Damiere Byrd (1) and the Gamecocks will try to bounce back with a win against East Carolina. (Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Five days after South Carolina suffered a 52-28 loss to Texas A&M in the season-opener last Thursday, Steve Spurrier was still smarting in the way his team played. He hopes to get things moving in the right direction when the No. 21 Gamecocks host East Carolina Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“We’re still and will always be embarrassed by our performance the last game,” Spurrier said. “We realize it’s history and we realize the only thing we can do is learn from it and try to play a whole bunch better and coach a whole bunch better the next time out.”
The areas of concern are many. South Carolina allowed first-time starter Kenny Hill to throw for a school record 511 yards and three touchdowns. The Gamecocks also couldn’t find a way to get a third down stop, allowing the Aggies to convert 12-of-17 chances.
Offensively, Dylan Thompson threw four touchdowns but the running game and offensive line that was thought to be the cornerstone of the South Carolina attack was manhandled in a way that the coaching staff never expected. The Gamecocks finished with 67 yards rushing and Thompson was sacked three times and hit several more times.
Texas A&M dominated the lines on both sides of the ball.
So it’s almost a back-to-basics week for South Carolina.
“Our practice routine will be a little different,” Spurrier said. “I’m not going to go into details but we’re just being a little more competitive — first team versus first (team) on some things. We’re still not tackling to the ground, getting guys hurt, stuff like that. But we’ve just tried to keep our guys moving better, a sense of urgency.”
It’s going to be a necessity if South Carolina is going to respond against East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden and the Pirates high octane attack. Carden completed 26-of-37 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-7 season-opening win over North Carolina Central on Saturday. The Pirates use the same quick-strike, short passing game that Texas A&M used so efficiently.
East Carolina went 10-3 last year, just the second time in school history they’ve reached double-digits in the win column.
“They play with confidence,” Spurrier said of East Carolina. “They play a little like Texas A&M on offense. The quarterback gets the ball out of his hands quickly. They have excellent receivers and a pretty good running game. Their defense has been solid. That’s how you win 10 games.”
Spurrier is searching for his 200th victory as an SEC head coach and is looking for his 50th win at home in his 10th season with South Carolina. He understands the Gamecocks needs to play a lot better if they’re going to challenge for the SEC East this season.
“Obviously we’ve got to do some things differently around here or we’re in for a long season,” he said. “We’ll try to do that and try to put a team on the field our Gamecock fans can be proud of this Saturday night. We think we have the players to fix it so we’re going to find out.”
