Thoughts on the South Carolina Game, after sleeping on it

[wmcovol]

We were 1-12 on 3rd down conversions and 0-1 on 4th down conversions. For some reason, we could not convert to save our lives.....at with Cimiglia being so consistent, I had no problem with the call to go for a FG.

Now, we do have to do better to move the chains or it will be a long....long season.

1-12 on 3rd down normally gets you beat. Chaney should get a F for that. He’s gotta do better getting them in 3rd & short.

 

[igotworms]

He also has a highlight reel full of him going down on 1st contact. If he's ever going to be an every down back he's got to get better at that and I believe he will. He showed marked improvement in his pass rush blocking skills yesterday being a key role in the game winning drive on the successful pass play to Johnson.

Link?
I think we'd all enjoy that supposed highlight reel.

Your qb sucks

 

[VolforFootball]

I feel like we kind of have to be "pass-happy". If we weren't the defense would be able to key in on loading the box, knowing that the passing game likely wasn't going to be enough to get it done with limited attempts, while also being able to shut down our running game. We have to pass it around a lot to show that we can, to keep the defense from the loading the box on us.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Link?
I think we'd all enjoy that supposed highlight reel.

Your qb sucks

Not my QB, he's QB1 that my head coach keeps running out on the field therefore if you crap all over him I'm gonna stand up for him. As for your negative view of our QB that kind of crap hasn't been working for 20 years around Knoxville unless you just love being miserable, it's time our faction of NegaVols get a new attitude, otherwise get gone as the negative moaning and groaning does nothing but divide a fanbase. Doesn't matter to me either way, I don't associate with NegaVols and likely never will. What kind of stats and wins has your QB produced for UT?

 

[TheBigOne10]

Clockwork Orange has an outstanding "thoughts on the game" post elsewhere, so I apologize for any redundancies.

-Guarantano looks about the same to me. He looks great at times, then he drives you nuts at times. In the end, he made the plays to win. If he could simply remedy the high throws, that alone would make him a MUCH better QB. It seems like that would be a mechanical issue and would have been fixed by now. Of course, Tee Martin never really fixed that either. But he could run.

How many times have we looked at JG's stat line and thought, "those numbers look a lot better than I thought?" I think it's because he misses the a) important 3rd down throws and b) throws he should hit. That being said, if you're missing that many throws you should hit and still have a good stat line, that tells me that most of the throws he's making are throws he should hit....which, as BruinVol pointed out, means he's making good decisions. He's throwing to the right man. The one throw I recall that was a bad decision was near the end zone at the end on a 3rd and 5...he had Gray wide open in the flat and tried to drill it in the end zone. We settled for the final field goal. Other than that, I think his reads were spot on. And that's not nothing.

-Jim Chaney is too pass-happy. Always has been. The strength of this offense is the OLine. We didn't even try to run it in the first half. In the 2nd half, when trying to ice the game, we had a possession that was all-passing, after having run successfully on the prior drive. We also have an inconsistent QB. Run the damn ball.

-As Clockwork mentioned, there were some nice freshmen contributions. Had no idea Slaughter would play. Hadn't heard much about him in practice and he wasn't one of the more talked-about recruits. He had some nice plays and some struggle plays, like any freshman. But the fact he was in there Game 1 as a true freshman tells me he's got a bright future. Same for Spraggins playing some OLine. Baron looks like a future star. Also spotted Morvyn Joseph, Jalin Hyatt (on another 3rd down that JG missed and should have hit), and of course, Holiday on teams recovering the fumble. I also thought I saw Eason out there...but he looked slim...maybe that was another #20? And of course, Will Albright...

-I'm so tired of saying it....but wasting initial counters on long snappers is SO stupid. When have we ever had a problem with a walk-on earning a scholarship? How many bounced snaps have walk-ons made? But we waste a scholarship/counter on Albright and he bounces two in the dirt before being replace by a....you guessed it, walk-on, who....you guessed it, made nothing but perfect snaps the rest of the game. STOP. WASTING. COUNTERS. ON. LONG SNAPPERS. I don't care if Saban does it. It's stupid. Lovingood couldn't even win the job on kicks and now Albright is benched for a walk-on.

-He's not a true freshman, but redshirt freshman, Elijah Simmons looked good in there. Another kid with a bright future.

-Who started/played the most on the OLine? It looked like Jahmir Johnson was the LT over Morris until he pulled a hammy (not sure if he went back in). I saw both Carvin and Spraggins at RG. Obviously, Trey was the LG, Kennedy was the C, and from what I saw, Wright got all the time at RT. Didn't notice Calbert.

-Jeremy Banks is a monster at ILB if he can keep his head straight. Let's say he had some "coachable" moments. But man, he's like a missile out there.

-Same for Deandre Johnson. He and Kivon Bennett look like they're going to be problems for opposing offenses off the edge. I thought Roman Harrison would overtake one of them, but they're not going anywhere. Nice to have Harrison for depth too. Have to be happy with the pass rush overall.

-We've gotta figure out how to defend the slant. Maybe that was a product of not having Shamburger in there. Or being caught in man too often. Don't know, but they killed our secondary with the slant.

-Anybody know who #96 was when we went jumbo at the end trying to run clock? He got a penalty and came out, but had a nice block before that. Didn't have a name on his jersey. Did they sneak Cade Mays in? ;P

-Disappointed to see Cimaglia miss. But that looked like a product of the entire unit screwing up. Gotta fix that. Don't wanna go back to the days when field goals were adventures. Having a nearly automatic kicker last year probably won us some games. We'll be in some close ones this year in which the kicker is the difference.

-Once we got the long snapper straight, Brooks had some booming punts.

-Velus Jones, Jr. looks dynamic on kick returns. The new rules have marginalized that aspect of the game, but when he gets a chance, he looks like he could be a weapon back there. Gray also had a nice punt return, but he's gotta make better fair catch judgment...he fair caught one when there wasn't a Gamecock on the TV screen. At least he didn't fair catch it inside the 5 like they did, though.

-Overall, glad to get out with a win. It wasn't pretty, but we went on the road in the SEC and won a game we would've lost in the past. 7 straight wins is nothing to sneeze at. Now let's go home, beat Missouri like we should, and get ready to go to Athens, 2-0. Because after Missouri, the Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama stretch is brutal.

Best and most rational post on VN all weekend. Good writeup, OP. On to the next one. Happy to get the W!

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Guess the question is whether this is the overthrows were from a lack of practice? I did notice he seemed to overthrow the newer WRs more so than Josh Palmer. While I wasn't super-impressed with JG's performance (I thought it was maybe a "B-" or "C" game), it's very difficult to say how much of that is a result of the lack of preparation this offseason versus what we typically have. Think we'll learn more the next couple of weeks.



I strongly disagree with this.

We were about 50/50 pass/run. Everyone is acting like we were 75/25 pass / run, when we were very balanced. This isn't 1952; you've got to pass the ball. And the pass game was still, by far, more successful, even with a lot of mistakes. We're just not generating enough explosive plays in the run-game. It's good for a few yards here or there, but you want need big 30 or 50 yard plays to score TDs.

Moreover, we lack a big-bruiser type back to grind out yards. Think we have a few guys who could play this role, but the limited prep this offseason probably hurt that element of our game.

Nice take on the game and our offense. I was hoping to see us being better at the running game this year but we were downright terrible running the ball the 1st half gaining just 10 yards, we were better the 2nd half. I agree with you, we've got to get more out of the running game. If 2 backs ever needed a lead blocking fullback it's Chandler and Gray, I'd like to see us play with a lead back some but it doesn't look like we're going in that direction.

 

[Voltopia]

Guarantano's problems seem mental. They don't appear to be related to his physical attributes. That Auburn TD pass from two years ago, the South Carolina pass last year, the big throw to the corner this year, and others - he knows he has to step up in the pocket and take the hit, and he does, but the passes are somehow beautifully placed. It's as if the pressure forces him to think less and act faster, and he does, and it's often with nice looking passes as the result. That's weird to me. But I am just a fan watching at home, I could be totally wrong about what's going on down there. I know nothing about what's actually going on in his head. But it seems to be a pattern, and it seems to resolve itself sometimes when he's under serious pressure from a defense, or even sometimes from being behind at the end of a game. It's weird. To me.

 

[Sarms58]

My takeaway from watching all the games yesterday. UGA subbed in their backup QB in the first half when their starter didn't perform. Backup ended up putting about 35 points on the board in the 2nd half after UGA couldn't get anything going in the first. Maybe Kirby is the better coach?

I don't know...he started a guy who couldn't even see his own receivers...that kid was lost...a better coach would have started a better QB...IMO

 

[BowlBrother85]

Chaney definitely wasn't "pass-happy" at Georgia.

 

[cgrish]

1-12 on 3rd down normally gets you beat. Chaney should get a F for that. He’s gotta do better getting them in 3rd & short.

Actually Chaney had the right plays called on 3rd down qb just missed wide open receivers on them, that's not on Chaney, that's on the qb.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Guarantano's problems seem mental. They don't appear to be related to his physical attributes. That Auburn TD pass from two years ago, the South Carolina pass last year, the big throw to the corner this year, and others - he knows he has to step up in the pocket and take the hit, and he does, but the passes are somehow beautifully placed. It's as if the pressure forces him to think less and act faster, and he does, and it's often with nice looking passes as the result. That's weird to me. But I am just a fan watching at home, I could be totally wrong about what's going on down there. I know nothing about what's actually going on in his head. But it seems to be a pattern, and it seems to resolve itself sometimes when he's under serious pressure from a defense, or even sometimes from being behind at the end of a game. It's weird. To me.

Sounds like you are describing clutch play at critical moments of games we seem to be winning. Going by those statements it just sounds like a consistency problem and not something innate and terrible like the neverJGers make him out to be. You're not the only one to notice the clutch play as PFF said the same exact thing basically by referencing that he seemed to possess the clutch gene.

 

[DC_Vol]

Sounds like you are describing clutch play at critical moments of games we seem to be winning. Going by those statements it just sounds like a consistency problem and not something innate and terrible like the neverJGers make him out to be. You're not the only one to notice the clutch play as PFF said the same exact thing basically by referencing that he seemed to possess the clutch gene.

He’s got the talent, he’s just very inconsistent. He makes some clutch throws and misses sure things.

JG is a RS senior and is a mediocre SEC QB. I’m not sure how anyone can not agree with this statement. It’s not about being anti Jarrett. He just doesn’t inspire the confidence that an experienced SEC back should.

 

[whodeycin85]

He’s got the talent, he’s just very inconsistent. He makes some clutch throws and misses sure things.

JG is a RS senior and is a mediocre SEC QB. I’m not sure how anyone can not agree with this statement. It’s not about being anti Jarrett. He just doesn’t inspire the confidence that an experienced SEC back should.

Been the word on him even in high school...inaccurate and inconsistent...

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

He’s got the talent, he’s just very inconsistent. He makes some clutch throws and misses sure things.

JG is a RS senior and is a mediocre SEC QB. I’m not sure how anyone can not agree with this statement. It’s not about being anti Jarrett. He just doesn’t inspire the confidence that an experienced SEC back should.

Nobody, and I've not seen anyone, me included that have called JG great, but I do argue that we can, and currently are, winning with him at QB and I believe that can and will carry over all season. This nonsense that we have better options or that we can't win with JG is ridiculous I feel. Pruitt is regarded as one of the best evaluators of talent in the college field, I have zero doubt that if he thought BM, HB or JT gave us a better chance to win that he would play them. I'm on record as saying I think HB is next in line and will play this season the second CJP feels he's the better option. I have zero interest in us trying to develop a young QB through an SEC only schedule this season, especially early, and am glad we have an experienced QB that gets us lined up right, into the right play and has performed well enough the last 7 games for us to win each one. Until we are mathematically out of winning the East, should that happen, I believe Coach Pruitt will continue to roll JG out there and I will continue to support that.

 

[DC_Vol]

Nobody, and I've not seen anyone, me included that have called JG great, but I do argue that we can, and currently are, winning with him at QB and I believe that can and will carry over all season. This nonsense that we have better options or that we can't win with JG is ridiculous I feel. Pruitt is regarded as one of the best evaluators of talent in the college field, I have zero doubt that if he thought BM, HB or JT gave us a better chance to win that he would play them. I'm on record as saying I think HB is next in line and will play this season the second CJP feels he's the better option. I have zero interest in us trying to develop a young QB through an SEC only schedule this season, especially early, and am glad we have an experienced QB that gets us lined up right, into the right play and has performed well enough the last 7 games for us to win each one. Until we are mathematically out of winning the East, should that happen, I believe Coach Pruitt will continue to roll JG out there and I will continue to support that.

I agree with almost everything you said here. I have never said we have better options. I trust we are playing the person who gives us the best chance to win.

Where I disagree with you is that JG will afford us a chance to win against upper echelon teams. He just leaves too many opportunities on the field.

 

[Voltopia]

Sounds like you are describing clutch play at critical moments of games we seem to be winning. Going by those statements it just sounds like a consistency problem and not something innate and terrible like the neverJGers make him out to be. You're not the only one to notice the clutch play as PFF said the same exact thing basically by referencing that he seemed to possess the clutch gene.

I don't know about innate or terrible but the most consistent attribute of our starting QB is his inconsistency. That's not a knock, that's just a fact. I don't think someone who throws off target as often as he does can be called clutch. He can certainly make clutch plays, and he has. But there are lots of teams out there with more consistent play at quarterback right now. Tennessee won't win the big ones without it. And they may very well lose some of the medium-sized games if they can't pass the ball. Guarantano seems to have talent. He has physical gifts. But he also can't produce consistent results on the field. He throws behind, he throws so far overhead they're uncatchable, the accuracy is very inconsistent. Tennessee wouldn't need all those clutch plays if they could get consistent passing in the first three quarters of football games.

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

Link?
I think we'd all enjoy that supposed highlight reel.

Your qb sucks

He knows he messed up saying that about Gray. He attacks anyone who has critique of JG and calls them a Never JGer. But he offers critique on Gray. He's a Never Grayer by his own logic.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

I agree with almost everything you said here. I have never said we have better options. I trust we are playing the person who gives us the best chance to win.

Where I disagree with you is that JG will afford us a chance to win against upper echelon teams. He just leaves too many opportunities on the field.

He and the whole team have certainly not done much of anything vs the big3 but I believe Pruitt is a winner, I believe he knows how to win championships and with a win over our 3 main rivals I just believe he's the coach that is going to right the ship and get us competing with those 3. It's really the only thing he hasn't accomplished his 1st 2 seasons. He and Fulmer are doing everything to be at a competitive level with those guys and I believe it's about to happen, regardless of if JG or HB is at the helm. As for arguing for JG I just do that with the folks who say we can't and won't win with JG as I simply don't believe that to be true. Folks arguing he's inconsistent I have no problem with, it's when they totally dismiss the winning plays he makes that's a bit bothersome. The 2 passing plays on the game winning drive, his scramble of 18 yards at a key moment, him getting Gray set up to block the blitz on the big play to Johnson, big completion to Fant, he threw the ball to 7 different receivers and he showed zero backup when USCjrs were mouthing off, all winning type plays in my book but according to the neverJG crowd none of that happened and if it did they had rather give credit elsewhere. I guess I just don't get all the crying and moaning a small fraction of our fanbase seems to continue to do regardless of if we win or not.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

He knows he messed up saying that about Gray. He attacks anyone who has critique of JG and calls them a Never JGer. But he offers critique on Gray. He's a Never Grayer by his own logic.

I'm not the only one out here noticing Gray goes down too easily, it's not that hard to see really. I'm also not out here saying we can't win with him or crying for his backup to play. Nice try but another terrible "gotcha moment" by you. Keep spinning it spinner!!

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

Clockwork Orange has an outstanding "thoughts on the game" post elsewhere, so I apologize for any redundancies.

-Guarantano looks about the same to me. He looks great at times, then he drives you nuts at times. In the end, he made the plays to win. If he could simply remedy the high throws, that alone would make him a MUCH better QB. It seems like that would be a mechanical issue and would have been fixed by now. Of course, Tee Martin never really fixed that either. But he could run.

How many times have we looked at JG's stat line and thought, "those numbers look a lot better than I thought?" I think it's because he misses the a) important 3rd down throws and b) throws he should hit. That being said, if you're missing that many throws you should hit and still have a good stat line, that tells me that most of the throws he's making are throws he should hit....which, as BruinVol pointed out, means he's making good decisions. He's throwing to the right man. The one throw I recall that was a bad decision was near the end zone at the end on a 3rd and 5...he had Gray wide open in the flat and tried to drill it in the end zone. We settled for the final field goal. Other than that, I think his reads were spot on. And that's not nothing.

-Jim Chaney is too pass-happy. Always has been. The strength of this offense is the OLine. We didn't even try to run it in the first half. In the 2nd half, when trying to ice the game, we had a possession that was all-passing, after having run successfully on the prior drive. We also have an inconsistent QB. Run the damn ball.

-As Clockwork mentioned, there were some nice freshmen contributions. Had no idea Slaughter would play. Hadn't heard much about him in practice and he wasn't one of the more talked-about recruits. He had some nice plays and some struggle plays, like any freshman. But the fact he was in there Game 1 as a true freshman tells me he's got a bright future. Same for Spraggins playing some OLine. Baron looks like a future star. Also spotted Morvyn Joseph, Jalin Hyatt (on another 3rd down that JG missed and should have hit), and of course, Holiday on teams recovering the fumble. I also thought I saw Eason out there...but he looked slim...maybe that was another #20? And of course, Will Albright...

-I'm so tired of saying it....but wasting initial counters on long snappers is SO stupid. When have we ever had a problem with a walk-on earning a scholarship? How many bounced snaps have walk-ons made? But we waste a scholarship/counter on Albright and he bounces two in the dirt before being replace by a....you guessed it, walk-on, who....you guessed it, made nothing but perfect snaps the rest of the game. STOP. WASTING. COUNTERS. ON. LONG SNAPPERS. I don't care if Saban does it. It's stupid. Lovingood couldn't even win the job on kicks and now Albright is benched for a walk-on.

-He's not a true freshman, but redshirt freshman, Elijah Simmons looked good in there. Another kid with a bright future.

-Who started/played the most on the OLine? It looked like Jahmir Johnson was the LT over Morris until he pulled a hammy (not sure if he went back in). I saw both Carvin and Spraggins at RG. Obviously, Trey was the LG, Kennedy was the C, and from what I saw, Wright got all the time at RT. Didn't notice Calbert.

-Jeremy Banks is a monster at ILB if he can keep his head straight. Let's say he had some "coachable" moments. But man, he's like a missile out there.

-Same for Deandre Johnson. He and Kivon Bennett look like they're going to be problems for opposing offenses off the edge. I thought Roman Harrison would overtake one of them, but they're not going anywhere. Nice to have Harrison for depth too. Have to be happy with the pass rush overall.

-We've gotta figure out how to defend the slant. Maybe that was a product of not having Shamburger in there. Or being caught in man too often. Don't know, but they killed our secondary with the slant.

-Anybody know who #96 was when we went jumbo at the end trying to run clock? He got a penalty and came out, but had a nice block before that. Didn't have a name on his jersey. Did they sneak Cade Mays in? ;P

-Disappointed to see Cimaglia miss. But that looked like a product of the entire unit screwing up. Gotta fix that. Don't wanna go back to the days when field goals were adventures. Having a nearly automatic kicker last year probably won us some games. We'll be in some close ones this year in which the kicker is the difference.

-Once we got the long snapper straight, Brooks had some booming punts.

-Velus Jones, Jr. looks dynamic on kick returns. The new rules have marginalized that aspect of the game, but when he gets a chance, he looks like he could be a weapon back there. Gray also had a nice punt return, but he's gotta make better fair catch judgment...he fair caught one when there wasn't a Gamecock on the TV screen. At least he didn't fair catch it inside the 5 like they did, though.

-Overall, glad to get out with a win. It wasn't pretty, but we went on the road in the SEC and won a game we would've lost in the past. 7 straight wins is nothing to sneeze at. Now let's go home, beat Missouri like we should, and get ready to go to Athens, 2-0. Because after Missouri, the Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama stretch is brutal.

Great analysis and good post. You were too easy on JG, though. I can't believe he's the best QB on the roster unless Shrout and Maurer are secretly uncoachable.

 

[Bigorangedan23]

My takeaway from watching all the games yesterday. UGA subbed in their backup QB in the first half when their starter didn't perform. Backup ended up putting about 35 points on the board in the 2nd half after UGA couldn't get anything going in the first. Maybe Kirby is the better coach?

No Kirby is an idiot . Pretty much certified.

 

[chattavol420]

Op makes a good point about being supervised at JG’s numbers based on having watched the game and realizing that it’s due at least partially to having missed on 3rd downs so often. I’ve debated the exact same point on here before. I think JG has a real issue with his nerves (amongst his many other shortcomings). The best passes he makes tend to be in a hurry up setting when we’re just taking a shot with no pressure. When it’s an important 3rd down and an obvious passing situation he’s garbage. That’s such a bad quality to have in a qb.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Great analysis and good post. You were too easy on JG, though. I can't believe he's the best QB on the roster unless Shrout and Maurer are secretly uncoachable.

I hope Bailey is up to speed by midseason. Not having a spring practice then having him quarantined has really set him back. He might’ve been the starter Game 1 in a normal year, being an early enrollee.

 

[MSME Vol]

Pretty sure the game plan against us will be to load the box and try to negate our ol slash rb attack. But doing so you dare JG to beat you. That's a 50/50 shot on if the good one or bad one shows up at any given moment.

Point being is that given that, it's hard to blame Chaney for wanting him to throw it. It looked like they were practically double dog daring him to at times last season and last night.

 

[vegasvolfan]

Clockwork Orange has an outstanding "thoughts on the game" post elsewhere, so I apologize for any redundancies.

-Guarantano looks about the same to me. He looks great at times, then he drives you nuts at times. In the end, he made the plays to win. If he could simply remedy the high throws, that alone would make him a MUCH better QB. It seems like that would be a mechanical issue and would have been fixed by now. Of course, Tee Martin never really fixed that either. But he could run.

How many times have we looked at JG's stat line and thought, "those numbers look a lot better than I thought?" I think it's because he misses the a) important 3rd down throws and b) throws he should hit. That being said, if you're missing that many throws you should hit and still have a good stat line, that tells me that most of the throws he's making are throws he should hit....which, as BruinVol pointed out, means he's making good decisions. He's throwing to the right man. The one throw I recall that was a bad decision was near the end zone at the end on a 3rd and 5...he had Gray wide open in the flat and tried to drill it in the end zone. We settled for the final field goal. Other than that, I think his reads were spot on. And that's not nothing.

-Jim Chaney is too pass-happy. Always has been. The strength of this offense is the OLine. We didn't even try to run it in the first half. In the 2nd half, when trying to ice the game, we had a possession that was all-passing, after having run successfully on the prior drive. We also have an inconsistent QB. Run the damn ball.

-As Clockwork mentioned, there were some nice freshmen contributions. Had no idea Slaughter would play. Hadn't heard much about him in practice and he wasn't one of the more talked-about recruits. He had some nice plays and some struggle plays, like any freshman. But the fact he was in there Game 1 as a true freshman tells me he's got a bright future. Same for Spraggins playing some OLine. Baron looks like a future star. Also spotted Morvyn Joseph, Jalin Hyatt (on another 3rd down that JG missed and should have hit), and of course, Holiday on teams recovering the fumble. I also thought I saw Eason out there...but he looked slim...maybe that was another #20? And of course, Will Albright...

-I'm so tired of saying it....but wasting initial counters on long snappers is SO stupid. When have we ever had a problem with a walk-on earning a scholarship? How many bounced snaps have walk-ons made? But we waste a scholarship/counter on Albright and he bounces two in the dirt before being replace by a....you guessed it, walk-on, who....you guessed it, made nothing but perfect snaps the rest of the game. STOP. WASTING. COUNTERS. ON. LONG SNAPPERS. I don't care if Saban does it. It's stupid. Lovingood couldn't even win the job on kicks and now Albright is benched for a walk-on.

-He's not a true freshman, but redshirt freshman, Elijah Simmons looked good in there. Another kid with a bright future.

-Who started/played the most on the OLine? It looked like Jahmir Johnson was the LT over Morris until he pulled a hammy (not sure if he went back in). I saw both Carvin and Spraggins at RG. Obviously, Trey was the LG, Kennedy was the C, and from what I saw, Wright got all the time at RT. Didn't notice Calbert.

-Jeremy Banks is a monster at ILB if he can keep his head straight. Let's say he had some "coachable" moments. But man, he's like a missile out there.

-Same for Deandre Johnson. He and Kivon Bennett look like they're going to be problems for opposing offenses off the edge. I thought Roman Harrison would overtake one of them, but they're not going anywhere. Nice to have Harrison for depth too. Have to be happy with the pass rush overall.

-We've gotta figure out how to defend the slant. Maybe that was a product of not having Shamburger in there. Or being caught in man too often. Don't know, but they killed our secondary with the slant.

-Anybody know who #96 was when we went jumbo at the end trying to run clock? He got a penalty and came out, but had a nice block before that. Didn't have a name on his jersey. Did they sneak Cade Mays in? ;P

-Disappointed to see Cimaglia miss. But that looked like a product of the entire unit screwing up. Gotta fix that. Don't wanna go back to the days when field goals were adventures. Having a nearly automatic kicker last year probably won us some games. We'll be in some close ones this year in which the kicker is the difference.

-Once we got the long snapper straight, Brooks had some booming punts.

-Velus Jones, Jr. looks dynamic on kick returns. The new rules have marginalized that aspect of the game, but when he gets a chance, he looks like he could be a weapon back there. Gray also had a nice punt return, but he's gotta make better fair catch judgment...he fair caught one when there wasn't a Gamecock on the TV screen. At least he didn't fair catch it inside the 5 like they did, though.

-Overall, glad to get out with a win. It wasn't pretty, but we went on the road in the SEC and won a game we would've lost in the past. 7 straight wins is nothing to sneeze at. Now let's go home, beat Missouri like we should, and get ready to go to Athens, 2-0. Because after Missouri, the Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama stretch is brutal.

Best post game post post game.