In the second half that lead wouldn’t hold up, as the Knights platooned Harris at QB for most of the final two quarters, with the freshman responding with an average of 2 yards per pass attempt and 7.5 yards per carry. Players were ticked and more than a few had choice words for their teammates.
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“You can’t be positive until you’ve done something”, Spurrier said. “That’s good to see”. “We got a lot of guys up there and stuffed them pretty good”.
Pro golfer Mark Anderson, who has competed in the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour, expressed the same exasperation felt by several onlookers in the first half. “We shouldn’t have been down 14-8”.
Whatever was said must have worked. Linebacker T.J. Holloman is expected to get a starting slot while coordinator Jon Hoke said other options might be looked at among safeties and cornerbacks.
Nunez, the first true freshman to start at South Carolina since Mikal Goodman in 1999, finished 12-of-22 passing for 184 yards. “Those are the things that cost you ball games. We’ve got to learn to overcome that and move on”. “So, he’s probably going to deserve a shot somewhere down the road here, but that’s just where we are”.
That combo came up big in the third quarter.
Quarterbacks: Bo Schneider showed improvement in his 2nd collegiate start, completing some passes downfield, throwing the ball away most of the time when nothing was there, and even completing some throws when flushed from the pocket.
There will always be passes that quarterbacks want to have back.
It’s likely the duo will draw another start together.
That the Knights (0-3) just lost to their first FCS opponent in almost two decades only added to the pain of the worst start since the infamous winless 2004 season. The how changed however, and that opened the way for two sacks and seven hurries (well, and UCF being much worse than Georgia).
“We both have a lot of knowledge about the scheme”, Holloman said. Backup Perry Orth played one series in the first half, but beyond that Nunez took every snap that mattered, and in the process became the first true freshman quarterback to lead USC to victory since Steve Taneyhill beat Clemson in 1992. It just flows better, not saying it wasn’t good before, but it just flows better when you have a better understanding of the system.
Defensively, the Gamecock players stood tall.
South Carolina was looking for a spark. The Knights would collect five tackles for loss, and allow 400 South Carolina yards. The Gamecocks will also have new starters take the field against the Golden Knights on defense.
The Gamecocks deployed a smattering of lines with defensive ends replacing tackles, called the “Green” package, and sometimes unleashed zone blitzes where two extra defenders rushed and a lineman dropped into coverage.
“Hopefully, our defense can stop this team”, Spurrier said.
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The South Carolina Gamecocks got worked last week by the Georgia Bulldogs and are following that up by trailing the UCF Knights at halftime.
