Beamer Ball 2.0

South Carolina is 5-2.  The ‘Cocks have won four straight since getting blasted by Georgia.  What’s the secret to their success?  Well, in this case it appears the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

RV combines the values generated on both defensive and special teams returns, plays that generally speaking are rare and often random. On the year, the Gamecocks have produced 38.2 points in SRV value in six FBS games, leading the nation in both total SRV generated and SRV generated per game (6.4 points). South Carolina is one of only four teams that have had a positive SRV value in every game it has played this season. Against Georgia State, South Carolina produced touchdowns on two blocked punt returns, generating 16.9 points of SRV in a 21-point victory. Against Kentucky, the Gamecocks dominated starting field position with turnover and special teams returns, generating 7.5 points of SRV in a 10-point win. And against Texas A&M, South Carolina finished the game with 3.5 points of SRV in a six-point win, and that was after surrendering a late onside kick to the Aggies which cost them 2.6 points of SRV. Prior to that play, the Gamecocks had actually generated more SRV value than the scoring margin in the game.

South Carolina leads the nation in my overall special teams ratings through Week 8, and Beamer Ball is alive and well in Shane’s second year at the helm in Columbia.

One other thing that probably should be factored in to SC’s success is turnover margin.  South Carolina was minus-7 in its first three games and +1 during the four game win streak.

Brian asks a good question at the end:

There is no doubt that big special teams plays can swing games and potentially overcome offensive and defensive efficiencies. But is it sustainable? Special teams ratings do not correlate with winning games as reliably as offensive and defensive metrics, and we extract the randomness of special teams and defensive return data from possession data precisely because they are less predictive and may actually disguise a team’s fundamental strengths or weaknesses.

Their next two opponents are Missouri and Vanderbilt, so it may not matter too much, but they finish with Tennessee and Clemson, where they’ll need all the special teams excellence they can muster just to be competitive.

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