South Carolina offers a touch of offensive power without LaNorris Sellers. The result was mixed

LaNorris Sellers was practically alone behind the sideline. A coach was nearby, watching his every move. Sellers had a football in his hand and was running. Well, he was 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. During the break, Sellers went to the training room and had his ankle examined. He said “nothing really bad” happened; his head coach Shane Beamer said it was a sprained ankle.

In both cases, Sellers’ ankle was bothering him. He tried to walk without limping. He tried to be his normal self. As the LSU offense stormed down the field, Sellers tried again. Something hurt. He stopped abruptly and threw a football on the ground, the pigskin ricocheted and hit one of his teammates.

He played just three plays in the second half on Saturday, and when South Carolina switched to an offense without Sellers, it lost all of the offensive rhythm, momentum and precision that had ripped through Williams-Brice Stadium in the first half.

How about this stat: In the first half, South Carolina gained 265 yards. In the third quarter, with Sellers out or limited, the Gamecocks gained one. One. U.N.

Either LSU has made the biggest adjustments possible on defense—which is not impossible—or South Carolina has become a different team.

Regarding his frustration on the sidelines, Sellers said it was due to “the special tape” the coaches put on his ankle before the second half.

“Five, ten minutes later, I was fine,” Sellers said.

He was good enough to get another chance to play. After backup Robby Ashford trotted onto the field for the Gamecocks’ first drive, Beamer put his starter under center.

The play for the second attempt was optional. Sellers was supposed to read the defensive end – pull the ball back if he fell and pass it to tailback Rocket Sanders if he fell behind. Well, the defensive end fell and Sellers gave the ball away anyway. Sanders was eaten for breakfast.

“It wasn’t that he didn’t pull the ball because he couldn’t run,” Beamer said, “but we just thought, ‘You know what, if he can’t move the way he wants to anymore, we’ll get him out.'”

Sellers didn’t play a single snap after that. South Carolina’s 8-point 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 precautionary measure,” Sellers said.

His coaches had a completely different opinion.

Ashford was decent under the circumstances. He had some nice runs, but he also took two sacks and dropped the ball in his own red zone, leading to a touchdown for LSU. And as for passing, well, he didn’t throw much. Ashford finished the game with two passes in four attempts for 42 yards, not including a long pass to Dalevon Campbell, who was called back for a penalty half a football field away.

But when Ashford came, South Carolina was predictable. Run here. Run there. Incomplete pass. Punt. Watch LSU score or come close. Do it all again.

After the game, Ashford couldn’t believe anyone who thought offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, Beamer or any other teammate didn’t have confidence in his shooting ability. Ashford thought the Gamecocks were smart in the second half.

“We (had) the lead. Why risk it?” he said. “Why not let Rocket Sanders, who is arguably the best running back in the SEC, take it? Why not feed him? Why not just let our O-line out-physically out-play those guys? Because we’ve been playing the whole game.”

Others watched two quarters of a team desperately trying not to lose the ball, hoping their defense would hold up – if not score themselves. And, my goodness, it almost did. If Nick Emmanwori’s pick-six isn’t overturned for a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty, South Carolina wins. If Alex Herrera’s 49-yard field goal sends the game into overtime, maybe South Carolina wins.

But it all leads back to Sellers. If he doesn’t get hurt, South Carolina probably wins. He said again he’s fine. Maybe he’ll play next week. Maybe not. It probably doesn’t matter – Beamer himself could start at quarterback next Saturday and probably beat Akron.

There will be a week off at the end of September. If Sellers has to recover, that will give him some breathing room. But questions will remain for the rest of the year.

This is the second game in a row that Sellers has missed drives due to injury. What if it turns into an entire game? We’ve seen what happens when he misses a half.