The Verdict: We are still knocking on the door in 2024

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.

I feel like every year I have to write the same exact thing. Every year we have the same conversations. 

There can be no excuse for what we saw on the field at Williams-Brice Stadium last Saturday against Ole Miss. The Gamecocks, coming off a bye week, in a packed and excited stadium, came out and laid an absolute egg on offense. The play calling was unimaginative, drives could not be sustained, and in crucial moments we turned the ball over or shot ourselves in the foot. Despite our defense giving a spirited effort, our offense never could string anything together. 

In years past, offensive showings like the one we saw last weekend were microcosms for larger issues the offense faced. In 2021, Carolina didn’t have a quarterback once Luke Doty went down with injury (thank you Zeb Noland and Jason Brown for your heroic service). In 2022, Carolina’s offensive play calling was so atrocious for most of the year that Marcus Satterfield was likely out regardless of if he landed that job at Nebraska. In 2023, Carolina’s offensive line was decimated by injuries. 

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In 2024, there can be no excuses. The Gamecocks have their best offensive line in years, a young but talented receiving corps, a strong trio of tight ends, and a running back who is one of the best in the SEC. Yes, the quarterback is young. Yes, there will be growing pains. I acknowledged (and warned) of those very things before the Old Dominion game. But at the same time, in year four of this Shane Beamer tenure, there can be no more excuses for bad offense, especially when across the ball the Gamecocks finally have a defense that can keep them in games. 

Carolina has good position coaches. Mike Furrey has worked wonders in the wide receiver room getting the most out of the 2024 receivers while also recruiting difference-makers in the 2025 class. Shawn Elliott has fostered a meaner offensive line spirit that has helped in run production. Travian Robertson, Torrian Gray, and Sterling Lucas have all coached up some fantastic defenders that are faster, stronger, and more confident than in years past. Put on top of that Coach Beamer mentioned in his postgame conference that he was shocked at how the Gamecocks played on Saturday, and it makes you wonder how could this performance occur to this 2024 team? 

Ole Miss being a talented defense, while true, cannot be a crutch to explain away how our offense failed to execute. Because Alabama might not be a typical Alabama defense this season, but it’s going to be a ticked off Alabama defense this Saturday. A defense that Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said would make Alabama fans proud on Saturday against the Gamecocks. 

 I don’t know if it’s play calling, game planning, or a mixture of both, but Carolina must fix whatever went wrong against Ole Miss this Saturday in Bryant Denny Stadium. That might not be fair. That might not be realistic. But there are no excuses in 2024 for losing by 24 at home. Sure, bad games do happen. Georgia lost by 30 to Auburn in 2017 and then went on to win the SEC. Alabama got whipped last season by Texas but ended up being a bad snap away from winning the Rose Bowl. In a vacuum, the loss to Ole Miss is not room for concern. 

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And I am not giving up on Coach Beamer a single bit. He came into a job in December of 2020 that virtually no coach in America wanted and went to work. He has recruited impressive players both from South Carolina and from out of state, he has attacked the transfer portal and signed big names like Rattler and Rocket, and he has got Carolina football to the point of knocking on the door. Williams-Brice hasn’t had a stadium atmosphere like the LSU game in years, and the Ole Miss game (at least in the first quarter) was right there with it. 

But can we not just knock on the door but find a way to kick it in?

That’s the question that the Ole Miss game presented. I think a lot of fans thought the days of those ugly, blowout losses had passed us. And maybe they have. Maybe last Saturday was a blip on the radar and the Gamecocks are going to make the Alabama game a four-quarter game. In the run of 11-win seasons under Spurrier, Carolina still suffered an ugly loss to Florida. Like previously stated, a bad game and an ugly loss can still happen to teams that have turned the corner. 

Coach Beamer needs to find a way to take that next step as a coach. Ugly losses can happen, but they cannot compile on top of each other like we saw in previous years. Whether it requires changes on staff or just more time building the program, I am confident Coach Beamer can still get this program to where we all want it to be. I’ll be there in Tuscaloosa supporting our team take the next step in this journey. And if we win, they might need a few Alabama state troopers to pull me out of there.

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