What South Carolina's win against Clemson really means
As South Carolina’s win over Clemson remains fresh, what does it really mean for the Gamecocks?
For starters, it means that USC has won nine games in the regular season for the first time since 2013.
It means that the Gamecocks have beat Clemson two straight times on the Tigers home field and have won two out of the last three meetings. A feat that was last achieved in 2010 and 2012 when South Carolina took two straight in the Upstate.
It also means that Clemson is 51-4 in their last 55 games at home. The Gamecocks are now responsible for 50 percent of the Tigers loses at home in that span.
What else does this win mean? It means that Shane Beamer, a man who some wanted to put on a hot seat after a shaky Week 1 win against Old Dominion, has now surpassed Steve Spurrier for the most wins by any Gamecock head coach in their first four seasons.
It also keeps USC’s playoff hopes, while slim, still alive. But forget about the College Football Playoffs for a moment. Let’s be real. If I told you last winter when South Carolina’s schedule came out that this team would finish (9-3) in the regular season and would beat Clemson in Death Valley, would you be happy with that? I have a feeling more than 95 percent of you would. That’s another reason why I truly believe that Beamer deserves to be up for several national coach of the year honors.
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South Carolina was picked to finish 13th in the SEC. As of this story, if Texas holds on to beat Texas A&M, the Gamecocks will finish tied for fourth in the conference. Five SEC wins. That’s USC’s most in the SEC since 2017 and just the second five-win SEC year in the past 11 years. The Gamecocks were projected to win 5.5 games this season. They’ve won nine, with at least one more game left to be played. That’s USC’s most regular season wins since 2013. They’re also riding the longest active win streak in the SEC (six). Of those six wins, four have been against ranked teams.
Will it be disappointing if South Carolina misses the College Football Playoff after seeing this team continue to improve throughout the course of the year? Yes, no question it would. But, it’s not worth losing sleep over, my friends. Whether we like it or not, the Gamecocks did exactly what they needed to do on Saturday and they’ve done what they’ve needed to do for the past six weeks. Now the rest is out of their hands.
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I know this might sound weird but whether South Carolina is in the playoff or not, to me, that hasn’t even been the best part about the magical run. The best part about all of this? South Carolina has been receiving more praise from national pundits in recent weeks than I can ever remember. Now, some of that has to do with the new college football playoff format but still, national talking heads are saying they want to see more of the Gamecocks.
As good as those teams were during the Spurrier days, with how the playoff structure was setup then, you weren’t getting this many people pumping their chests for South Carolina. What a world and what a moment because we all know a few weeks ago, that’s not a tune many were singing. Enjoy this moment because the world is starting to pay attention that something special in Columbia is brewing.
