The Verdict: Confidence breeds success

South Carolina football superfan Chris Paschal writes a weekly column during the season for GamecockCentral called “The Verdict.” Chris is a lawyer at Goings Law Firm in Columbia.

The Verdict: Confidence Breeds Success

I don’t have an answer for what happened in Charlotte. As I sat in Bank of America Stadium, I was flooded with questions. Did South Carolina underestimate UNC? Were players overlooking UNC? Were we not prepared? Was the team not dialed in as alluded to by Shane Beamer after last week’s Tuesday practice? Was the stage too big? Were the lights too bright? How in the hell do you get whipped like a rented mule against North Carolina with all we have returning and all we have joining?  

I still don’t have the answer. And I probably shouldn’t have the answer. That’s for the men in that locker room to figure out as they pull themselves back up and look at themselves in the mirror. This Verdict is same song, second verse to the Verdict written following week one of the 2022 season. Following last season’s sluggish offensive performance against Georgia State, I wrote, “the look of ‘oh crap’ is universal in football. And there were multiple times I saw offensive players – both linemen and skill positions – play slow, timid, and like they forgot what they were supposed to be doing.” 

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The issue in Charlotte was there was a lot of slow, timid play on both sides of the ball. In the first half, on a crucial third and 12, Carolina sent defensive back Keenan Nelson on a blitz. Nelson wanted no part of getting in that backfield and pressuring Drake Maye. Instead of shooting into that backfield like a heat-seeking missile, Nelson headed right past the tackle, past Drake Maye, and timidly engaged with the running back. Drake Maye most likely had no idea that Carolina even sent a blitzing defensive back. 

That is one example, but there are countless others — many of which have been addressed and broken down by others on this very site. North Carolina played fearless. North Carolina played hungry. North Carolina was confident that they could make plays, assert their will, and fly around and punish Gamecock offensive linemen, running backs, and defenders. Again, I don’t know why North Carolina had that edge and we did not. I won’t speculate on why that was the case. But I do know we got whipped by a more aggressive and violent football team. 

Watching LSU/Florida State on Sunday made things worse for me pondering these questions. This was an even bigger stage with national implications riding on it. And during that first half, I saw two football teams that had no fear. The team speed on display by both squads far exceeded what I saw in Charlotte the night prior. Then I watched Duke on Monday night absolutely cause mayhem for the Clemson Tigers. 

LSU and Florida State are chalk-full of blue-chip recruits. Duke has a couple. North Carolina is somewhere in between. 

This is not a talent issue for South Carolina. This is a confidence issue. Many of these players obliterated Tennessee. Many of these players went into Memorial Stadium and ended Clemson’s absurd home winning streak. These are players that have made plays and won games.

But on Saturday night, they could not block, and they could not play winning defensive football. I wrote a few weeks back that while I was high on and excited about this team, I hedged my expectations slightly in that every team looks good in shorts. As we saw on Saturday, both teams looked good in shorts. North Carolina practices just as much as Carolina does. They came up with game plans that put their players (especially on defense) in positions where they could succeed. Rucker and Evans and Fox and Powers and all those defenders in the Tar Heel front seven had no reservations about getting in the backfield quickly and with bad intentions. 

So, what does this mean for the Gamecocks? I am not entirely sure. As Coach Beamer aptly pointed out in his press conference, while what happened last Saturday was unacceptable, it doesn’t have to be the end-all-be-all for this Gamecock football team in 2023.

How do you play fast? You must play with confidence. You must know your technique and your assignment will not fail you. I saw a lot of apprehension on Saturday of players not knowing full-heartedly what they were supposed to do (almost every time UNC stunted up front), while at other times I saw players not trusting their technique (DQ Smith standing flat-footed as a UNC receiver blew past him, or the multiple times offensive linemen lunged while in pass protection instead of moving their feet). 

This is the epitome of arm-chair quarterbacking. I am not a player. I am not a coach. But from my vantage point, while concerning that these things were not hammered out during fall camp, we somehow only lost by two touchdowns. Almost everything went wrong during this game from an execution standpoint, both mentally and physically, and yet Carolina was right there in the fourth quarter with chances to get right back into that ballgame. 

Of course, they didn’t. And if Carolina is going to survive this schedule from hell, the players are going to have to trust their technique and know the scheme in order for the Gamecocks to win some games. There is no reason to panic at all. Coach Beamer hates losing and he sure as hell hates getting embarrassed. And because of that, while not panicking, he will coach with a sense of urgency. Coach Beamer is not content with where things stand with this Gamecock football program. 

Find a way to put it on Furman and get back on track. This will not be your typical FCS cupcake, with Furman’s quarterback already declaring that Carolina is beatable. The Gamecocks will need to play fast and physical. To do that, there needs to be confidence. Keenan Nelson is more than capable of playing like the highly touted prospect he was in high school. He will learn from his mistakes just like the rest of his teammates. If I were a betting man, he makes that sack next time.  

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