Akron head coach Joe Moorhead spoke to the media following his team’s 50-7 loss to South Carolina on Saturday. However, he was only available for brief comments. Here’s what he had to say.
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Opening speech
“Today, of course, was our third money game against a very good Power Five opponent. You know, (former Secretary of State) Collin Powell once said, ‘A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin for error is small.’ And when you play against a team that is so talented and well-coached and running at full speed in all three phases, you can’t afford to make many mistakes.
“We didn’t practice well enough. We didn’t execute well enough. (I) thought the guys played hard and I thought they tried hard. But you start to see the overall result when you’re playing against three teams that are probably going to finish in the top 25 on Sunday.”
No Sellers, no problem: South Carolina returns to winning ways with dominant performance against Akron
By Griffin Goodwyn
Strong season starts were not South Carolina’s strength, long before Shane Beamer took over the position of head coach.
Over the past six years, the Gamecocks have won two or fewer games in their first four. South Carolina has accomplished that feat five times in that span, except in 2019.
But the Gamecocks will surpass that mark in 2024. After a 50-7 win over Akron on Saturday, South Carolina is off to its best start to a season since 2017.
The biggest question about South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) was officially answered 30 minutes before kickoff when the scoreboard announced that Robby Ashford would start instead of LaNorris Sellerwho suffered an ankle injury in his team’s loss to LSU last weekend. After a rocky start to his Gamecock career, Ashford helped South Carolina take an early lead that he held for the rest of the game.
The Gamecocks didn’t score on their first drive of the game, going three-and-out after the opening kickoff, but Ashford led South Carolina into the end zone on its next possession.
He showed his ability to influence the running game throughout the drive, totaling 61 yards on three carries. After bringing the Gamecocks within striking distance of a point on a fourth down attempt, Ashford passed the ball to Oscar Adawaywhose two-yard touchdown was his first for South Carolina.
Read more here.
