Scott Davis: The sweet relief of winning

Scott Davis has followed South Carolina athletics for over 40 years and provides commentary from a fan perspective. He writes a weekly newsletter year-round (sign up here) and a column during football season that’s published each Monday on GamecockCentral.com.

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For two months, we’ve lived without this feeling.

It felt like two decades.

Week after week, we’d hover in front of a television set or pile in the car to drive to Williams-Brice Stadium, spending most of our Saturday afternoons in search of this simple, elusive feeling. What we wanted more than blowouts or bragging rights was simply this – the sweet, peaceful relief of winning.

Most South Carolina fans who have supported the program through thick and thin across the years know that’s truly what victories feel like for us on fall Saturdays.

Relief.

Some fans feel joy. Some fans feel the smug satisfaction of their expectations being met. But us? Those of us who’ve watched the Gamecocks get close so many times only to fall short, who’ve seen this team build leads that slowly evaporated by the end of the fourth quarter, who’ve waited and waited for a breakthrough that truly changed the trajectory of the program? For us, winning often feels like sweet relief.

Winning – even just a taste of it – means that all of our passion hasn’t been spent in vain. It means that all of the energy and time we’ve spent on this thing might have a meaning. Every win we see gives us just a sliver of hope that it can happen again, so we show up the next Saturday in search of this feeling one more time.

South Carolina scored a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in Saturday afternoon’s game against Coastal Carolina, and then on the next two offensive possessions, and soon enough, you could feel relief sweeping over the old ballpark on George Rogers Boulevard and all across Gamecock Nation.

This was going to be one of those winning Saturdays, the first one since September for a hard-working, likable group that simply hadn’t been able to finish for most of the last two months.  

When it was all over, it was a 51-7 rout that somehow didn’t even feel that close, the kind of emphatic curb-stomping we just haven’t watched South Carolina deliver against many opponents over the years, no matter who played or coached for the Gamecocks.

No, it wasn’t enough to make us forget about what happened last weekend in College Station, or a few weeks ago against Alabama. It wasn’t enough to remove from our minds the memories of all those false starts and sacks and stuffed runs up the middle.

But it was enough to remind us how good this feeling can be. And now we’ll want more of it.

As I reflected on how good I was feeling after the game – a middle-aged, suburban, tired old dork who hasn’t run a wind-sprint in 30 years – it suddenly dawned on me. How good must this feel for all these players who have kept showing up in the weight room on dark mornings this fall? Who kept walking out to that practice field one more time after another devastating defeat on Saturday? Who kept working and grinding in the face of a disappointed fan base and a disillusioned media?

How good must this have felt to these coaches and their families, a group of people who’ve likely felt under siege in recent weeks? If somebody like me could feel this much sweet relief, what could this have possibly felt like for them?

What has been so disheartening to so many of us this season was the belief that had just a few small things gone differently, this season could have easily moved from being a sub-.500, no-bowl campaign to something much more memorable. Maybe our preseason College Football Playoff dreams had been misplaced, but seven or eight wins and a respectable bowl game were surely within reach.

Watching the Gamecocks put it all together on Saturday – even against an overwhelmed Coastal – reminded us of what might have been in an otherwise lost year.

Things could’ve been different. We know they could have.

For one night at least, they were.

And that feeling – that sweet, peaceful relief – reminded us of why we’ll show up again one more time this coming Saturday when the old, ancient archrival comes to town. 

The “Half a Hundred” Game Balls of the Week

THE INSIDERS FORUM: See what other Gamecock fans are saying about the game

When I was growing up as a wide-eyed college football fan back in the 1980s, former Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer used to speak often of his desire to “hang half a hundred on somebody.” Rarely have the South Carolina Gamecocks done so during my four-plus decades as a fan of them, so it’s worth commemorating it when they do. A Ball or two to the following…

Sellers & Sellers – It’s not a law firm, it’s a touchdown-generator. Few highlights from this maligned 2025 season have been as enjoyable as that of LaNorris Sellers tossing a screen to his brother Jayden, who then scampered the distance of the football field for a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Jayden has begun to make more of an impact as the weeks have worn on this season, and should both brothers return to South Carolina next year, it could be fun to watch them work a little family magic on the field.

Offensive Balance – The Gamecocks ran the ball well, threw the ball well, caught the ball well, and did just about everything well on the offensive side of the football Saturday, piling up more yards of total offense in the first half than they’d done in an entire game this season. Yes, it was Coastal. But did you see the South Carolina offense against S.C. State earlier this season?

Spreading the Love Around – Whether it was touchdown receptions for freshmen receivers like Jayden Sellers and Donovan Murph or a whole raft of seniors getting an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on Senior Day, Saturday’s win was the type of complete team effort that leaves everyone feeling the love.

The Fans – I’ll admit to being unsure about what type of atmosphere might be awaiting this team inside Williams-Brice Stadium after that once-in-a-lifetime meltdown against Texas A&M, particularly for a relatively meaningless game against Coastal that could do nothing to deliver bowl eligibility or a winning season. And yet, there it was: The sight of towels waving, bodies bouncing, and an energized stadium of people who just keep showing up no matter what. Speaking of which…

Shane Beamer’s Passionate Postgame Words About the South Carolina Culture – As this increasingly frustrating season has worn on, I’ve noticed an uptick in my mail from angry readers who have wondered why Beamer continues to receive votes of confidence from supportive fans like me. I’ll go ahead and say it: Yes, Shane Beamer has received a longer leash from the fans than some coaches in the past have. You want to know why that’s the case?

Because he repeatedly says things like he did after Saturday’s game in the postgame press conference, when he spent a lengthy portion of his time in front of the media praising the people who love this university. The coach spoke warmly of the fans who stand outside cheering on the team buses as they ride by on Friday nights before games. He spoke of the ecstatic reception his team received during the Gamecock Walk before the game, and shouted out the students who came to the game even with Thanksgiving break looming.

“To walk out into Williams-Brice Stadium for another awesome environment, and how loud it was, and the energy that our fans had in that stadium — it’s another example of why this place is so special,” he said. “It’s another example of why we have the greatest fan base in America. So, thanks to them. When we talk about perception and reality, that’s what’s real: the greatest fan base in America, and a really strong culture within our locker room right now. You saw that.”

These are things that those of us who love the Gamecocks have always known about our fan base. We’ve always known this. But I’ve waited my entire life for a single head football coach to acknowledge the unwavering support that we give in the face of so much disappointment.

Shane Beamer is the first one to do so.

He’ll have to win and win consistently to stay here for a long time – we all know the realities of this business. So does he.

But these things should be at least a part of the calculus when we consider who we want to lead this program: Does this person care about us? Does this person believe in this place? I know that Shane Beamer does. That matters to me.

The “Shutout Would’ve Been Fun” Deflated Balls of the Week

THE INSIDERS FORUM: See what other Gamecock fans are saying about the game

When you win by 44 points after nearly two months of losing, there aren’t many things to complain about. Still, we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the following…

A Shutout Would’ve Been Fun – Wouldn’t it? It’s been more than four years since the Gamecocks have held someone scoreless, and after everything that has happened to this team in 2025, it would have been nice to get the goose egg. Plus, knowing how much emphasis Coach Beamer places on special teams made it doubly grueling to have the zero removed from the scoreboard by a blocked punt.

False Starts, Holding Penalties and All the Things That Have Driven Us Crazy All Season – Drove us crazy for one more night. I don’t ever want to see the color yellow again.

The Next-to-Last Week of the College Football Season – Competitive games were all but absent from the schedule on Saturday as teams loaded up on lightweights before rivalry games this coming weekend. The day’s marquee matchup was – I guess – Oregon vs. Southern Cal. South Carolina’s rout of Coastal Carolina wasn’t even the SEC’s biggest mismatch, as Alabama drilled Eastern Illinois 56-0 and even woeful Auburn dropped 62 points on Mercer. Speaking of mismatches…

This Week’s Opponent – After pounding Furman 45-10, Clemson has quietly won three games in a row as the Tigers try to resuscitate their own disappointing season. Let’s hope the winning streak stops at three.

And let’s hope that the Gamecocks can piece together their own modest winning streak by playing their best football this coming Saturday.

In a season we’d like to forget, there’s still a chance to make one lasting, beautiful memory.

After we were reminded what this winning feeling imparts to us, we want to feel it again.

And it never feels better than when it happens against the team we play next.

Tell me how you enjoyed the victory by writing me at [email protected].

THE INSIDERS FORUM: See what other Gamecock fans are saying about the game