Why coordinator Marcus Satterfield thinks South Carolina’s offense is nearly there
Marcus Satterfield’s press conferences have become a production of rinse and repeat over the last year-plus.
More often than not, the Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator has answered a few personnel questions or a thought or two on an upcoming opponent followed by a barrage of queries that entail defending the offense and its largely wayward displays in his 20 months on the job.
That same carousel spun on Wednesday after a 48-7 drubbing by No. 1 Georgia, but, take it as you will, Satterfield insists the offense isn’t that far off from what he and Beamer want it to look like.
“I think that it just takes work,” Satterfield said. “I know it’s the boring answer and everybody rolls their eyes, but you just have to keep working. You have to keep getting time together, keep playing games and have to keep screwing up and figuring out why you screwed up and getting back to it. I honestly truly believe that we’re getting really close.”
That Satterfield is preaching patience or assuring things are close likely won’t appease the keyboard cowboys that have called for his firing the bulk of the last two years. That said, there’s reason to take South Carolina’s embattled offensive coordinator at his word.
Look at quarterback Spencer Rattler for proof of concept.
The Rattler experiment has largely matched his ebbing and flowing college career. There’s been some good. There’s been some bad. Each “Holy cow” throw seems to be met with a mind-melting interception.
That said, Rattler’s combined 603 yards between the win over Georgia State and a Week 2 trip to Arkansas was the best two-game stretch for a single South Carolina passer since Jake Bentley recorded 849 yards between games against Chattanooga and Clemson at the tail end of the 2018 season.
“I have to limit the turnovers, the interceptions — especially because we’ll be throwing the ball a lot,” Rattler said after the Georgia loss. “... We’ve got to get better at everything, I think. Just got to get in a better flow and get ourselves out of bad situations. Not these third-and-longs and this and that. We’ve got to make it easier on ourselves.”
Rattler’s seeming ability to create more explosive plays hasn’t absolved the offense of its issues.
The Gamecocks haven’t eclipsed 100 yards rushing as a team (!!) in three games this season. They’re currently averaging just 70.33 yards per contest — good for 124th of 131 FBS teams nationally and second-worst among the 69 Power Five schools.
South Carolina’s offensive line, albeit better over the last two weeks, has had its share of issues to start the season, mitigating how much can actually be done by running backs MarShawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell to spark the run game.
The Gamecocks currently rank 118th nationally and dead last in the SEC in blocking efficiency through three games, according to Pro Football Focus. USC also doesn’t have a single lineman ranked among the top 45 pass or run blockers in the league, per PFF’s 1-100 grading scale.
“There’s flashes everywhere — good flashes and bad flashes,” tight end Austin Stogner said after the Arkansas loss. “This is our second week. It’s Spencer’s second week as quarterback. It’s gonna take time, but we were better than last week, took a huge step. Hopefully we can take the same step (this week).”
South Carolina, at least on the surface, seemed to take a step back against Georgia’s mauling defense. But after back-to-back games against top 10 opponents, the Gamecocks get a bit of a reprieve the next two weeks.
They’ll face a Charlotte team that ranks worst in the FBS in total defense, allowing 563.8 yards per game over its three contests. Then comes a visit from FCS foe South Carolina State, which allowed 56 points and 600 yards to UCF in its lone game against an upper-division opponent this year.
South Carolina has made a habit of finding more explosive plays in 2022. If things hold, it would see a roughly 40% increase in passes of 10 yards or more. That’s a step. Next comes stringing together some consistency.
If you’re to believe what Satterfield says, it’s coming — soon.
How to watch
Who: Charlotte (1-3) at USC (1-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
Watch: ESPNU
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Why coordinator Marcus Satterfield thinks South Carolina’s offense is nearly there."
