COLUMBIA — Few people study SEC football as closely as SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic. After working the sidelines for South Carolina’s 35-13 victory over Kentucky, Cubelic offered his usual film breakdowns on Twitter and his podcast — and he came away impressed with how the Gamecocks dictated the game.
Cubelic has covered South Carolina twice already this season, and he noted how the Gamecocks leaned into their preferred style of play against the Wildcats.
“Big bounce back win,” Cubelic posted on Twitter. “Made it the game they wanted. Get crowd involved, tee off on QB & let QB make plays. He was efficient & deliberate. Use of TEs helped. Got the run going a little better than first few weeks. Zone stuff had a better chance. QB design threat has to be there to open it up.”
He highlighted the offensive line’s improved energy, praising Trovon Baugh and Shed Sarratt for setting the tone. “Thought OL had much better energy. Brought the fight. (Trovon Baugh) & (Shed Sarratt) led the way. Strained a little more. (Vandrevius Jacobs) is coming into his own. He & (Brian Rowe) are needed for a strong finish,” Cubelic wrote. He also singled out Maurice Brown II: “Every team needs a (Maurice Brown II), might be my favorite player in the league. Just want to trade paint. Brings an edge.”
Defensively, Cubelic liked what he saw across the board. “Defense flew around. Attacked the ball. Got to the QB. (Bryan Thomas Jr.) nice off edge. (Nick Barrett) really good disrupting inside. (JayR Johnson) showed good versatility on edge. Mixed fronts. (Dylan Stewart) was active after a slow start. (JT Geer) & (Gerald Kilgore) made plays. Won their style fight.”
South Carolina heads into its bye week at 3-2 with wins over Kentucky, Virginia Tech, and South Carolina State. The record may not match preseason expectations, especially on offense, but Cubelic pointed out reasons for optimism.
On his podcast, he said: “Matt Fuller gives them a little something extra at running back. But Vandrevius Jacobs is coming on and Maurice Brown is coming on at wide receiver (and tight end) for South Carolina. So my point in saying that is, if they start getting good receiver play, with already good tight end play, and a quarterback that’s a real dual threat, and the whole thing with Nyck Harbor down the field where teams at least have to still be worried about it and make sure it doesn’t kill ’em, they might be able to get this thing going offensively. It’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
Still, Cubelic added a warning. “They do have to continue to run LaNorris Sellers, though,” he emphasized. “Because the couple of free runners at him, cannot continue to happen. That can’t be it.”
