Scott Davis: The blissful blessings of a blowout

Scott has followed South Carolina athletics for over 40 years and provides commentary from a fan perspective. He writes a weekly newsletter (sign up here) year-round and a column during football season that’s published each Monday on GamecockCentral.

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We needed this one.

I needed it. You needed it. These South Carolina players and coaches needed it.

We needed a breather. A good, old-fashioned laugher. A beatdown, a spanking, a curb-stomping.

After an up-and-mostly-down nine games that left Gamecock Nation bruised, battered and bitter, this team and its fans needed a blowout.

And on a soggy Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium, we finally got one. When it was all over and the Gamecocks had finished collecting big plays on offense, defense and special teams, South Carolina had drilled Vanderbilt to the astounding tune of 47-6, giving the program its most convincing victory over an SEC opponent in a decade.

This was the kind of game where I felt comfortable stepping away from my television and running out to grab a sandwich at halftime. Even though South Carolina led by just 13 points at the break, I already felt a glowing comfort in my chest. My heart was at peace. I was not watching scared, wasn’t flipping channels to distract my mind, wasn’t sighing and groaning after every play. And it all felt downright blissful.

It also felt new.

I don’t need to tell you it’s been a challenging 2023 season.

None of South Carolina’s three wins coming into this Vanderbilt game had been easy. You could make a reasonably strong case the Gamecocks should’ve lost to Jacksonville State. The Mississippi State victory was in doubt until the final moments. Even Furman led South Carolina for an uncomfortable stretch in the first half before fading.

No South Carolina game leading up to this one could have been described as “an absolute joy to watch” by Gamecock fans.

But for one day, we all got to remember what it felt like to watch our team methodically and efficiently destroy somebody.

Remember blowouts? I’d forgotten just how enjoyable they can be.

Back during the Steve Spurrier Era, it wasn’t unusual to watch the Gamecocks pound even their most fearsome opponents. They cruised to multiple easy-breezy wins over Clemson in those long-gone days. In 2012, they dismantled a fifth-ranked Georgia 35-7 in front of a bloodthirsty Williams-Brice. At least once or twice a year, South Carolina took someone behind the woodshed and smacked them around, and we all got so used to the experience that we started expecting to see it regularly.

But watching the Gamecocks run away from Vanderbilt on Saturday, I struggled to reaccustom myself to the good vibrations of a blowout. It had been a year since South Carolina routed Tennessee at home, and at some point a month or so ago, I’d officially given up hope for seeing a similar display of dominance this season. Even if the Gamecocks could somehow, someway drag themselves back to bowl eligibility in 2023, I didn’t expect to see them crush anyone.

Happily, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

• Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Kentucky football game

The boys in garnet and black humbled Vandy in every phase of the game on Saturday. South Carolina’s defense stifled the Commodores for much of four quarters. Its offense stockpiled big play after big play despite rainy conditions. Even the Gamecock special teams unit – unable for much of 2023 to recapture the magic that had fueled it in recent seasons – collected a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Watching it unfold, that old Palmetto State tourism jingle from the ‘80s and ‘90s started buzzing in my head: Smiling faces, beautiful places…South Caroliiiiiiiiiiiiiina!

I wasn’t alone in loving the sight of an SEC slaying. My parents sent a steady stream of giddy text messages from the first quarter onward. I even got a couple “I don’t care if it was Vandy – this was fun” notes from friends after the game. Clearly, this was a wounded fan base that desperately needed something to feel good about.

At long last, their team provided them with it.

And sure, it was Vandy. There’s nothing like the Commodores to cure what ails you.

Still, I’ve seen many South Carolina teams struggle to subdue the ‘Dores over the years, even ones with much better records than this Gamecock team currently has.

In a season like this one, you’ll take the blissful blessings of a blowout whenever and wherever you can find them.

And with two games left in a difficult year, South Carolina still has something to play for. They don’t need to blow anyone out these last two weeks – they just need to survive and advance.

But now that we’ve feasted on an opponent for a change, maybe we’ll be hungry to gorge again.

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The Xavier Leggette Game Balls of the Week

After a dominant multi-week run by Taylor Swift as the namesake of the weekly Game Balls, we can finally return the honor to someone actually wearing a South Carolina Gamecock uniform. Let’s throw out a few X Men to the following winners:

Xavier Leggette – The Mullins receiver caught another nine balls for 129 yards, and in doing so, officially became just the fifth Gamecock in history to amass more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season. It’s become mildly trendy for some members of the fan base to claim they knew Leggette would have a breakthrough year in 2023, but I don’t think anyone anywhere was expecting a 1,000-yard season from him. He’s arguably become the best deep threat South Carolina has had in many years, and I’m looking forward to watching him play in the NFL next year. I’m also looking forward to the NFL future of…

Spencer Rattler – Another Saturday, another gutsy effort from Rattler, who went 28-for-36 for 351 yards, three passing touchdowns and even a rushing TD. Rattler noted in an interview this week that South Carolina had been “home” to him and he would remember it as such, despite the team battling through a difficult season this year. Gamecock fans, too, will always remember him as one of our own and rightly so. Use these next two games to watch the way he supports his teammates throughout four quarters – even when a receiver runs the wrong route or a lineman misses a block, he’s there to reassure them and pat them on the back.

• Enter to win a framed ‘Pubs of Columbia’ print from Vista Art

The Return of Beamer Ball! – Just a week ago, I was moved to write of South Carolina’s inconsistent special teams efforts, “It’s just not happening for this team in 2023.” Days later, the Gamecocks blocked a Vanderbilt punt for a touchdown. Coincidence? I don’t know, but just in case, let me say this of South Carolina’s special teams efforts: It’s just not happening for this team in 2023.

My Mom, for Sending the Following Text During the Game: “Anderson – my new BFF this season!!!” – You’ve gotta love Moms. That joyful message came after Mario Anderson rolled over Commodore defenders to rumble for a 72-yard touchdown. Along with Leggette’s ongoing brilliance, Anderson’s surprising emergence as the go-to solution at running back has been one of bona fide bright spots of 2023 for South Carolina. After transferring in from Newberry, he’s quietly become a reliable workhorse in the backfield over the last few weeks. As for my Mom, she and my Dad have been sending me positive reinforcement and upbeat encouragements all season. I might be wandering the streets talking to myself if not for them.

Nick Saban – I can’t believe I’m doing this, but watching Alabama run roughshod over a solid Kentucky Wildcat team in Lexington on Saturday, I felt a surge of admiration for Saban’s achievement in Tuscaloosa. Many observers wrote off the Tide in 2023 after they lost to Texas and then followed it up the next week by struggling in a sloppy win against South Florida. Weeks later, they’ve laid waste to Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU, and they’ll return to the SEC Championship game again in December. Would it stun anyone if they ended up making a run to yet another national championship? Yes, it’s easier to win at a tradition-laden program like Alabama, but it’s easy to forget just how much turmoil had besieged that program until Saban arrived and started collecting trophies the same way some people collect stamps or vinyl records. All praises due.

South Carolina-Vanderbilt Deflated Balls

Rain, Rain, Go Away – The wet conditions made for an interesting 60 minutes of football. Even in a 41-point win, South Carolina suffered through what felt like a couple hundred dropped passes, myriad bad snaps, an unsuccessful extra point try, false starts and other messy moments. Without those miscues, the Gamecocks might have beaten Vanderbilt by an ungodly amount. As it was, we had to settle for a 47-6 win. I can live with that.

The Downright Depressing Injury Situation – I can now say this without hesitation: In four decades as a fan, I don’t ever remember a season in which so many South Carolina contributors were lost to injuries. This team has been decimated to such a degree in 2023 that it’s getting difficult to find players to fill certain roles. The Gamecocks are now down to just two scholarship running backs on the roster after Juju McDowell was lost for the season with a broken collarbone in the Vandy game. These players give everything they have in a grueling offseason for the opportunity to play in front of the fans at Williams-Brice Stadium just a handful of times a year, and it can all slip away in the blink of an eye. I hope they know how much we appreciate their efforts.

I also appreciate the effort this South Carolina team has given to battle back from the brink and put themselves in position to play for the postseason over the final two-week stretch. Sure, it’s still a difficult task – the Gamecocks will need to handle a recent nemesis as well as a suddenly hot archrival to get bowl eligible.

But they have an opportunity. They’re alive.

Just a few weeks ago, we weren’t sure we’d be here.

Now, after the blissful blessings of a blowout, anything is possible.

Tell me how you’re feeling after a blowout Saturday by writing me at [email protected].

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