No Sellers, no problem: South Carolina returns to winning ways in dominant display against Akron

Strong starts to the season have not been South Carolina’s forte, dating back to well before Shane Beamer took over as head coach.

Over the last six years, the greatest number of wins the Gamecocks have earned through its first four games is two. South Carolina has accomplished the feat five times during that time frame – only in 2019 did it fail to do so.

But in 2024, the Gamecocks will surpass that mark. After a 50-7 win over Akron on Saturday, South Carolina is off to its best start to a season since 2017.

“This is a tough week, coming off last Saturday. That was, obviously, to say the least, a tough loss last Saturday at LSU,” Beamer said. “And (I’m) really proud of our guys and how they responded and went right back to work on Sunday, had a really good week of practice. It’s a testament to them.”

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The biggest question about South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) was officially answered 30 minutes before kickoff, when it was announced on the scoreboard that Robby Ashford would be starting in place of LaNorris Sellers, who suffered an ankle injury in the team’s loss to LSU last weekend. After a shaky start to his Gamecock career, Ashford helped South Carolina pick up an early lead and keep it for the rest of the contest.

The Gamecocks did not score on their first drive of the game, going three-and-out after receiving the opening kickoff. But Ashford led South Carolina to the end zone on its next possession.

He showed his ability to affect the ground game throughout the drive, totaling 61 yards on three carries. After bringing the Gamecocks within striking distance of scoring on a fourth down conversion, Ashford would hand the ball off to Oscar Adaway, whose two-yard touchdown was his first for South Carolina.

The Gamecocks went on two more scoring drives in the first half, with both touchdowns coming on passes from Ashford. Mazeo Bennett was the first beneficiary of an Ashford touchdown pass, scoring a 30-yard touchdown on the next drive. The score even involved some trickery from Kai Kroeger, who ran the ball into the end zone on the subsequent two-point conversion.

South Carolina would punt after another three-and-out on its next possession. But Ashford would orchestrate an 11-play, 80-yard drive to further increase the Gamecocks’ lead. A 12-yard completion to Juju McDowell facing fourth-and-one gave the team a 21-0 advantage.

“I feel more comfortable (about passing the ball). Just being able to get all those reps in practice and seeing what they like to run. And just, like I said, film study, knowing what they like to come out in,” Ashford said. “So you just got a combination of that, and then you got the combination with our receivers and how they can get open. It’s just a recipe for success.”

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South Carolina’s strong offensive first-half showing would be overshadowed by yet another injury to a starter, though. Rocket Sanders exited the game in the first quarter after suffering a lower left-leg injury. He would not play a snap for the remainder of the contest.

Beamer expressed confidence after the game that Sanders would not miss significant time, though.

“Rocket’s got a little bit of an ankle (injury),” Beamer said. “It’s nothing long-term, we don’t think, at all.”

Momentum also slightly shifted in Akron’s (1-3, 0-0 MAC) direction near the end of the second quarter on two specific plays. After holding the Zips to punts on five straight dives, the Gamecocks’ defense surrendered its first points of the game on a 42-yard catch by Adrian Norton. Ashford also lost a fumble on the team’s final offensive play of the half.

Ashford would recover from that turnover on South Carolina’s first possession of the second period. He fired passes of 44 and 28 yards to Gage Larvadain and Bennett, respectively, to bring the Gamecocks to the opposing four-yard line. Two plays later, Adaway cashed in his second score of the game from one-yard out.

Adaway’s touchdown was not the Gamecocks’ last of the night, though. South Carolina would add 21 points to the scoreboard during the fourth quarter. Those points came on a 36-yard run by Ashford, a nine-yard pass from Davis Beville to Connor Cox and a 23-yard run by Jawarn Howell.

“It was really cool to be able to get so many young guys in that game, walk-ons that have given so much to our program, and be able to get them out there and see them having fun and see our teammates – the older guys, the starters – cheering them on,” Beamer said. “It’s what it’s all about.”

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By game’s end, Ashford would emerge as the Gamecocks’ leader in all purpose yards. He finished the contest with a 71.4% completion percentage (15-21), 243 passing yards and two scores through the air. Ashford added another 133 yards and one touchdown on 16 rushing attempts.

“That’s a hats off to my guys and my teammates. None of this would have been possible without them. I wouldn’t have been able to go out there and perform if everybody wasn’t doing their 111, and those guys did,” Ashford said. “I’m just thankful for this group and just how they came behind me, supported me and let me know from the jump, ‘We got confidence in you,’ even when I wouldn’t have started.”

While the offense operated relatively smoothly behind a new signal caller, it was business as usual for its defense, which put up another strong performance as a unit.

The Gamecocks allowed just 84 yards of offense to the Zips outside of the visitor’s lone scoring drive in the second quarter. South Carolina also forced one turnover in the fourth quarter on an interception from DQ Smith.

The Gamecocks recorded an additional two sacks, three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, all of which were rewards from the consistent pressure it placed on Akron’s offense.

“I said before the game to Coach (Clayton) White that these are games where dominant teams can be dominant. If you claim that you’re the kind of defense that we claim we are, then this is the game we put our stamp on. There should be no questions about it,” Kyle Kennard said. “Akron is a good team. Respect to Akron, but we thought that they shouldn’t be able to be on the field, and I feel like we played a decent game.”

What’s next?

After four straight weeks of regular season action, South Carolina will head into its first of two bye weeks this year. The Gamecocks will return to the field on Oct. 5, when it takes on No. 5 Ole Miss at Williams-Brice Stadium.

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