Five final thoughts and a score prediction ahead of South Carolina vs. Akron game

Seven days after South Carolina lost a heartbreaker to LSU, the Gamecocks will be back at Williams-Brice Stadium for a non-conference game heading into the bye week.

Coming to Columbia on Saturday are the Akron Zips, a MAC team that will be paid $1.5 million for playing the Gamecocks.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m; the game will air on ESPNU. South Carolina will be wearing throwback uniforms. The game has already been touted as a sellout.

Those are some facts. Here are some thoughts.

1. It would be surprising if LaNorris Sellers plays

What a week for gamesmanship.

The SEC has a new policy enforcing mandatory “availability reports” before every conference game. But because South Carolina is playing a non-conference foe, it did not need to disclosure any injury information and, thus, does not have to divulge Sellers’ true status.

South Carolina’s starting quarterback got banged up in the first half against LSU. He tried to come back for one series but the coaches could clearly tell he was limited and he didn’t play another snap.

According to our reporting, Sellers suffered an ankle sprain and did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday. Which brings me to the next point. Beyond South Carolina coach Shane Beamer saying that Sellers has done more every day this week — which is true — he also said this:

“You’ve got to be able to do something not limited on Tuesday or Wednesday,” Beamer said of recovering players, “for us to feel confident putting you in a game on Saturday.”

To me, that all but confirms Sellers won’t play Saturday.

And heck, what’s the point of putting him out there? South Carolina plays an atrocious Akron team, then heads into a bye week. Why not give Sellers’ ankle two weeks to heal before the Ole Miss game on Oct. 5? My guess is USC will do just that.

2. Will we see an improved Robby Ashford?

If Sellers is out, the starter will be Ashford, who has taken about 80% of the first-team reps at practice this week, according to a team source.

That alone should give you more confidence in Ashford.

Last week, he was thrust into the LSU game and completed just 2 of 4 passes while taking a number of sacks. But you have to think about Ashford’s reps leading up to that.

When Sellers is healthy, he’s getting probably three-fourths of the practice snaps with the starting offense. It would be extremely hard to go from that to suddenly getting under center as LSU’s defensive linemen are trying to claw your head off.

“It’s just the way it is. He’s not gonna get every rep (at practice),” said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. “He’s not gonna get every look, as the backup, that LaNorris gets. There’s certain plays that get marked off the call sheet right away.”

So will the offense look different this week now that Ashford has taken the bulk of the starting reps? One would hope.

Perhaps the offense is the same, but it’s Ashford’s confidence that makes all the difference. As noted, Ashford threw the ball only four times against LSU — which doesn’t mean Loggains only called four pass plays.

On a number of snaps against LSU, Ashford was supposed to have passed, but he ran the ball because of pressure or something else.

“(I’ve) got confidence in him,” Beamer said Thursday night on his radio show. “Robby’s been around. He’s not a young kid by any stretch of the imagination. ... If he’s out there on Saturday, we’ll run our offense.”

Said Loggains: “Obviously there’s similarities between him and LaNorris, but there’s also differences between those two as well. So you play to (the quarterback’s) strengths.”

3. Columbia, we have a penalty problem

Yes, South Carolina’s penalties against LSU were a bit inflated by some questionable calls. And no, we’re not going to talk about those.

But you don’t become one of the most penalized teams in America — South Carolina’s 8.67 penalties per game rank 116th in the nation — all because of officiating. Against the Tigers, the Gamecocks were called for 13 penalties — a stat that becomes much more concerning when you note that seven were self-inflicted.

Last Saturday, South Carolina was called for two false starts and two offsides penalties (all in the fourth quarter) and flagged three times for an ineligible man downfield. That’s seven avoidable penalties that partly cost the Gamecocks the game.

“(The two offsides penalties) were maddening,” Beamer said. “And one of them was before a two-minute timeout where they probably weren’t gonna snap the ball. It’s stuff that we’ve practiced in August.”

So what’s the fix? How do coaches ensure their players stop committing dumb penalties? Do you create consequences? Do you make them do a push-up for every penalty yard? Do you show the entire team every penalty and call out the guy who messed up? Do you just hope it doesn’t happen again?

“We talk about it. We try and educate (about it),” Beamer said. “We’ve done different things around here, even in practice.”

Beamer even noted that this offseason, he looked up the 10 least penalized teams from last season and called five of those head coaches, including Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), P.J. Fleck (Minnesota), Tom Herman (FAU) and Dave Clawson (Wake Forest). Perhaps Beamer will call around again over the bye week.

4. Props on the offensive script

It took until Week 3 for South Carolina to get the ball first — and it only came because LSU deferred — but maybe the Gamecocks need to rethink their strategy if they win a toss.

Last Saturday, the Gamecocks got the ball first and just whizzed down the field. Methodical, efficient, whatever word you want to use, it was that. Sellers led USC on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that lasted under three minutes and finished with a touchdown.

It was magnificent. It also means Loggains deserves kudos for devising an offensive script that good — and to learn about the process of creating said script is fascinating.

“You’re looking at how you’re attacking the defense. What’s your plan for the quarterback? How do you settle some guys down? And there’s so much that goes into it,” Loggains said. “Do we wanna get LaNorris hit early so he gets those jitters out? Does he need to get a completion? Does Josh Simon need to touch the ball early in the process? How many carries does Rocket (Sanders) need in the first quarter?”

5. Kyle Kennard is going to demolish Akron

I have a feeling Kennard has just been livid all week. Not sulking mad, but the type of anger that’s fueled by the thought of I need to redeem myself.

Though the Gamecocks’ edge rusher recorded a sack and a half against LSU, Kennard was flagged four times — two offsides and two other penalties that negated pick-sixes. He’s spent the entire week trying to move past the penalties while simultaneously hearing from people about the penalties.

My guess is he puts that behind him Saturday against an Akron squad that allows three sacks a game.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 34, Akron 10