Offensive Film Review: South Carolina at No. 20 Missouri

The road woes for South Carolina's offense continued against the Missouri Tigers this past Saturday. We dive into what the film showed for this unit.

Last week, South Carolina's offense looked to parlay their success against the Florida Gators in week seven, where they scored 37 points and had what many regarded to be their most complete performance of the season regarding playing complementary football. However, it didn't play out that way against the Missouri Tigers this past weekend. What does the film show regarding the week eight performance for Dowell Loggains' unit?

The Little Things

A lot goes into an offense that allows a team to have sustained success. Add that to being an underdog on the road in the SEC, and you can't afford to do the little things wrong. On the very first offensive drive of the game, Spencer Rattler had a rather bad sack that essentially took the Gamecocks out of field goal range.

Spencer Rattler in pre-game warmups against Florida (14th Oct., 2023) / Fisher Brewer

Later in the game, a low snap essentially ended another drive. There were also some inaccurate throws by Rattler that he usually hit nine times out of ten, but in this game, they were too far inside or a bit behind his intended target. Add in not executing upfront in terms of blocking, and the Gamecocks did all of the little things you can't afford to do in this matchup.

Adjustments

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains saw and understood this offensive line was struggling and adjusted at half to give them a chance. In the second half, he moved the launch point, called more quick hitters to the perimeter, and some quick crossing routes. He was getting the ball out quickly, which allowed guys like Ahmarean Brown to catch it early and use his speed to get yards after the catch. Dowell Loggains even called a speed option for the first time all year, which led to a third-down conversion in plus territory.

Running Backs Involved In The Passing Game

A little wrinkle I saw earlier last week, breaking down this Missouri defense, was the potential of the running backs to have a good day in the passing game. Loggains and his staff likely saw the same thing as they attempted to get them involved, as evidenced by the eight total receptions from the backfield, who also had more targets on top of that. A lot of the time, however, Rattler didn't have a chance to hit that read, or his timing was rushed, and his throw couldn't make it there.

While it was a frustrating game for this offense, some adjustments allowed the offense to get into a better groove in the second half against Missouri's defense. They just couldn't finish and capitalize when they needed to the most. Moving forward, you may see more of Rattler rolling out or Loggains moving the launch point to help out this offensive line and continuing to find ways to get their playmakers the ball quickly to allow them to make plays.

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