LaNorris Sellers was standing behind the sidelines, practically alone. There was a trainer nearby, monitoring his every movement. Sellers had a football in his hand and was running. Well, trying to run.
Just before halftime in No. 16 LSU’s 36-33 win over South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC), a Tigers defender rolled on Sellers’ right ankle. At the break, Sellers went into the training room and got his ankle checked out. He said there was “nothing crazy wrong;” his head coach Shane Beamer said it was an ankle sprain.
In either case, Sellers’ ankle was bothering him. He was trying to run without limping. Trying to be his normal self. As the LSU offense was driving down the field, Sellers tried one more time. Something hurt. He stopped abruptly and chucked a football at the ground, the pigskin bouncing and hitting one of his teammates.
He only played three plays in the second half Saturday. And as South Carolina shifted to a Sellers-less offense, it lost all offensive rhythm, all the momentum and precision that, in the first half, had Williams-Brice Stadium ready to burst.
How’s this for a stat: In the first half, South Carolina gained 265 yards. In the third quarter, with Sellers out/limited, the Gamecocks gained one. One. Uno.
Either LSU made some of the greatest defensive adjustments humanly possible — which isn’t out of the question — or South Carolina turned into a different team.
On his sideline frustration, Sellers said that was caused by “the specific tape” the trainers applied to his ankle ahead of the second half.
“Five, 10 minutes after that, I was fine,” Sellers said.
He was fine enough to get another chance to play. After backup Robby Ashford trotted out there for the first drive with the Gamecocks backed up, Beamer threw his starter under center.
The second-down play call was option. Sellers was supposed to read the defensive end — pull the ball if he crashed, hand it to tailback Rocket Sanders if he stayed back. Well, the end crashed and Sellers still handed the ball off. Sanders was eaten for lunch.
“Not that he didn’t pull it because he couldn’t run,” Beamer said, “but we just felt like, ‘You know what, if he’s not going to be able to move like he wants to move, we’ll get him out.’”
Sellers didn’t play a single snap after that. An 8-point South Carolina lead turned into a 3-point loss. And after the game, Sellers made it very clear that he was fine .
“I think it was just a precaution thing,” Sellers said.
His coaches certainly didn’t feel that way.
Ashford, given the circumstances was decent. There were some nice runs, but he also took two sacks and fumbled inside his own red zone, leading to an LSU touchdown. And, passing-wise — well, he didn’t throw much. Ashford finished the game completing two passes in four attempts for 42 yards, which didn’t include a long completion to Dalevon Campbell that was called back for a penalty half a football field away.
But when Ashford came in, South Carolina was predictable. Run here. Run there. Incomplete pass. Punt. Watch LSU score, or get close. Do it all over again.
Ashford was incredulous after the game that anyone who thinks offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, Beamer or any teammate doesn’t have confidence in his throwing ability. To Ashford, what the Gamecocks did in the second half was smart.
“We (had) the lead. Why risk anything?” He said. “Why not give it to Rocket Sanders, who’s arguably the best running back in the SEC. Why not feed him? Why not just let our O-Line out-physical those guys? Because we were all game.”
To others, though, It was two quarters of watching a team just desperately try and not turn the ball over in the hopes its defense would hold up — if not score itself. And, by golly, it nearly worked. If Nick Emmanwori’s pick-six isn’t called back because of a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty, South Carolina wins. If Alex Herrera’s 49-yard field goal sends the game to overtime, maybe South Carolina wins.
But it all leads back to Sellers. If he doesn’t get hurt, South Carolina likely wins. Again, he said he’s fine. Maybe he’ll play next week. Maybe he won’t. It probably doesn’t matter — Beamer himself could start at quarterback next Saturday and likely beat Akron.
The comes the bye week at the end of September. If Sellers needs to heal, that will offer reprieve. But questions will remain for the rest of the year.
This is the second-straight game that Sellers missed drives with an injury. What if that turns into an entire game? Heck, we saw the result when he misses a half.
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