South Carolina players moving forward after lackluster SEC opener

South Carolina opened SEC play on Saturday with its worst loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores in program history. In an early-season defeat that featured multiple injuries, including one to star quarterback LaNorris Sellers, the Gamecocks have nothing to do but move forward.

“We’re sitting here at 2-1 with a ton of football in front of us,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “And we’ve got a big trip coming up to Missouri in seven days.”

South Carolina continues its eight-game stretch of conference play with its first road trip of the season in Columbia, Missouri, against No. 23 Missouri.

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Backup quarterback Luke Doty stepped in for the Gamecocks when Sellers exited with an undisclosed injury. If the 24-year-old has to go again next Saturday, he’s ready to go, he said.

Doty said the first step in moving on from a loss like Saturday’s is breaking down film.

“Build on the good, correct the bad and really just show up to work tomorrow,” Doty said. “That’s the only way we’re gonna continue to get better, move forward.”

Despite a 31-7 loss, the Gamecocks have positives to work off of, Beamer said.

“I told the team I was still encouraged,” Beamer stated. “When you look at it, it’s 31-7. You say to yourself, there’s not a lot of good. But, I saw a lot of really good tonight, too, at times, just not enough of it, and that there’s a lot of football in front of us.”

Running back Rahsul Faison agrees with his coach and teammate that the Gamecocks just need to move forward.

“Just think together as a team, not listen to the outside noise, because it’s coming,” Faison said. “Just stay locked in together and put our head(s) down and get to work tomorrow.”

South Carolina narrowly outgained the Commodores in Saturday’s loss, 328 to 323. However, the Gamecocks picked up eight penalties and allowed Vanderbilt to control the time of possession.

In the win, Vanderbilt converted six times on third down, once on fourth. The Commodores also forced four turnovers, including two inside the red zone.

“You’re not going to win football games when you turn the ball over four times. Defensively, (we) did not tackle well, and that was disappointing,” Beamer said during his Sunday teleconference. “We’ve been a good tackling team and have been for a while, and missed too many last night … Got beat four to one in the turnover battle, and it’s hard to make a living that way.”

The team needs to be ready to go against Missouri, no matter who they have at quarterback, defensive back Jalon Kilgore said.

“You have adversity, and you get to control how you respond,” Beamer said. “And we need to respond the right way on Saturday night.”

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