Now I know it was against the FAU Owls and you can't draw many meaningful conclusions from the game, but still, after USC's red-zone troubles (seemingly always being forced to settle for the FG instead of the TD) they scored 5 TDs tonight. Then Stephen Garcia avoided a let down and had another strong performance going 20-27 for 222 yds, no INTsm rushing, and passing for a TD. However one area for concern was USC's offense was it's .333% conversion rate on 3rd downs and .000% on 4th downs. Still, for a team that lead the SEC with 27 int's last year and who scored a mere 7 points against NSCT it's hard to get upset with a second consecutive 30+ point game.
For a USC rushing attack has lacked a real marquee back and has struggled to establish itself in games over the last few years things may/are finally starting look up. The freshman duo of Giles and Miles combined for 169 yards on just 16 carries, that's 10.6 yards per carry, then while Maddox didn't have the yards to keep up with these two he was able to punch the ball into the end-zone three times tonight. In total the Gamecocks rushed for 287 yards, 4 TDs and averaged over 8 yards per carry.
The defense play well, nothing unforgettable but still an improvement from last weekend. However, Gilmore appears to be settling in well and is showing signs of what may prove to be a very accomplished career at Carolina. Today he had a pick and recovered a fumble to added to his TD saving deflection against NCST. Norwood, of course, continued his brilliance by forcing another turnover against FAU; however, the largest area for concern may be Carolina's special teams. After allowing 36 yards per return last week they (by default) improved against FAU but still allowed 26 yards per return. This is something that must improve if they want to make any waves in the SEC this year.
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