Saturday felt like rock bottom for South Carolina. Why there’s no need to panic

Michael Lananna
Sam Wolfe/Special To The State

Breathe in. Now exhale.

It’s all over, South Carolina fans. Even with your disdain for the Georgia Bulldogs, you had to know Saturday’s game wasn’t going to be pretty — not against the reigning national champions and No. 1 team in the country. Not against a defense that had only allowed three points combined in its first two games of the season.

Saturday’s 48-7 loss to UGA was a blowout. A beatdown. A throttling. In fact, the 41-point margin is the worst loss for the Gamecocks in the series’ history — beating a record that dates back to the very first time the two teams clashed in 1894. The energy in Williams-Brice Stadium, and the bulk of the sellout crowd, evaporated by halftime Saturday.

But it’s all over, Gamecocks fans. And now, in some ways, is when the true season begins.

Given all of the national buzz around second-year head coach Shane Beamer and Oklahoma transfer quarterback Spencer Rattler, a 1-2 (0-2 SEC) start to USC’s season might come across as underwhelming. A little disappointing, even.

But this part of USC’s front-loaded 2022 schedule was always going to present a massive challenge. A trip to then-No. 16 Arkansas (now No. 10) followed by a visit by No. 1 Georgia? That’s a nightmarish two-game stretch for any team.

Very little went right for the Gamecocks on Saturday. The performance was so uninspiring that Beamer spent the opening minutes of his postgame press conference apologizing to the fans who came out to the game. He called his own coaching performance “horse crap.” But is it time to give up, to pack it in, to lower expectations for this Gamecocks team in Beamer’s second season?

“Hell no,” a fired-up Beamer said, when asked if he sensed any giving up among his players.

“We’re 1-2. A bunch of fighters in that room. And to give up — that’s not a part of this football program. Get out of here with that. No.”

No, now’s not the time to give up. It’s the time to dig in. After the rigors of the past two weeks, the next two should provide USC with a respite of sorts. Next weekend, the winless Charlotte 49ers come to Williams-Brice, followed by a home game against in-state FCS foe S.C. State. By Week 6 at Kentucky — barring some unforeseen mayhem — the Gamecocks should be back above .500 as they venture deeper into SEC play.

Besting last year’s 7-6 record is still in the realm of possibility.

To make that kind of run, though, the Gamecocks undoubtedly have some cleaning up to do. Even though USC opened as 25.5-point home underdogs on Saturday and even though the Gamecocks were missing five starters on defense, Beamer was not in the mood to make excuses, saying there’s no reason why his team couldn’t have competed at a higher level.

For all the fuss around him, Rattler has yet play like the Heisman hopeful he once seemed to be at Oklahoma. Through three games, he’s thrown five interceptions to just two touchdowns, and both picks Saturday came on poor throwing decisions. The first came in the first quarter, when Rattler tried to find running back Juju McDowell on a wheel route in the red zone. McDowell was covered the whole way. He had no chance for the ball.

The second pick came late, with the game already well out of reach, on an ill-advised chuck to tight end Jaheim Bell in double coverage down the seam.

There were moments of offensive competence for South Carolina, too. As has been the case throughout the young season, however, the Gamecocks struggled to finish off drives, converting just four of 13 attempts on third down. UGA put up 547 total yards compared with 306 for the Gamecocks.

“It’s not just one thing (going wrong),” Rattler said. “Personally, I have to limit the turnovers. The interceptions. Especially because we will be throwing the ball a lot, so you got to limit that. I thought I felt like we ran the ball decent today when we were on a roll.

“We got to clean up everything I think and just get into better flow and not get ourselves in bad situations and not getting these third-and-longs. We just got to make it easier for ourselves, and we’re not right now.”

No Gamecock left Williams-Brice Stadium happy Saturday. Georgia took the crowd out of the game in its opening minutes, and former USC head coach Will Muschamp got a measure of revenge against his former program in coordinating UGA’s masterful defense.

But amid all the negative feelings, there’s still a reason for optimism. Saturday’s game could very well be rock bottom for the Gamecocks. The season is only a quarter of the way over. There’s ample time to make a run.

One of USC’s few bright spots on Saturday, the running back McDowell, said he gives himself about half an hour to grieve losses like the one against Georgia. And then it’s on to the next one.

“You got about 30 minutes from the time you get to the locker room from the time you shower, and once you shower, you should wash all of that off,” McDowell said. “After the game, I pray. I see my people. I talk to coach. I talk to my players.

“And whatever happened three hours ago is dead. You can’t turn around and go back to it.”

After Saturday’s drubbing, the Gamecocks have no choice but to move forward.

South Carolina 2022 football schedule

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