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It’s time for Steve Spurrier to weave some offensive magic
By Randy Capps
Published:
Steve Spurrier had a plan.
Redshirt freshman Connor Mitch was his guy at quarterback. The Raleigh native had a decorated high school career, and had done enough to win the job — and Spurrier’s confidence — heading into the season.
“We don’t have any plans on (using two quarterbacks),” Spurrier said. “Connor Mitch is our starter, we’re trying to give him all the confidence and support we can. We believe he can go the distance not only in this game but throughout the course of the season.
“I think all of us would like to have one quarterback that’s clearly the best guy to lead your team. We’re going into that right now. If something happens down the road, we’ll be flexible at that time.”
Things have changed a bit since he said that in the days before the season opener.
Mitch fell awkwardly in pursuit of an errant option pitch in the first half and injured his shoulder. He’s out of the picture for a while with that injury and a hip infection that landed him in the hospital earlier in the week.
Something happened down the road, so now it’s time to be flexible.
If you type “Steve Spurrier” into a search engine, you can read lots of things.
Most of the recent results feature media types lining up to write his coaching obituary.
“He’s too old. … He can’t recruit. … He’s going through the motions. … He’s lashing out at the media instead of coaching up his team.”
And so on.
Those are easy stories to write this week. He’s got a former walk-on, Perry Orth, starting at quarterback. His Gamecocks are a 17-point underdog in Athens against a Georgia team with conference and national championship aspirations.
For Spurrier’s “enemies,” real or imagined, it’s a fun time.
But it’s never quite that simple.
Widen the search parameters a bit on Spurrier, and you learn some other things.
Like a 16-6 lifetime record against Georgia. Yes, plenty of those were during his Gators days. But Spurrier’s Gamecocks have won four of the last five meetings.
You can also learn that, in the last two seasons, South Carolina is 5-3 straight up as an underdog. And the last time it was in this situation was October of last year, when it was a 19-point dog at Auburn. The Tigers needed two interceptions in the end zone to escape with a 42-35 win.
A wider perspective suggests that it might be a little early to shovel dirt on Spurrier. But, if he is to beat back the vultures circling overhead, he needs to rekindle a bit of his patented offensive wizardry.
And, just to be helpful, I have some ideas:
RUN THE BALL
I never promised anything profound, did I? Sometimes the best solution is also the simplest one.
Brandon Wilds, David Williams and Shon Carson are all capable and talented backs. The trio has combined for 328 yards with a healthy average of 6.1 yards per carry.
Any college quarterback worth his salt can turn and hand off, right?
Of course, there’s also the Wildcat. I get the sense that Pharoh Cooper may be a bit nicked up, which could explain the drop in his Wildcat workload last week. But whether it’s him, or perhaps freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez, I think mixing in a little Wildcat might be helpful.
No matter the method, running the ball protects an inexperienced quarterback and limits the defense’s exposure to the Bulldogs’ ground game with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and company.
GROW ORTH’S CONFIDENCE
I thought Spurrier did a nice job with this in the second half of last week’s game by calling plays that required getting rid of the ball quickly after making just one or two reads.
Of course, Georgia has seen the tape from that game, and will likely try to make Orth throw the ball deeper downfield.
But short, simple throws (screens, hitches, etc.) in the early-going will allow the junior to build momentum and ease — as much as possible — into what will be the biggest game of his life.
That said, Orth needs to stay in his lane, too. In the final drive last week, he rolled hard to his left before trying to throw across his body to the near sideline. That pass was picked off, and Kentucky ran out the clock for the win.
That’s a throw a lot of NFL quarterbacks can’t make, and it’s one he shouldn’t be trying.
TAKE SOME CHANCES
There needs to be a little spice in this game plan. Maybe a fake punt or field goal, or a surprise onside kick to keep the Bulldogs honest.
Perhaps Cooper shows off his arm again from the Wildcat or the Gamecocks can roll out some other play from the back pages of the playbook.
Whatever he decides to do, Spurrier has to be willing to roll the dice a bit. This includes fourth-and-short opportunities and trips into the red zone as well.
If he can manage that, there might be some brighter search results for his name come Sunday.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
