I like this quote because it says it all
''Rocket Sanders, who wasn’t going to be stopped by the ’85 Bears on that go-ahead score.''
Let’s forget the Playoff discussion and just appreciate what Shane Beamer’s best team is doing
I know, I know. The offense was held in check for the vast majority of the second half and the Gamecocks finally ran into a rushing attack that could neutralize that elite defensive line. Allowing Mizzou to nearly pull off that comeback — via a highlight-reel grab on 4th down by Luther Burden III — would’ve been a devastating way to lose a 6th consecutive game to the Tigers.
And then it wasn’t.
South Carolina would’ve watched Burden score and lost that game in the previous 3 years of the Beamer era. Not this team. Not this developed version of LaNorris Sellers and this healthy version of Rocket Sanders, who wasn’t going to be stopped by the ’85 Bears on that go-ahead score.
The way that South Carolina responded to that Ole Miss loss has been easily the best stretch of football it played in the post-Steve Spurrier era (AP rankings):
- L, 27-25 at No. 7 Alabama
- W, 35-9 at Oklahoma
- W, 44-20 vs. No. 10 Texas A&M
- W, 28-7 at No. 24 Vanderbilt
- W, 34-30 vs. No. 24 Mizzou
That’s 3 consecutive games vs. ranked teams and 3 consecutive victories. That’s the first time in program history that South Carolina did that. Saturday marked the first time since Sept. 13, 2014 that South Carolina won a matchup of AP Top 25 teams. Yeah. A decade. Ending that drought while beating Mizzou for the first time since 2018 was significant.
South Carolina is scary. It’s scary that the Gamecocks won without the defensive line taking over. If anything, that group was an Achilles’ heel for a decent chunk of the day with its 4 tackles for loss with just 2 sacks, though future All-American Kyle Kennard delivered the dagger sack late.
Let’s just acknowledge that 2 things can be true with South Carolina. Losing 3 games with 1 of them coming via a blowout will prevent the Gamecocks from making the 12-team Playoff, especially with Mizzou likely falling out of the Top 25 (Clemson also could fall out if South Carolina beat them). But there might not be 10 scarier teams to face in America than the one in Columbia.
A 10-win season doesn’t feel crazy at all for Shane Beamer’s squad.
Here's what we learned from Week 12 in the SEC.
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