At this time 2 years ago, all eyes were on Spencer Rattler.

He was the next man up at Oklahoma, where Heisman Trophy-contending quarterbacks cycled in and out like air conditioning filters. It was Rattler who was expected to take the torch and light up college football en route to becoming the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.

Two years later, you know how that played out.

A midseason benching, a well-documented transfer portal entry, an up-and-down season at South Carolina with a pair of top-10 upsets, a surprising decision to return for Year 5, etc. It brought Rattler to this point. That is, with one last chance to have that dream season that was expected from the former 5-star recruit.

(OK, so technically Rattler could return for a 6th season in 2024. Consider that another reminder that the COVID year made everyone eligible for the rest of time.)

How fitting that 2 years after Rattler had all the preseason buzz, he’ll get quite the platform to kick off 2023. College GameDay announced that it’ll head to Charlotte for Week 1. It’ll be a showdown of Rattler and UNC quarterback Drake Maye, who is all over the way-too-early mock drafts … just like Rattler once was.

At SEC Media Days, Rattler was asked about the opener in Charlotte.

“Yeah, I’m excited for the game,” Rattler said. “I haven’t met Drake yet. He kind of blew up on the scene last year, had a great season. Credit to him. I’m excited to get to compete versus them. It will be a fun game. Hopefully we’ll put on a show.”

Little did Rattler know at the time that College GameDay would be on hand. It’s been 9 years since the ESPN pregame show picked a game involving the Gamecocks. During that 9-year stretch, even Coastal Carolina hosted GameDay. It’s the first time in the post-Steve Spurrier era that South Carolina will kick off a season with this kind of showcase. It’ll come on the heels of the program’s first Clemson victory and first final AP Top 25 ranking of the post-Spurrier era.

Does that happen if Shane Beamer doesn’t reunite with Rattler? No chance.

The question now is whether Rattler is ready to pick up where he left off after his brilliance in the final 3 games, or if he’s going to revert to the guy who struggled against SEC competition in the first 2.5 months of 2022. “Putting on a show” with Maye would be an ideal way for Rattler to continue to move past the criticism.

He already took a step in quieting the narratives surrounding him by being voted a captain by his teammates this offseason. Those outside the program might not realize this, but Rattler doesn’t have a locker room to win over. Even though the jury is out in the court of public opinion, there’s optimism that new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains could be a better fit to tap into Rattler’s skill set than Marcus Satterfield was. A big advocator for Loggains was Connor Shaw, who unofficially holds the title of “best quarterback in program history.”

Rattler might not be in consideration for that by the time he moves on, but he does have the ability to do something that Shaw couldn’t. That is, become the first South Carolina quarterback to be selected in the 7-round NFL Draft. That could’ve happened this past year if Rattler had left early, but he and Juice Wells ran it back in hopes of continuing to build on the late-season success of 2022.

A finished product, Rattler is not. Even if he outshines Maye in Week 1, that’ll still be the case. The last time Maye was in live action, Bo Nix outshined him in a comeback victory in the Holiday Bowl. Nix, a fellow 5-star quarterback from the 2019 class who was also a bit touch and go to start his college career, is still trying to move past the notion that he didn’t maximize his potential. Mind you, Nix had a banner year at Oregon in 2022.

In other words, it’s hard to imagine any world in which Rattler will go to the next level with a perfect approval rating. Who knows? Maybe Maye won’t, either. Like Rattler, Maye also has a new offensive coordinator after Phil Longo left for Wisconsin.

More beneficial for Rattler’s individual future would be if Maye looked the part and he went blow for blow with the UNC signal-caller. “Putting on a show” suggests a shootout, which will be the expectation in a game with 2 household name quarterbacks facing 2 defenses that were near the bottom in points allowed in 2022. The over/under is 61.5 points for a game with a 1.5-point spread.

For those who pointed to GameDay’s decision to head to Charlotte as a sign that the Week 1 slate is weak, well, I’d argue that the Carolina showdown checks a ton of boxes needed for a national audience. For Rattler, the stakes have never been higher.

Showtime awaits.