Looking back on South Carolina's best moments from 2022

What a year it was for South Carolina. A lot of good came from Shane Beamer’s second season at the helm. But what are the best moments from this past year?

Let’s take a look at some of the top plays, performances and wins from the Gamecocks’ season.

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Xavier Legette returns opening kickoff versus Texas A&M

With the Gamecocks set to receive the opening kickoff, Xavier Legette stood waiting in the end zone. The ball soared in the air, landing in his hands around a yard into the end zone. He didn’t hesitate to bring it out.

Legette raced up the field, breaking a handful of tackles. Three Texas A&M players lunged at him around the 35-yard line, which had most thinking he was tackled. But somehow he didn’t go down.

He managed to stay on his feet and broke free while losing a cleat in the process. As he crossed midfield, he pointed his finger toward the opposite end zone knowing he wouldn’t be touched again. By that point, the Aggies were more than 10 yards behind him and South Carolina took an immediate 7-0 lead.

Gamecock fans at Williams-Brice Stadium went bananas, waving their white towels around while the garnet LED lights flashed.

Legette, hobbling around with one cleat, kept running until he reached the South Carolina sideline. Once there, he was greeted by his teammates and coaches with hugs and helmet slaps.

After the game, Spencer Rattler couldn’t help but notice how energized the fans were from the start. He even called it “the loudest game I have ever been a part of.”

“When Xavier took that 100-yard kick return back, it was just electric. It was crazy,” Rattler said. “My chest was bumping from the sounds — the sounds of the crowd. It was big time.”

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South Carolina recovers game-saving fumble against Clemson

While South Carolina led by a point with just over two minutes remaining, it started to feel as if Clemson would find a way to win. The Tigers’ playoff hopes were on the line.

Clemson set itself up to get the ball back with a chance to win the game after forcing a three-and-out. Kai Kroeger, who was having a career day, watched his final punt of the game sail 45 yards, landing in the hands of Antonio Williams. With room to run, Williams headed toward midfield, looking to put the Tigers in a good position.

Around the Clemson 40-yard line, Nate Adkins broke off a blocker and grabbed onto Williams. When he got his other hand on him, he knocked the ball loose. South Carolina swarmed to the ball and Nick Emmanwori came out of the pile with it in hand.

“I saw we had three guys all around it and I started jumping and throwing my fists in the air,” Kroeger said. “I was going crazy.”

There was a look of utter disbelief on Clemson fans’ faces, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened. After a few first downs, South Carolina shocked the college football world and beat its in-state rival for the first time since 2013.

“It shows everyone that we’re here and we’re not this scrub program that everyone liked to say we were,” Kroeger said. “I just couldn’t be prouder of the guys and where we are at right now. I can’t wait for the future.”

Spencer Rattler turns in historic performance versus Tennessee

Rattler found himself in the end zone, hyping up the home crowd as he raced back to the sideline. He had just thrown a late second-quarter touchdown that became a defining moment in his first season with the Gamecocks.

Behind a brilliant performance, Rattler led South Carolina to a 63-38 victory versus Tennessee.

He completed 81 percent of his passes for 438 yards and six touchdowns, all of which were season-highs.

When Beamer glanced at the stat sheet after the game, all he could say was “Oh, my God.”

“He was on,” Beamer said. “You talk about players and being in the zone, that guy was in the zone tonight.”

Rattler had struggled for most of the season, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. Being selected in the NFL Draft was once a certainty but now became an afterthought.

Everything changed once he stepped onto the field on that Nov. 19 night, though.

“That was probably the best I’ve ever felt in a game, just feeling unstoppable,” he said. “With my guys out there, I mean we felt truly unstoppable. And that confidence this game just gave us is amazing.”

Most would’ve thought Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker would’ve had the better game. Hooker, the leader of the top offense in the country, finished with 247 yards and three touchdowns. But it was Rattler who turned heads.

“We know how good of a quarterback Spencer is,” Dakereon Joyner said. “(We) just tell him, ‘Keep going, it’s gonna show up, God’s going to show up for you.’ I’m truly excited for him. I’m so happy for him that he got a chance to remind the world who he really is.”

Rattler would go onto play well throughout the rest of the season to finish with 3,026 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

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Nate Adkins makes catch of the year against Clemson

South Carolina faced a second and long from its own 49-yard line with 1:31 to go in the first quarter. The Gamecocks needed a big play since they were already behind 14-0 against Clemson.

Rattler, lined up in the shotgun, dropped back and heaved a long pass to Adkins running down the field. Although Adkins was tightly covered, he managed to catch the ball with one hand and put South Carolina at the 19-yard line.

After rising to his feet, Adkins flipped the ball to the ground, making it seem like he had done this a thousand times before.

“I didn’t even know I could do that, to be honest with you,” Adkins said. “I used to do that stuff in the backyard when I was younger, but I ain’t ever done it with pads in a game like this. So it was pretty cool.”

Later on the same drive, the Gamecocks scored their first touchdown of the game as Rattler found Juice Wells in the back of the end zone on a critical fourth down play.

Adkins’ catch caught a lot of traction across college football, considered to be one of the best plays. SEC Network analyst Chris Doering even put Adkins’ play at No. 1 in his top-five catches of the year.

“He’s got the respect of his teammates because of what he does,” Beamer said. “(Adkins) is really a better athlete, as he showed in the Clemson game, than people give him credit for from a pass-catching standpoint.”

O’Donnell Fortune’s 100-yard pick-six in the Gator Bowl

Notre Dame entered the red zone with a chance to potentially put the Gator Bowl out of reach. On 1st and goal, Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner pump faked and threw a pass into a tight window, where O’Donnell Fortune happened to be.

Fortune intercepted Buchner’s pass in the end zone and started running upfield. With blockers by his side, he avoided being tackled and scored a 100-yard touchdown to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

As radio play-by-play announcer Todd Ellis put it, it was a “garnet and black miracle.” He was right. It was the big play that South Carolina desperately needed and it came from Fortune.

Coming into the game, South Carolina would be without defensive backs Cam Smith and Darius Rush, meaning it would be up to Fortune to make an impact. And he did.

“That’s why you always stay locked in, man,” Fortune said. “You always observe the player in front of you in every game and every practice, so when it comes to the game it’ll be easy.”

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Beating Tennessee and Clemson to end the regular season

South Carolina had just suffered an embarrassing 38-6 loss to Florida in Gainesville. What came next for the Gamecocks were back-to-back matchups against top-10 opponents.

With plenty of doubters, the Gamecocks went out and scored 63 points against the No. 5 Volunteers to end their playoff hopes.

As the clock struck zero, stadium security couldn’t stop the thousands of fans from pouring onto the field.

“Tuesday night I had a dream that we were going to beat these guys. I don’t know what God was trying to tell me,” Josh Vann said. “In the middle of that field with those fans, I’m getting tapped on my head and trying to get on the sideline. Everyone’s trying to grab me. It’s an amazing feeling. This is our last game at Willy-B. We had the number five team coming in here. What other way to go out?”

In the following game, South Carolina trailed No. 8 Clemson by 14 points in the first quarter. However, it battled back the rest of the way and wound up winning 31-30.

“We were the feel-good story in college football last week, but nobody thought we were good enough to win this game,” Beamer said. “We were the team that just kind of caught lightning in a bottle last week and ‘no way they can come back and do it again.’”

In a matter of two weeks, the Gamecocks turned their season around and beat two consecutive top-10 opponents for the first time in school history.

“We’re here and we’re here to stay,” Adkins said. “This is my only year here, but I’m glad I was part of this and glad I could come over here and help out as much as possible and make memories like this. These are memories that me, and all my teammates, and all the coaches and all the staff, are going to remember for the rest of our lives.”

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