COLUMBIA – Robby Ashford has been hearing it all week.
From his coaches. From his family. From his teammates, especially Kyle Kennard, South Carolina’s up-and-coming defensive lineman, who lives across the street from Ashford and takes two classes with him.
“We support you.”
How could he disappoint her?
“I knew he was playing well, but my goodness,” said coach Shane Beamer. “243 passes and 133 runs, that’s pretty damn athletic.”
Ashford, who filled in for LaNorris Sellers after the Gamecocks’ starter injured his ankle in last week’s loss to LSU, threw two touchdowns and ran for another on Saturday to lead USC to a 50-7 victory over Akron. He had started once before – 10 games in two seasons at Auburn before joining USC last offseason – but this was his first game for the Gamecocks, and at a crucial moment.
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, a hapless team with a 1-2 record. It wouldn’t be the first time the Gamecocks have played a minor league team.
The fact was that Ashford had to lead the offense to victory with a restructured playbook and game plan. And it became even more difficult when top tailback Rocket Sanders left the game in the first quarter with his own ankle injury.
Ashford kept reminding himself of what his teammates told him, then went out and proved that Beamer’s words from the preseason – that the Gamecocks have multiple quarterbacks who can win games – were true.
He led the team with 133 rushing yards, using his run-first philosophy to his advantage and capping the night with a 36-yard touchdown run around left end. “You have to listen to your feet,” he explained as a shared dictum between him and Sellers. “When your feet go pat-pat-pat-pat, it’s time to go. Get positive yardage, get down, make a positive play.”
He then threw for 263 yards, finding Mazeo Bennett for a 30-yard flick into the end zone and Juju McDowell for a 12-yard catch-and-run on fourth down. Ashford was able to pull two blades from USC’s previously sealed Swiss Army knife among the receivers, Bennett continued to polish his future superstar qualities while Gage Larvadain stepped into the spotlight.
