South Carolina Vs. Charlotte: After Further Review
Shane Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Will Healy's Charlotte 49ers 56-20 in a game where the Gamecocks desperately needed to regain some positive momentum. While the final score showed quite a wide margin, multiple trends and strategic moves led to the Gamecocks getting their second win of the season, despite not playing perfect football.
Satterfield Kept It Simple
If one individual needed things to go right in a big way against Charlotte on Saturday night, it was South Carolina's offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. After having somewhat neglected the running game at the beginning of the Arkansas and Georgia games, Shane Beamer told Satterfield that he wanted the ground game to be a point of emphasis on Saturday night, and it seems like Satterfield heeded the words of the head coach.
South Carolina ran the ball a whopping 40 times against the 49ers, using a lot of counters, which involve a guard and tight end acting as pull blockers, along with some inside zone run concepts that involve offensive linemen blocking off areas to create running lanes for the running backs. In the passing game, the Gamecocks utilized some play-action concepts to keep Charlotte's back seven honest. They mainly attacked the edges, using some orbit motion screens and regular bubble screens to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers.
The plan worked great against the overmatched 49ers, as the Gamecocks scored on each of their first eight offensive possessions, leading to their highest scoring output since their 72-point outing against Charleston Southern in 2019.
Clayton White Makes Necessary Adjustments
South Carolina's defense struggled to match the early success that the offense saw. They allowed Charlotte to convert all their first seven third-down attempts, missed multiple sack opportunities, and let various long drives lead to points for Will Healy's squad.
Through both a halftime attitude adjustment and a change in the timing of blitz calls, the Gamecocks would hold Charlotte scoreless on seven of their last eight offensive drives after the Chris Reynolds-led offense for the 49ers scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions.
It wasn't always pretty, but defensive coordinator Clayton White's defense responded to the challenge. They made life miserable for the 49ers' rushing attack and any quarterback in the pocket by getting constant penetration through blitzes and regular rush patterns.
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