National reactions to South Carolina's thumping of Texas A&M
The Homecoming win somehow didn’t propel USC into the ranks of the top-25 teams in the country (according to the AP and USA Today Coaches polls); however, the Gamecocks showed the college football world that they are a good football team that can make some noise down the stretch.
Following the win, some of the nation’s biggest college football voices were very impressed with South Carolina.
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SEC Network analyst and former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray is a believer. Murray, who knows a thing or two about losing in front of sold-out crowds in Columbia (0-2 lifetime in Williams-Brice Stadium), said that he thinks, “South Carolina can play with anyone in America. This is a really good football team.”
ESPN NFL and college football analyst Dan Orlovsky called Williams-Brice Stadium “electric” and then reminded everyone that he called the Gamecocks “a top 15 football team” just two weeks ago.
Barstool Sports’ Kayce Smith, who caught the ire of the Gamecock faithful earlier this week with some…misinformed…takes about the South Carolina defense, offered up a social media apology, complete with a quote from one of the greatest philosophers of our time, Happy Gilmore.
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On3’s JD PicKell also ate some crow (and black licorice).
ESPN and SEC Network personality Alyssa Lang (a University of South Carolina graduate) got in on the action, too. Lang specifically drew attention to the great games from quarterback LaNorris Sellers and running back Rocket Sanders.
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One of the loudest statements came from the studio set of SEC Football Final. Dari Nowkhah, Benjamin Watson, and Chris Doering spoke about the game, and Doering made his opinion known. The former Florida Gator said that the Gamecocks beat Texas A&M at all the things they were supposed to be good at doing: South Carolina outrushed the top SEC ground attack, they out-physicaled one of the top offensive and defensive line combos in the country, and they won the sack battle 3-0 against one of the other best pressure teams in college football. Doering even went as far as to say that the atmosphere in Williams-Brice Stadium was so good that it made Kyle Field “look like a joke.”
The big win is nice for Shane Beamer’s squad, but South Carolina has four more regular season games remaining on the schedule. Next up, the Gamecocks will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to face the 24th-ranked Commodores. USC fans can tune into SEC Network at 4:15 p.m. to watch the game. The ESPN app also will stream the contest.
