South Carolina instilling belief to face stout Georgia defense

If there’s anything South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer does not want to hear, it’s “shocking the world” or playing up for a better opponent.

Beamer hasn’t had to preach to the choir to get his team ready to play. Instead, his players are already a step ahead of him.

“There’s great belief in our program,” Beamer said. “I don’t have to rally in them to make them believe. They believe.”

South Carolina will need that belief when they face top-ranked Georgia Saturday afternoon. Despite losing nine starters and their defensive coordinator, the Bulldog defense hasn’t skipped a beat this season.

“We need to make it really difficult and uncomfortable for them when they’re out there. Unless somebody on Georgia’s team was here in 2018, they haven’t faced a packed Williams-Brice (Stadium) cause they were over here last in 2020 during the COVID year,” Beamer said.

“So we need to make sure that’s an asset for us. Arkansas was a great environment last Saturday at 11 a.m. central, so sure as hell we can make a noon start really intense and awesome out there.”

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Under Kirby Smart, Glenn Schumann, and former Gamecock head coach Will Muschamp, the Bulldogs rank No. 1 in scoring defense. They haven’t allowed a touchdown through two weeks and outscored their opponents 82-3. They’ve been good on third down as well, with opponents converting 28.7 percent of the time.

Against No. 25 Oregon, the Bulldogs read the field well early and picked off quarterback Bo Nix twice before halftime. And though the Ducks scored three points in 60 minutes, they ran the ball 31 times and averaged 4.5 yards per carry.

Similarly, versus FCS opponent Samford, the defense held them to under 20 minutes of possession and surrendered 19 yards on the ground.

This doesn’t spell well for a South Carolina offense that still trying to figure it out. Specifically, in the run game, the Gamecocks haven’t seen much production from what looked to be a highly-talented group.

According to Team Rankings, 41.8 percent of the Gamecocks’ play calls have been designed runs, with two yards per rush and 59 yards per game.

Beamer said he felt better about last week’s performance against Arkansas, but understands that each team they face will present different challenges.

“We need to be able to line up and run our best runs,” Beamer said, “no matter what defense they’re lined up in, and we’re continuing to work to do that.”

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The Gamecocks also haven’t done much on third down this season, converting at a 25 percent clip. Against the Razorbacks, they went 3-for-10 on third down, averaging over 10 yards to gain on third.

“We understand we have to run the football, obviously, a lot more consistently to stay on the field longer and help our defense out,” Marcus Satterfield said. “We’re going to do whatever we have to do to move the ball.” 

South Carolina has had its moments throwing the football this year. As quarterback Spencer Rattler and the weapons around him continue to play together, the offense will find its footing.

Despite making some overthrows last week, Rattler eventually got it going in the second half. He completed four passes over 30 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown to Juice Wells.

Ideally, Satterfield would like to have every aspect of his offense clicking this weekend. He said there are playmakers all over the field, it’s just a matter of developing that talent and seeing what happens.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to move the ball and score touchdowns,” Satterfield said. “What would I like my identity to be? I’d love to be in 12 or 13 personnel, huddle up, run about 58 plays per game, rush for 275 (yards) and throw for about 220. Then win on third down and win in the red zone and go home and win games.”

Georgia could present numerous challenges for the Gamecock offense, however, the team is confident it can get the job done.

“They have confidence and they should,” Beamer said. “We’re a really good SEC football team. And we have really good SEC football players. A lot of players on this team Georgia wanted on their team. There are players on Georgia’s team we wanted on this team as well. We have belief every single week.”

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