Many coaches are reluctant to admit anything negative about their team or a player.
A defense could allow 50 points, but it was just one player on each play missing an assignment.
A quarterback can throw five interceptions, but he didn’t have proper pass protection and the receivers didn’t run the right routes.
That brings me to South Carolina coach Shane Beamer.
During the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Fla., in late May, Beamer was asked why quarterback Shane Rattler was so brilliant against Tennessee last season after not playing well the previous 10 games.
“I’d disagree,’’ Beamer said. “Statistically he wasn’t great those first 10 games, but he led us to our first national ranking in however many years. He beat Kentucky in Lexington. And he was the first Carolina quarterback to beat Texas A&M.’’
True. But in that Kentucky win, Rattler passed for 177 yards. In that Aggie win, he passed for 168 yards. And in those 10 games, he had eight touchdown passes and nine interceptions. And he had seven games with 200 or fewer passing yards, including 118 against Georgia and 145 against Florida.
In a 63-38 victory over No. 5 Tennessee, Rattler was 30 of 37 for 438 yards and six touchdowns.
So don’t give me that bull about how well Rattler was playing entering the Tennessee game.
Beamer did admit to making some offensive changes before facing the Vols.
“We did simplify a little bit as far as the number of plays we had in the game plan,’’ Beamer told me. “But it wasn’t anything dramatic.’’
But the performance was dramatically different.
“We challenged him going in that Tennessee game, the way Tennessee plays coverage, his receivers and tight end will have a lot of one-on-one opportunities,’’ Beamer said. “And we had good receivers and a good tight end.’’
Receiver Juice Wells was the main culprit with 11 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown run. Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell had two touchdown receptions each.
Rattler “needed to not worry about making mistakes and just cut it loose, and to allow his guys to go make plays, and that’s what he did,’’ Beamer said.
Rattler’s breakout game against Tennessee carried over to the next week as the Gamecocks beat the Tigers behind Rattler’s 360 yards. He added 246 yards in a Gator Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
Rattler is off to a great start this season. He was 30 of 39 for 353 yards in a loss to North Carolina. He was 16 of 18 for 152 yards in the first half against Georgia. He had an eight-quarter stretch in which he completed 59 of 63 passes. He was 25 of 27 for 345 yards and three scores against Furman. He was a perfect 15 for 15 in the first half against Mississippi State.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel praised Rattler’s play against the Vols a year ago.
“He was dynamic in that football game,’’ Heupel said. “But he has that in his arsenal. We need to bottle him up, apply pressure and force third and longs.’’
Several USC opponents have applied pressure. Rattler was sacked nine times against North Carolina, four times against Mississippi State and three times against Georgia.
Rattler has been sacked 17 times this season. Tennessee has recorded 16 sacks in four games.
Tennessee’s secondary will be challenged. But so will USC’s. The Gamecocks allowed State quarterback Will Rogers to pass for 487 yards last week.
“Coach Heupel had to be excited watching our pass defense against Mississippi State,’’ Beamer said.
Heupel was also excited to see sophomore running back Dylan Sampson shred the University of Texas at San Antonio for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries last week. Sampson also had a 20-yard reception.
For some unknown reason, Sampson, after four touchdowns in the opener against Virginia, had only four touches against Austin Peay and didn’t play against Florida.
“He wanted more touches for sure the previous week and for whatever reason, we just didn’t get that done,’’ Heupel said. “He’s dynamic.’’
Sampson needs at least 15 touches against USC. And Tennessee needs quarterback Joe Milton to be dynamic in what promises to be a shootout at Neyland Stadium.
“Homefield advantage matters,’’ Heupel said. “We need energy and momentum. We need to make it extremely difficult for them to communicate.’’
Tennessee is seeking revenge after USC knocked the Vols out of the 2022 College Football Playoffs. The Vols are a 12-point favorite.
Prediction: Tennessee 38-34.
