South Carolina happy to become bowl eligible but still chasing after so much more

The goal was always to get back to this point. But it was never going to be the end goal, even if they got to that sixth win.

After coming up one win short of bowl eligibility last season, South Carolina had plans to make sure what happened a year ago didn’t happen again. Expectations were high for the Gamecocks after going 8-5 in 2022, but they fell short of their goals and went 5-7 in 2023.

But as the seconds ticked down and the rain started to come down, the goal had finally been met. Just nine games into this season, South Carolina is officially bowl bound.

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The Gamecocks did it in emphatic fashion, picking up a 28-7 win on the road at Vanderbilt, which ironically enough was where they last clinched bowl eligibility in 2022.

“We got bowl eligible and then went down and embarrassed ourselves in Gainesville seven days later. So hopefully that’s not the same thing,” head coach Shane Beamer said, reflecting on earning a bowl bid in Nashville for the second time in three years.

“But it was really cool. So many similarities. Rainy night. Rainy forecast two years ago and then it never did much during the game. Back-and-forth game a couple of years ago, and that was a special night to get bowl eligible, as well. It was really special to come in here and get bowl eligible two years ago.”

For Beamer, this one was more special than the last trip his team made to Nashville. Granted, South Carolina was in very similar spots both times being 6-3 through nine games. But because of last year’s hardships, being able to turn things around in a short amount of time meant a lot to him.

“Very few people thought we would, I saw a lot of those preseason projections and it certainly didn’t have us winning six games this season, having six wins with three games to go,” said Beamer, who has now taken South Carolina to a bowl game in three of his first four seasons as head coach. “So proud of our guys. But so happy for them. Vershon (Lee), Tonka (Hemingway), Boogie (Huntley), Luke (Doty), I mean, on and on and on. For those guys to be bowl eligible and another win over a nationally ranked team, really proud of them.”

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South Carolina was faced with plenty of questions heading into this season. And rightfully so in some cases. How would a team that took steps back last year be able to get back on track? But with several key players returning, along with a slew of great additions in recruiting, things have come together quite well.

“I’ll definitely say, with me being here last year and going 5-7 — not bowl eligible — that’s not the standard,” Debo Williams said. “So, for us to be able to do this is definitely a goal. But it’s not the true goal. We want more.”

While this will go down as a great win for the program, it’s not the ultimate goal. Again, it’s just a goal and not THE goal. Instead of just making it to six wins, South Carolina has its sights set on more than just this sixth win.

“In my mind, I’m like, ‘Who’s next?’ because we’re rolling right now,” Demetrius Knight Jr. said. “This is a great one to hang your hat on. Great team win. We got the job done, but the job isn’t finished yet.”

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With three games still to play, the Gamecocks have a real chance to do what they are intending to do. Over the next three weeks, they’ll play two more home games against Missouri and Wofford and then head to Clemson to close out the regular season.

There’s still a long way to go to find out where the team will be heading for its eventual bowl game next month. But for right now, the focus is on celebrating what happened on Saturday in Nashville. Then it’s onto the next one.

“Three more. Three more,” Josh Simon said.

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