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Fundamental mistakes continue to plague South Carolina defense in bowl loss - Charleston Post Courier

CHARLOTTE — There were plenty of excuses for the way the South Carolina defense played against Virginia on Saturday.

There were injuries, plenty of them, that forced the Gamecocks’ coaching staff to put as many as a half-dozen freshmen on the field against the Cavaliers.

How many games were the Gamecocks’ two most dynamic defensive players — D.J. Wonnum and Bryson Allen-Williams — on the field at the same time this season? Maybe a game, perhaps two at the very most?

But even the number of injuries doesn’t explain some of the fundamental mistakes USC made in a 28-0 Belk Bowl loss.

Missed tackles and blown assignments plagued the Gamecocks during the regular season and didn’t stop when bowl season rolled around. The return of Allen-Williams and freshman defensive back Jaycee Horn to the lineup helped, but the same issues that troubled the Gamecocks all season showed up again on Saturday.

“Missed tackles, busted assignments seemed to get us all season,” said linebacker T.J. Brunson, who led the Gamecocks with 12 tackles. “It’s definitely something that we’re going to need to work on for next season. We’ve got to get it right and play better next season. I’m sure we’ll make that a focus during the offseason.”

Brunson, who finished with 106 tackles for the season, said injuries to key players were an issue, but not the only problem for the Gamecocks.

“It doesn’t matter who is out there, you still have to tackle and execute the game plan,” Brunson said. “There were injuries and we played a lot of young guys, but they’ve still got to go out and play fundamental football.”

A point not lost on Allen-Williams, who missed four games this year.

“It was frustrating not to play like I know we could,” Allen-Williams said. “I know I could have played better. I missed some plays today, missed some tackles that I normally make and that I should make. The coaches made the right calls and put us into position to make the plays, we’ve just got to go out and execute.”

The biggest issue for the Gamecocks was Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins. Perkins completed 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards and rushed for 81 more. It was his ability to keep plays alive with his legs that hurt USC all afternoon.

“We’ve got to be more disciplined with our rush. We talked for two weeks about not running past the quarterback,” coach Will Muschamp said. “We had guys in position at times and we had guys run past the quarterback."

The Gamecocks had as many as six freshmen on the field at the same time on defense, which could help USC in the future.

"We’re headed in the right direction,” said Muschamp, who has eight starters returning and a strong recruiting class coming in.

A sentiment shared by Brunson.

“A lot of young guys got a lot of snaps and that’s only going to make them better for next year,” Brunson said. “The young guys were starting to step up to the plate and they realize what it takes to play at this level. I know we’re going to be better next season.”



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