Monday, September 14, 2015

Is Orth an improvement at QB for Gamecocks?

Full disclosure: I watched most of their game against UNC and very, very little of the loss to Kentucky. So I dove into the statistics last night and immediately started to wonder if Orth might be an improvement as Connor Mitch recovers from his injuries.

Completion percentage and yards per attempt favor Orth:

VIA CFBStats.com
Regardless of who Spurrier trots out, the goal is always to force third and long. South Carolina has a 65% completion percentage on first down. That goes down to 35% on third down overall and 25% on third and 4+ yards.

One thing's for certain, Orth is a big reason South Carolina was still in position to win that game Saturday night in Columbia. Well, him and the Gamecocks defense that pitched a second half shut out. But don't be surprised (and really, how could you?) if Spurrier comes to town with some other options at quarterback up his sleeve.
“I think Perry threw some nice balls last night,” Spurrier said. “We have confidence in Perry. Unfortunate Connor got hurt, but you have to move on to the next player. That’s what we’ll try to do. We actually moved the ball with Perry in there the second half.”
Freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez, who had two carries for 40 yards against Kentucky, “probably” will be the backup quarterback against the Bulldogs (2-0, 1-0 SEC), Spurrier said.
“He and Michael Scarnecchia, yeah,” Spurrier said. “Lorenzo could play some, we will have to wait and see.”
Nunez is their future at the position. He has two carries for 40 yards and is an athlete that can make some plays. Would the old ball coach trust the kid on the road against the Dawgs? I'd bet on seeing Orth for the most part, unless it's time for a wrinkle or there's been an turnover or two. With the help of four interceptions, Georgia leads the conference in turnover margin after just two weekends. If we are to beat the Gamecocks for just the second time in six meetings, we may need to add to that interception total and see if we can get that visiting visor thrown in the dirt.