COLUMBIA — South Carolina football‘s schedule was already difficult, and while Saturday may have made the road ahead even more challenging, no issue is bigger than the Gamecocks’ inconsistent offense.
The Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) faced then-No. 17 LSU right after the Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Southern Cal. On Saturday, South Carolina faced No. 11 Ole Miss right after the Rebels (5-1, 1-1) were upset by unranked Kentucky.
Now, the Gamecocks face Alabama after the then-No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide lost to unranked Vanderbilt.
That’s an odd pattern in which South Carolina faces teams right after an emotional loss, but perhaps going forward, the Gamecocks take a page out of their opponents’ book and put some emotion, fire and energy back in their offense.
South Carolina football’s offense was lifeless vs Ole Miss
After the open date, the Gamecocks came out with an underwhelming run game and barely threw passes longer than 17 yards.
In the first half, South Carolina had just six passing attempts and was 2-for-8 on third down. The Gamecocks relied heavily on short runs and couldn’t rip open the middle of the field or efficiently go around the outside. The Rebels’ defense just swallowed the run game.
Rocket Sanders, South Carolina’s best running back, who suffered an ankle injury against Akron, returned Saturday but was either underutilized or still hurt. Sanders finished with eight rushing attempts out of South Carolina’s 43.
LaNorris Sellers stalls on offense too much, and his offensive line has to protect
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who played for the first time since Week 3, after spraining his ankle, looked indecisive.
He’s been sacked 16 times this season, including six times by Ole Miss, so it’s hard to tell what he can do with time in the pocket. Saturday, Sellers scrambled and kept his head down, or just simply looked like he wasn’t sure what to do next, stalling out and running out of bounds, or just throwing to the sideline.
He’s proven he can produce last minute like against Kentucky when he escaped pressure and found Mazeo Bennett downfield for a 32-yard catch on third down. He’s proven he can be assertive, like the first half against LSU, when he scored on the opening drive, ran for a 75-yard touchdown and completed a 39-yard pass.
Ole Miss exposed Sellers’ inconsistencies, and zapped flow between his receivers.. Coach Shane Beamer said the game plan was to have some downfield passes, but they seemed non-existent.
MORE ISSUES VS OLE MISS: South Carolina football lacks discipline, more overreactions from loss vs Ole Miss
South Carolina eventually worked in some short shuffle passes to move the chains. Bennett, Gage Larvadain, and Jared Brown have been dependable receivers, and if the Gamecocks can’t slug it downfield, Sellers has to at least consistently find them for short passes on the run to gain some productivity.
With the Crimson Tide next, then Oklahoma and Texas A&M, the offensive game plan can’t be conservative.
If the Gamecocks want finally to be the one who upsets a ranked opponent, they need to start playing like they want to score and that they believe they’re capable of matching any offensive energy in the conference.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How South Carolina football’s lifeless offense can make a rapid fix
