O-line criticism ‘a bunch of crap,’ Beamer says, as USC prepares for toughest test yet

The play sticks in Shane Beamer’s memory.

While pouring over Georgia game film this week, the South Carolina head coach found himself mesmerized by 340-pound Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis racing from one side of the field to another to chase down the UAB quarterback.

“It’s one of the most amazing individual efforts in a play I’ve ever seen,” Beamer said in his Tuesday news conference. “So (the Bulldogs) are really, really good and will be a big challenge for us.”

Most of the nation saw just how lethal the Georgia pass rush could be during a 10-3 opening night win against Clemson. That night, the Bulldogs sacked quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei seven times for a loss of 46 yards.

Meanwhile, the South Carolina offensive line has ranked near the bottom of the league in pass protection — at least according to Pro Football Focus grades. Beamer has seen those grades and the concern for a USC offensive line that struggled early against East Carolina’s pass rush last week.

While the USC head coach acknowledges Georgia will be the offensive line’s toughest test yet, he dismissed the notion that USC’s O-line is struggling.

“I think a lot has been made of the pass blocking, which is a bunch of crap,” Beamer said. “I’ve got tons of respect for what PFF says. Much respect for them. They help us. We rely on their stuff.

“They don’t know when our quarterback goes up to the line of scrimmage, makes a protection call to slide the offensive line one way because he thinks the pressure is coming, which means the tackle for us is going to slide one way. And then he realizes that the quarterback guessed wrong. And there’s a free guy coming outside. ... He’s trying to keep the hit off the quarterback because the quarterback slid the line the wrong way.”

The Gamecocks finished Week 2 last in the SEC in pass blocking, according to PFF’s most recent grades. Only guard Jovaughn Gwyn (10th) ranked inside the conference’s top 30 pass blockers who played at least 50% of their team’s blocking snaps. Center Eric Douglas was the next best at No. 34, while tackle Dylan Wonnum finished third-lowest in the conference among eligible players, according to PFF.

While the Gamecocks struggled early to ward off ECU’s blitz-heavy scheme, the line did appear to settle into a groove late in the contest, opening up running lanes for freshman running back Juju McDowell and giving quarterback Zeb Noland the time he needed to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback.

“We just had to get into a rhythm,” Gwyn said Tuesday. “And that’s what we did in the fourth quarter. We got into a rhythm with what we were doing and with what they were showing on defense.”

The margin for error will be far slimmer against the Bulldogs on the road, regardless of whether Noland or the more elusive Luke Doty is under center.

“Have we been perfect on the pass pro? No. Is it as bad as some people want to analyze and say that it’s been? Absolutely not,” Beamer said. “And it’s on all of us — quarterback, running backs, receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen.

“It’s a concern every week, but certainly against these guys because they’re really good up front and all you got to do is turn on the tape with the Clemson game, when they’re swallowing up Clemson’s quarterback it seems on every play when he drops back to pass. So it’ll be a huge challenge for us, a lot more than what we’ve had faced the last two weeks.”