Film breakdown: What went wrong for South Carolina on all 9 sacks against UNC
It’s been said many times: South Carolina’s offensive line struggled Saturday night against UNC.
As a result, the Gamecocks were unable to establish much of a run game. And receivers were often unable to finish routes because quarterback Spencer Rattler got sacked a bewildering nine times. South Carolina dropped its season opener against the Tar Heels 31-17.
Coach Shane Beamer has faith that his squad can make significant forward strides by the time Furman comes to Williams-Brice Stadium this Saturday. Gradual improvements won’t be good enough, as Beamer, his staff and his players want to resolve issues of technique and fundamentals as soon as possible. With road trips to Georgia and Tennessee looming, who could blame them?
Luke Doty, who is listed as South Carolina’s No. 2 quarterback and played wide receiver in Charlotte, said the loss motivated different athletes in different ways — but motivated them all just the same.
“Just taking a couple extra minutes a day to look over film, playbook, practice, whatever it might be for you to get your body right to get your mental right in order to come out and play well on Saturday” against Furman, Doty said.
As the Gamecocks break down film this week, we rewatched the game to make better sense of what happened on each of UNC’s nine sacks of Rattler. Some common themes that plagued South Carolina’s offensive line against UNC:
South Carolina’s front five consistently allowed the pocket to collapse around Rattler.
The Gamecocks’ inability to run the ball put them in many pass-obvious situations. Six of the nine sacks occurred on third-and-at-least-5.
Here’s an in-depth look at what went wrong on all nine sacks in Charlotte:
Sack No. 1
14:15 left in the second quarter
3rd and 7 on USC’s 26
Score: 7-7
YouTube video timestamp: Start of video
UNC rushes six: four guys on the line with a corner and linebacker blitzing.
Before any defenders break through to Rattler, UNC pushes the offensive line two or three yards behind the line of scrimmage.
As the play unfolds, this problem gets worse: Tar Heel defensive lineman Beau Atkinson slides past a block by Tyshawn Wannamaker, while Dakereon Joyner is busy trying to stop corner Tayon Holloway from reaching USC’s quarterback. This puts pressure on Rattler to step up in the pocket.
At this point, he is nine yards behind the line.
As Rattler steps up, a defender overpowers left tackle Sidney Fugar. His right leg is pushed back, which hits Rattler’s left foot and trips him. UNC Linebacker Cedric Gray grabs Rattler on his way to the ground and lands on top of him to secure the sack.
Sack No. 2
1:15 left in the second quarter
3rd and 9 on USC’s 46
Score: 17-14, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 0:24
UNC lines up in Cover 1, rushing six: four guys on the line with both linebackers blitzing
Once again, before any defenders make their way to Rattler, South Carolina’s front five finds themselves about three yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rattler is about eight or nine yards back.
Joyner is again pass blocking on the right. But this time his man blows right past him. Around the same time, center Vershon Lee gets beaten by his man, Tomari Fox. Fox runs through this hole and tries to wrap up Rattler. Now, the whole line has collapsed.
Rattler manages to slide away from Fox and then Kaimon Rucker (who is waiting for Rattler after he finesses Fox) but then takes a misstep a bit backward and toward the right. He runs into a blob of two UNC defenders and Jakai Moore, which takes the quarterback down.
Sack No. 3
10:38 left in the third quarter
3rd and 10 on USC’s 25
Score: 24-14, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 0:43
UNC puts five defenders on the line, but only rushes four: three on the right side of the line and one linebacker blitzing.
Tight end Trey Knox begins the play lined up next to Wannamaker. Posted up about diagonal to Knox on the other side of the line is UNC defender Amari Gainer.
When the ball is snapped, Knox runs forward for a route, and Gainer runs around Wannamaker to sack Rattler. Wannamaker keeps his eyes on the defender lined up in front of him, not even turning his head at any point to the right where Gainer breezes by.
Moore and Lee block Kaimon Rucker, while Nick Gargiulo and Jaxon Hughes turn their attention toward Fox.
By the time Rattler is sacked, it’s clear how much UNC’s blitz overpowered USC’s front five. Hughes and Gargiulo end the play eight and nine yards behind the line of scrimmage — just next to where Rattler is knocked to the ground. The other three linemen are about four or five yards back.
Sack No. 4
5:22 left in the third quarter
3rd and 6 on USC’s 46
Score: 31-14, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 1:06
UNC puts four defenders on the line and rushes five: all four on the line plus one linebacker blitzing. USC is in shotgun formation.
Like every other sack so far, South Carolina’s offensive line allows itself to be pushed so far back from the start of the play. This time, Wannamaker slips off his man right by the line of scrimmage. He and Moore then work together to try to stop the defender.
Meanwhile on the left, Hughes and Gaurgiulo fall back several yards behind the line of scrimmage as two UNC defenders approach. Hughes’ man, Atkinson, blows by him. Hughes trips and falls trying to take Atkinson down. But as he falls, he gets a hold of Rattler’s left ankle. This sends the quarterback tumbling to the ground.
Sack No. 5
0:21 left in the third quarter
1st and 10 on UNC’s 47
Score: 31-14, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 1:18
UNC rushes all four guys on the line. USC is in shotgun formation.
From left to right, here is how far behind the line of scrimmage each Gamecock offensive lineman is when they first make contact with a defender:
Hughes: six
Gargiulo and Lee: three
Moore: three
Wannamaker: four or five
Hughes loses hold of his man, who spins to evade Hughes. Gargiulo turns toward the left and swings his left arm toward Tar Heel Desmond Evans in an attempt to slow him down. But to no avail. Evans then sacks Rattler.
Sack No. 6
13:04 left in the fourth quarter
3rd and goal around UNC’s 5
Score: 31-14, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 1:39
UNC lines up in Cover 0 and rushes five: all four guys on the line plus one linebacker blitzing. USC is in shotgun formation.
Fugar gets beat up top by his man, Rucker. Rattler steps up in the pocket, seemingly responding to the pressure. Rucker tries to bring Rattler down but ends up falling behind Rattler’s feet. As Rattler moves forward, Lee loses track of his man, Fox. Fox wraps up Rattler’s legs for another sack.
As Fox takes Rattler to the ground, Lee is completely turned around facing UNC’s end zone.
Sack No. 7
8:51 left in the fourth quarter
3rd and 5 on UNC’s 12
Score: 31-17, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 2:01
UNC puts four defenders on the line and rushes five: all four guys on the line plus a linebacker blitzing.
Wannamaker slides toward the inside of the line, giving Rucker a large patch of empty field. By the time he notices Rucker passing him by, the Tar Heel is already in Rattler’s face about 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Wannamaker turns around to chase after Rucker, but it’s too late. Rattler is sacked again (attempting to throw the ball away), having had virtually no time to look for a receiver before being forced to run away from the defender.
Sack No. 8
4:46 left in the fourth quarter
1st and 10 at UNC’s 11
Score: 31-17, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 2:26
UNC utilizes a nickel defense. The Tar Heels rush all four linemen and the “Mike” linebacker.
Before any defenders make it past South Carolina’s offensive line, they push the unit back about six or seven yards behind the start of the play.
First, Wannamaker’s man, Power Echols, gets around him. Then, Gargiulo’s man, Gainer, gets around him. Wannamaker’s man forces Rattler to the left, where Gainer catches him.
Sack No. 9
1:50 left in the fourth quarter
1st and 10 on USC’s 37
Score: 31-17, UNC
YouTube video timestamp: 2:48
UNC puts three guys on the line and rushes all of them.
That’s three Tar Heels on five Gamecocks.
Both sides of the line collapse. Lee blocks his man, Jahvaree Ritzie, one-on-one. Garguilo and Fugar double team Rucker and lose. Moore and Wannamaker double team Gainer and lose. Both Rucker and Gainer get hands on Rattler, but Rucker secures the sack.
South Carolina’s next game
Who: South Carolina (0-1) vs. Furman (1-0)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9
Watch: Streaming only, SEC Network Plus and ESPN+
