Scott Davis: Trying to decode a Dawg Day Afternoon
Scott has followed South Carolina athletics for over 40 years and provides commentary from a fan perspective. He writes a weekly newsletter (sign up here) year-round and a column during football season that’s published each Monday on GamecockCentral.
By Sunday morning, I was already exchanging text messages with Gamecock friends, trying to figure out what to make of South Carolina’s hard-fought loss to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in Athens just 12 hours or so earlier.
None of us knew exactly how we felt.
Should we be encouraged that the Gamecocks made a go of it Between the Hedges, leading the Bulldogs at halftime before being ground down in the second half? Was our hope for this season renewed and regenerated, or still in a holding pattern?
Should we be depressed about the 1-2 record and the relentless schedule that still awaits, or pleased that our football team looks like it can hang with anyone remaining on the docket? Should we be frustrated about the offensive line’s penalties and endless growing pains in the second half, or should we feel positive vibes about the spirited defensive effort in the first half?
Should we be outright despondent, or whimpering in a corner somewhere when contemplating the South Carolina running game?
What were we thinking? We didn’t know.
What we did know was that the South Carolina Gamecocks showed up and battled in Athens Saturday against a team that has won back-to-back national championships and is gunning for a third. There were substantial stretches during this football game in which I came very close to allowing myself to approach the neighborhood of believing that the ‘Cocks might just deliver the upset of all upsets…and as a supporter of Gamecock football for more than four decades, I don’t always allow myself to go there. I can’t. Yet I did.
When the game ticked to a close and Gamecocks and Bulldogs stood at midfield exchanging high-fives and man-hugs, I sat huddled in a chair in my den, my arms wrapped around my knees, wordless and lost in thought. I wasn’t angry or depressed or deflated. Nor was I ecstatic, or even satisfied.
If I had to try to articulate what I was feeling in that moment, I’d go with: Deeply confused, with a dash of hope and a sprinkle of concern. Make sense? Of course it doesn’t.
On offense, the Gamecock passing attack showed the first signs in the 2023 season of the unit that slung the ball at will at the defenses of Tennessee and Clemson to close last year. And there were moments – particularly in the first half – when the South Carolina defense looked every bit the equal of the Georgia offense it was facing.
But this game left us with all kinds of questions to ponder, too.
With Juice Wells’ immediate future in question after lingering injuries, does the South Carolina O have any playmakers for Spencer Rattler to work with beyond Xavier Leggette? Is this Gamecock offensive line planning on setting team records for penalties (this week, it was false starts; last week, it was holding)? Will we need to get used to watching physical teams impose their will by running the ball at and around South Carolina?
Will Gamecock fans set historical college football records for the number of times we look at each other and say some form of the sentence, “If you can’t run the football and you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to win too many football games”? Everything seems on the table right now.
Even areas that we thought South Carolina had nailed down seem subject to the question conundrum right now. Under head coach Shane Beamer and special teams coordinator Pete Lembo, South Carolina’s special teams play had been an unmitigated bright spot over the last few seasons. Thus far in 2023, though, even that unit has battled inconsistency – the Gamecocks suddenly aren’t punting well, and the return game hasn’t yet gotten off the ground. Yet the effort hasn’t been disastrous, either, so…
So, we’re left wondering what to make of it all. Which is precisely the way many of us feel about the team overall at this moment.
Three games are in the books, and a quarter of the season has already evaporated, and we’re not sure how we’re feeling. How soon will that change? Hopefully, as soon as this coming Saturday.
With the Gamecocks returning to Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend to face Mississippi State, I’m ready to step away from confusion.
I’m ready to feel good and know I’m feeling good. You are, too.
The “Staying in the Fight” Game Balls of the Week
After watching his team connect a few punches against the defending champs on the road Saturday, Shane Beamer noted that “one of our sayings around our program is stay in the fight and we stayed in the fight today.”
We did.
That’s why we’ll toss our opening Game Ball to…
Staying in the Fight – In continuing with today’s theme of utter and profound confusion, I drifted into Saturday’s game not knowing at all what to expect from South Carolina. As I wrote in my weekly newsletter a few days ago, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Gamecocks give one of their better efforts of each season against the Georgia Bulldogs, and there’s always the possibility of magic floating in when these two teams get together. And yet I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit I thought there was an opportunity for the Gamecocks to get spanked directly out of Sanford Stadium by the champions. Neither magic nor a spanking occurred. Instead, South Carolina delivered a gritty, rugged performance that kept them alive for the entire four quarters and kept the fan base’s hopes afloat that the 2023 season might still be resuscitated.
Spencer Rattler – Despite some late interceptions, Rattler gave his team a chance to defeat college football’s preeminent program on the road. His respectable stat line (22-for-42, 256 yards, a touchdown and two picks) doesn’t quite paint the full picture of his exceptional effort Saturday. With the offensive line continuing to find difficulty in keeping him clean, Rattler moved around and even ran for a few first downs, and even with his top receiving weapon missing from injuries, he continues to show confidence in the players he is surrounded by. No matter how the rest of this season ends up going, I’m going to remember the Rattler Era with fondness. He’s a tough kid, he works hard, he wants to win, he’s done everything the right way since he’s been at South Carolina, and he absolutely refuses to throw his teammates under the bus. There’s not much more you can ask from your quarterback.
The X Factor – Where would South Carolina be with Xavier Leggette in 2023? With Juice Wells’ season hampered by injuries, Leggette has been the Gamecocks’ primary playmaker on offense, and he keeps answering the bell every single week. He answered it again against the nation’s No. 1 team on Saturday, with 10 more catches for 71 yards.
Sir Big Spur’s Brief Televised Scuffle With UGA – The newest iteration of Georgia’s famed live bulldog mascot UGA was making his SEC debut on Saturday, and South Carolina’s live mascot – Sir Big Spur – greeted the pup by pecking at his snout while CBS’ cameras rolled before the game. No fear!
Deflated Balls – South Carolina-Georgia
You’d love to think you could skip handing out the weekly Deflated Balls when you watch your football team flirt with an upset of the back-to-back defending national champions on the road, but reality compels us to admit there were plenty of deflatable moments Saturday. Including…
“If you can’t stop the run or run the football…” – After mustering just a single field goal in the first half, the Georgia offense spent nearly the entire second half on the field, churning out yards, picking up first down after first down, and bleeding the clock. Georgia running back Daijun Edwards rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and whenever it seemed like the Dogs absolutely, positively needed three yards, they got four. Meanwhile…
South Carolina’s Running Game Disappearing Into the Void – Even with Wells hurting and his offensive line struggling, Rattler has proven again and again this year that he can make things happen through the air if he’s given even a nanosecond of time to look downfield. But without even a semblance of a running game to soften up opposing defenses, it’s going to be difficult for South Carolina to stave off opposing SEC defenses from bringing the house on every down going forward. As the CBS announcing crew noted (again and again and again) during the game, the Gamecocks’ primary “running” play at the moment is a very short pass to someone standing three feet away from Rattler.
False Start! – The South Carolina offensive line is young and inexperienced and already facing some challenges in 2023. The absolute last thing the unit needs is to make life more difficult with penalties, but last week the O-line was buried in yellow flags due to holding. This week, false starts were the culprit. It’s hard to beat Georgia in Athens, period. But it’s impossible when you’re walking five yards backwards before starting every play.
The SEC’s Strange Indifference to a Longstanding Rivalry – Saturday’s game was the last one scheduled between South Carolina and Georgia for the foreseeable future. The two universities represent states that share a 300-mile-long border and have played each other more than 75 times stretching back to 1894. Since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, the Gamecocks’ annual contest against Georgia has typically been one of the league’s liveliest and most interesting. But it’s already been announced that the two teams won’t play each other in 2024, and all indications are that they won’t continue to do battle on an annual basis going forward. Instead, the SEC seems intent on loading the South Carolina schedule with teams like Texas A&M and Missouri. Maybe our fans will start caring about those games in 125 years – that’s how long we’ve had to build up our hatred for Georgia.
As for me, I don’t mind saying it: I’m going to miss playing the Georgia Bulldogs every year.
I enjoy disliking them. I look forward to this game each season. I feel a few more butterflies before Georgia games kick off, and have felt a few extra jolts of electricity in those years when the Gamecocks have beaten them. I don’t know why the Gamecocks won’t be playing the Bulldogs in the future, but I don’t make the rules.
And I don’t know exactly how I feel about the 2023 season yet, either.
But a dominating effort by South Carolina at home this weekend could change everything. Let’s make it so, shall we?
Tell me if you’re confused, content or somewhere in between by writing me at [email protected].
