USC offense not holding up its end

COLUMBIA — The old football cliché is that defense wins championships. But you wouldn't know that by looking at South Carolina.

Five games into this season, the Gamecocks (3-2) are statistically ranked as the best team in the country when it comes to keeping other teams off the scoreboard. And quite frankly, Steve Spurrier thought that if he could get a decent defense at USC, the offense would take care of itself.

Well, under his guidance, the South Carolina offense is ranked 89th in scoring nationally.

Despite Spurrier's reputation as an offensive guru during his glory days at Florida, the Head Ball Coach can't seem to get this team kick-started.

In fact, Spurrier said the last time he had an offense that lagged this far behind the defense was during his ill-fated tour of duty with the Washington Redskins in the NFL. But never, he said, on one of his college teams.

"This is a little new," the USC coach said as he prepares his team for a trip to play at Ole Miss on Saturday. "You feel a little frustrated as an offensive coach. We're not holding up our end of the deal here. It's a team sport."

Inching along

Indeed, the Gamecocks' offense is pretty passive in almost every category — running, blocking, catching, passing.

This is due to an inconsistent offensive line, no running game, the lack of a go-to receiver and the use of three quarterbacks in only five games.

"We need a spark," Spurrier said. "We're not terrible, we just haven't been great. We're just inching along."

Especially when they get in the red zone, inside the 20-yard line with opportunities to score.

Against non-conference foes Alabama-Birmingham and Wofford, for instance, the Gamecocks were in scoring position nine times and four of those times they had to settle for short field goals.

Fortunately for USC, those miscues didn't cost them victories against lesser foes. But starting this weekend, every possession that doesn't end with points on the board is a wasted opportunity that could spell defeat.

Merry-go-round

In typical Spurrier fashion, USC's depth chart is still a merry-go-round almost halfway through the season.

Not only is he unsure whether to start junior Chris Smelley or redshirt freshman wunderkind Stephen Garcia, almost every position on offense is being shuffled from day to day.

The QB situation may improve as the younger Garcia gains confidence, but the overall lack of effort by some players is something that bothers Spurrier to no end.

"We expect them to get better if they want to play," Spurrier said. "If not, we'll give the next guy a chance."

That theory has always worked for Spurrier in the past. But in the past, he had more and better players to choose from. He is slowly but surely getting accustomed to the fact that his talent base is not as deep as it was before.

And, he added, looking ahead on the schedule, "We're going to be playing bigger and better teams from here on out this season."

Realistic goal

But perhaps fate is beginning to shine on Spurrier in his fourth season at the helm of the Gamecocks.

The seemingly insurmountable trio of Tennessee, Georgia and Florida in the SEC East stumbled a bit last week as all three of those powerhouse teams lost on the same day, something that hasn't happened since 1984.

Conceivably, that could open the door for the Gamecocks to step up and become a factor in this league.

Spurrier, however, wasn't taking the bait on that issue Tuesday. He still insists that a realistic goal for this squad, with two league losses, is winning seven or more games and going to a good bowl game.

Which brings us back to yet another old cliché: Statistics are for losers.

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5598.