missing one of the five responsible for it, so why ask it to keep doing it when it could simply push aside the defense and make a running lane?
Better to burn clock than throw an unnecessary pass that could be picked off, or drop back for a throw and get sacked, or give Tennessee any slight chance to crawl back in the game.
USC’s defense stuffed UT, Spurrier kept running and the game was safely in hand. Ten years from now, nobody’s going to remember how he won the game, only that he won.
Spurrier said earlier this year that he wanted to keep throwing downfield because that’s what the fans wanted to see. Judging from the reactions of a few souls on Saturday, that’s accurate.
But those fans ought to realize what they have – a winning record and a very good chance to make 2008 an eight- or nine-win season. Check back through the books to see how often that’s happened.
To the fans who realized what was going on and kept waving those white towels, well done. From what the defensive players said after the game, they appreciated your support and effort by making it difficult for Tennessee to get its plays off.
To the others, for the umpteenth time, this isn’t Spurrier at Florida and it never will be. That was then, this is now.
Winning and looking pretty doing it comes second to winning.
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David Cloninger. David is a full-time staff writer for GamecockCentral, and covers Gamecock football, men's basketball, baseball and recruiting. He may be reached by email at david(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.