Was Saturday the beginning of a new era of South Carolina football?
That sure looked to be the case as true freshman quarterback Jake Bentley sparked the Gamecocks’ offense to its highest single-game point total of the season in a 34-28 win against Massachusetts. He went 17-of-26 for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first career start.
Bentley was the biggest storyline as South Carolina improved to 3-4, but here’s what else coach Will Muschamp had to say about the win:
Will Muschamp: "Good win. We needed that."
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) October 22, 2016
Muschamp jokes that he's not sure some of his players have ever had a 20-point lead, so that's why they didn't handle it well.
— Will Helms (@whelms21) October 22, 2016
Muschamp not happy with defense's play. Says they didn't handle their 1st 20-point lead of the season well #Gamecocks
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) October 22, 2016
Muschamp says McIlwain will continue to challenge Bentley. Nothing is set in stone.
— Bobby Balboni (@BobbyBalboni) October 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/dcaraviello/status/789916833906253824
Muschamp says he uses Sunday to scrimmage his players that don't play a lot on Saturdays. Explains how they were able to evaluate Bentley
— GamecockCentral Game Day (@GCgameday) October 22, 2016
Muschamp on defense: "We didn’t have a lot of mental intensity. We got up 27-7 and relaxed."
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) October 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/dcaraviello/status/789917479053119488
Muschamp says he discussed the redshirt with Jake and Bobby. He says both were for yanking it.
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) October 22, 2016
Muschamp said A.J. Turner had been "banged up" before today's game. Also said he felt like David Williams and Rico Dowdle deserved time.
— GamecockCentral.com (@GamecockCentral) October 22, 2016
Will Muschamp asked if Bentley has Connor Shaw-type potential: “Let’s just take one day at a time. We beat UMass. It gets tougher next week”
— Mike Wilson (@ByMikeWilson) October 22, 2016
Muschamp: "Bobby Bentley is not involved in who is the Quarterback at South Carolina." #Gamecocks
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) October 22, 2016
Muschamp on McIlwain's mom's FB post: "Brandon and I are on the same page. Every parent has my number." #gamecocks
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) October 22, 2016
Muschamp on DJ Smith: "He's fine." Said it looked like he hyperextended his knee. But he returned.
— WIS News 10 (@wis10) October 22, 2016
Marcus covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
