USC’s offense hit the skids against Ole Miss. So how does Dowell Loggains plan to fix it?

Dowell Loggains has problems coming out of problems. His offense is about as efficient as a DMV line, and the question is not whether change is necessary, but where the heck do you start?

South Carolina’s offense was putrid in a blowout loss to Ole Miss last Saturday. The Gamecocks crossed midfield seven times … and only scored three points.

Their offense looked like a soda without any carbonation — no fizz, no excitement. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers never threw a pass over 25 yards. His wide receivers struggled to gain any separation. And his offensive line allowed a half-dozen sacks, making South Carolina the most-sacked team in America this season (22 allowed).

Ole Miss made a gamble that South Carolina couldn’t dink and dunk its way to victory. The Rebels played extremely soft coverage, meaning they basically backed off the Gamecocks and dared them to run or throw short passes. The thinking was: There’s no chance the Gamecocks can win like that, no chance they can consistently put together 10-play drives.

It worked to staggering effectiveness.

And now comes No. 7 Alabama.

“You have to create explosive (plays),” Loggains said. “And when you don’t, you have to break tackles, make people miss. You have to hit your scheme plays. And when you don’t, you’re never in control of the game.”

The big problem is, everything looked so hard for the Gamecocks on Saturday. To his credit, Sellers did an impressive job getting through his progressions, looking across the field and checking on all his wide receivers.

More often than not, though, he didn’t have time to get through every progression — his protection couldn’t hold up.

Which brings up myriad questions: Why does he have so many progressions when it’s apparent he doesn’t have much time in the pocket? Why can’t his receivers get open? Why is he holding onto the ball so long?

“If it was as simple as, ‘Hey, this is what it is,’ ” Loggains said, “we can fix it — we’re gonna slide protect more. We’re gonna create more separation for the wide receivers. We’re gonna stack them and get them free access so they’re not getting pressed, that would be simple.

“But there’s a million little things that go into making this thing right,” the OC said.

The issue now is that Loggains is halfway along a road trip in a beat-up Toyota Corolla with the “check engine” light on, weathered tires, a coolant leak and a whining transmission. Buying a new car is out of the question. He doesn’t have the means to replace everything all at once, so repairs begin in order of priority. What is most crucial to keeping the car moving?

Taking precedence in Loggains’ mission: Eliminating everything that loses football games. Sacks. Turnovers. Penalties. Three categories in which South Carolina ranks among the nation’s worst, which have been at the heart of the Gamecocks’ two losses.

Of course there are hundreds of minor things to clean up — route depth, technique, etc. — but none of that matters if the Gamecocks keep getting beat with sacks, turnovers and penalties.

Perhaps that is obvious. Perhaps it also glosses over the dull scheme that Loggains threw out on Saturday. Or that it doesn’t give credit to the talent discrepancy between South Carolina and Ole Miss. Yet, sacks, turnovers and penalties are at least tangible categories for improvement and it sure beats answering the question of what needs to be fixed with ‘Everything.’

“We have to attack — attack — every day at practice the things that get you beat first,” Loggains said. “That’s where we’re gonna show improvement. That’s where we have to show consistency. Those things.

“Because then, you know what, if that happens?” Loggains continued. “The eight-play drive, the 10-play drive ends in points.”

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. ALABAMA GAME, TV INFO

Who: South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC) vs. Alabama (4-1, 1-1 SEC)

Where: Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

When: Noon Saturday

TV: ABC

Line: Alabama by 21