Five things we learned in South Carolina’s tricky win over Georgia State
South Carolina started its season with a tricky “W.”
USC (1-0) pulled away later from a tricky Georgia State (0-1) squad 35-14 on Saturday in Columbia to kick off its 2022 campaign.
Here are five things we learned from the Gamecocks’ season opener:
South Carolina special teams are legit
USC special teams coordinator Pete Lembo might need to phone his agent, because he earned himself a raise on Saturday.
Let’s do a rundown, shall we?
Kai Kroeger recorded a 79-yard punt
South Carolina returned two (!!) blocked punts for a touchdown
Mitch Jeter hit a pair of 50-plus yard field goals, the first two attempts of his career
USC gained a first down on a fake field goal run by holder Hunter Rogers
Not a bad start.
Beamer told reporters postgame he thought the Gamecocks left a few plays out there in punt coverage last fall. South Carolina took advantage and then some on Saturday.
No USC team had blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown since 2000. Beamer’s squad did it twice in a matter of nine minutes Saturday to give South Carolina the breathing room it desperately chased most of the first three quarters.
Jeter, too, was impressive in his first real action as a kicker at South Carolina. He’s been lauded for his leg strength and it showed, canning kicks from 51 and 53 yards.
The Gamecocks did botch an extra point when a snap flew well over Rogers’ head, but South Carolina mitigated that one mistake with an otherwise spectacular performance on special teams.
Hi, honey. I’m home. It was a pretty good day at the office.
— Pete Lembo (@Pete_Lembo) September 4, 2022
QB Spencer Rattler showed flashes for Gamecocks
Spencer Rattler wasn’t perfect on Saturday, but there were moments to think the Gamecocks might have something.
His roll-out completion to Jalen Brooks for a 39-yard gain was a prime example of the ability Rattler has to extend plays and make something happen when the constructs of the offense break down. That’s a liberty the Gamecocks absolutely didn’t have last year.
Rattler finished the night 23 of 37 for 226 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions — though the first of his picks wasn’t on him. It wasn’t perfect, but there were enough glimpses to think the South Carolina offense won’t slog the way it did a year ago.
That leads me to my next point ...
South Carolina’s offensive line still has problems
As of this writing, I haven’t gone back and re-watched the game, but the one group I immediately felt played poorly on Saturday was — you guessed it — the offensive line.
South Carolina returned every starter from a year ago and a handful of capable backups. The problem? That group ranked as one of the worst in the Southeastern Conference.
The Gamecocks hooted and hollered about taking a step forward on offense and, in theory, they should. The skill position talent is there, but it can’t happen if the offensive line can’t block.
Give Georgia State defensive coordinator Nate Fuqua credit — he schemed up a good gameplan and found ways to bring exotic pressures. That still doesn’t make up for the line’s missed blocks on Saturday night.
South Carolina has plenty of season left, but if the Gamecocks can’t handle Georgia State’s front-seven, imagine what it’s going to look like against, oh, I don’t know, a certain other Peach State institution, among others.
Clayton White’s defense is going to keep South Carolina in games
Clayton White has long been well-respected in coaching circles, but his name isn’t necessarily widely known in the general public.
That’s going to change quickly if things hold.
White’s unit stymied Georgia State’s dynamic rushing attack to 200 yards on 40 carries — a good chunk of which came with the game no longer in doubt. It held the Panthers to a 1 for 6 mark on third down. Quarterback Darren Grainger completed just 7 of 29 passes (24%) for 111 yards.
The Gamecocks secondary of Cam Smith, Darius Rush and Marcellas Dial locked down on Georgia State’s receivers, barely allowing them a chance to breathe on the outside. South Carolina finished the night combining for nine pass breakups as a team.
USC’s defense ranked as one of the best in the league last year and it’s off to about as good a start as it could’ve hoped, especially if the offense takes a few weeks to really gel.
Williams-Brice Stadium improvements were as advertised
This has absolutely nothing to do with actual football, but the atmosphere on Saturday was awesome.
The game was an announced sellout, while attendance was listed at over 78,000 fans. That doesn’t happen against most teams, let alone a Sun Belt opponent. By comparison, a little under 65,000 fans showed up for last year’s opener against Eastern Illinois.
Oh, and the lights.
If Rattler was the biggest talking point this offseason, the multi-million dollar lights project South Carolina undertook may well have been No. 2 on the list. I’m here to tell you: They were well worth it.
The lights show at halftime and throughout the contest made for some kind of atmosphere and one that Beamer said recruits raved about when he visited with them after the game.
It’s not all that important in the grand scheme, but the environment on Saturday was top notch.
