3 lessons learned, 2 questions unanswered after South Carolina falls to Ole Miss
South Carolina football (2-5) dropped its third consecutive game Saturday, going on the road and losing to Ole Miss in a high-scoring affair, 59-42. With three games left to play and coach Will Muschamp taking heavy criticism from Gamecock fans, here are three lessons we took away from Saturday’s loss — and two looming questions.
———Lessons learned———
1. The defense has fallen apart
Just in case you were waiting for South Carolina’s defense to snap out of it and start playing well like many expected in the preseason, it’s just not happening.
If anything, the Gamecocks might be getting worse. The Rebels entered Saturday’s contest second in the SEC in yards per game at 541.7 — and proceeded to add more than 150 more to that total, with 708 on the night. Matt Corral is a good quarterback, to be sure, but the manner in which he absolutely shredded USC’s secondary, down starter Israel Mukuamu for more than half of the game, was extraordinary. The Gamecocks have forced three punts in the last three games and given up more than 150 points and a literal mile of yardage. The remaining three opponents on the schedule might not be able to put up such eye-popping numbers, but they’ll certainly be able to move the ball.
2. Collin Hill ain’t going anywhere yet
When coach Will Muschamp announced after last week’s humiliation to Texas A&M that the quarterback competition was back on, it seemed almost inevitable that graduate transfer Collin Hill would be benched in favor of sophomore Ryan Hilinski. Then, lo and behold, Hill got the nod to start under center once more Saturday.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo reportedly told ESPN sideline reporter Cole Cubelic that running the offense and giving the team the best chance to win were the biggest factors in sticking with Hill. He managed to reward his coach’s faith with a decent-enough effort Saturday to hold on to the job moving forward. Muschamp stuck up for Hill in the postgame press conference, saying he’s taken blame for issues that aren’t entirely his fault, such as the lack of depth at wide receiver.
3. Kevin Harris is reaching All-SEC levels
It’s small comfort in such a discouraging stretch, but the Gamecock ground game is poised to be potent again in 2021 with the return of MarShawn Lloyd to complement Kevin Harris. Harris responded to his worst game of the year against Texas A&M with his very best against a supremely vulnerable Ole Miss defense. His blockers opened up massive holes, and he broke through plenty of weak tackles and showed some speed en route to a historic 243-yard, five-touchdown performance.
Harris has a very real shot at breaking the program record for rushing touchdowns in a season, held by the great Marcus Lattimore, despite playing a shorter schedule. And he even got a shoutout from Lattimore himself Saturday, as the former Gamecock tailback tweeted “Kevin Harris is out of his mind,” followed by several fire emojis.
———Questions remaining———
1. Is defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson in trouble?
In his postgame news conference, Will Muschamp was asked if defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson is still calling plays for the Gamecocks and, if so, whether that might change given the unit’s production. His response — “He’s still calling defense and we need to evaluate where we are.” — was not exactly a full-throated vote of confidence. And that’s not all that surprising given how bad the defense has been and the pressure Muschamp is under as a coach who’s built a reputation as a defensive guru.
People want to see changes because the status quo is clearly not working, and taking over Robinson’s play-calling duties would certainly be a change. It’s definitely something to monitor moving forward.
2. Where is this team’s confidence?
Three consecutive losses, all of them with lackluster defensive performances, have dragged the fan base’s enthusiasm to new lows and led to a lot of talk about Will Muschamp’s future at USC. But when asked after the game Saturday whether any players were starting to lose confidence in this team’s ability to succeed, the Gamecocks repeatedly said that wasn’t the case. And Muschamp, for his part, repeated his belief that his players competed hard and put in the necessary effort but were just lacking in execution.
On one hand, any public admission of lost confidence is unlikely, no matter how bad things get. On the other, the proof is in the pudding, and if the Gamecocks continue to lose and give up massive numbers of points, then something has to be missing. Maybe it’s confidence, maybe it’s effort, maybe it’s talent, maybe it’s coaching. And that’s not good.
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "3 lessons learned, 2 questions unanswered after South Carolina falls to Ole Miss."
