National reactions to South Carolina's come-from-behind victory over Missouri
If you felt the ground shake, you weren’t the only one. Just before 7:45 p.m. on Saturday night, the noise from Williams-Brice Stadium registered earthquake-like vibrations on the Raspberry Shake Seismograph. At that time, Gamecock running back Rocket Sanders had just plunged into the end zone after taking a shovel pass 15 yards to paydirt (running behind several great blocks and through even more defenders along the way) with less than 20 seconds left to play against Missouri. The score proved to be the decider as South Carolina football brought home the Mayor’s Cup for the first time since 2018 with their 34-30 victory.
The Gamecocks, who were ranked between 21st and 23rd in the AP Poll, USA Today Coaches Poll, and College Football Playoff Rankings coming into the game, moved to 7-3 on the season and 5-3 in SEC play. With games remaining against Wofford and then the rival Clemson Tigers, USC clings to slight hope of the College Football Playoff.
National reactions might not have been earthquake-inducing, but several voices from around college football had strong opinions about the Gamecocks.
[GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days and 50% off first year]
ESPN college football and NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky has been one of South Carolina’s biggest cheerleaders in recent weeks. He took a moment to bask in his “rightness” following the exciting win.
NBC’s Nicole Auerbach kept it simple.
[See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers had a huge game on Saturday. The redshirt freshman logged 398 yards of offense and five touchdowns. His Houdini-like escape on the game-winning drive drew rave reviews around the nation.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli heaped tons of praise on Sellers with just two words that compared him to one of the most exciting quarterbacks in recent memory, Johnny Manziel, AKA Johnny Football.
Meanwhile, former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray continues to believe in Sellers and the Gamecocks. The SEC’s all-time leading passer thinks the redshirt freshman is one of the top players in all of college football.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Carson Beck
Latest on Georgia QB status for Sugar Bowl
- 2
Most valuable college programs
Ranking the athletic departments
- 3
Nick Saban
Questioning sustainability of NIL, unlimited transfers
- 4
Shane Gillis
Actor named CGD picker
- 5
Steve Sarkisian
Texas HC rips Vandy QB ruling
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
Even analysts for other sports know how special Sellers’ performance was against the Tigers. On3 national basketball recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw called No. 16 “a star.”
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
After Sellers’ late-game heroics, Missouri still had a chance. However, Gamecock pass rusher Kyle Kennard brought down quarterback Brady Cook for a sack on the Tigers’ second-to-last play. With his play, Kennard earned some love from national college football analyst Heather Dinich. Dinich seems to think a major award could be in Kennard’s future.
Mike Bratton of That SEC Podcast has come around on the Gamecocks in recent weeks and thinks some hardware also could be coming Shane Beamer’s way, too.
The Gamecocks’ fourth win in a row (and third in a row against AP top-25 teams, the first time that’s happened in program history) likely secures a nice bowl game for South Carolina. However, there is still a chance Shane Beamer’s team will have a chance to play for much more.
First, though, USC has two more games on the regular season schedule. Next week, the Gamecocks will welcome the in-state Wofford Terriers to Columbia for a 4:15 p.m. showdown. ESPN+ and SEC Network+ will stream the contest.
