South Carolina football: Bounceback win sets up sense of urgency to reach bowl
It wasn’t pretty, but South Carolina ultimately pulled out a victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday. Fourth-quarter scores made it a comfortable 24-7 victory, but it was still a one-score game into the fourth.
For a moment, the Gamecocks avoided some of the problems that have plagued them for much of the season. They held a second-half lead, moved the ball in the passing game, held the Commodores to just 76 yards passing and won the turnover margin. But certainly, several issues continued, including 11 penalties.
Now South Carolina gets an Appalachian State team coming off a rivalry loss at home that derailed any postseason hopes. The Gamecocks sit at 4-5, with the Mountaineers, at Texas A&M and Clemson in Williams-Brice Stadium remaining. They need to win two of those games to qualify for a bowl.
Deshaun Fenwick and Kevin Harris made splashes against Vanderbilt. Fenwick was down the depth chart at running back to start the season and considered transferring. But coach Will Muschamp talked him out of it and used it as a life lesson: Things don’t always go your way, and it’s important to learn from that when facing similar adversity as a husband or father. On Saturday, Fenwick delivered 18 carries for 102 yards in place of Rico Dowdle (ankle), who didn’t play, and Tavien Feaster (groin), who was limited.
“I said, ‘Good things are going to happen. You’re a talented guy. Life’s not fair all the time. Things don’t always go your way.’ … You’ve got to sometimes stick it out,” Muschamp said. “You can’t just take your ball and go home. That’s the way our world is now. You don’t get your way, I’m going to take my ball and go home, go somewhere else. And he stuck it out.
“I brought him up in front of the whole team and told the whole team that. Great example of a guy who stuck it out, sticks around, continues to work and when his number is called, he plays well. He did a nice job. Hopefully, he’ll get some more opportunities as we continue to move forward. Great example of a guy who actually handled adversity and fought it a little bit. It’s really neat.”
Harris came back from what Muschamp, on Sept. 22, called a season-ending pelvic injury to contribute 10 carries for 20 yards and a TD.
But the one reliable player for the Gamecocks appears to be receiver Bryan Edwards, who is likely to leave South Carolina as the most decorated wide receiver in school history.
Edwards is one of just a few seniors on offense, and therefore has been tabbed with the label “old man.” Muschamp praises Edwards for everything he does around the program, from practice preparation to eating and sleeping right.
“Everybody calls me ‘old man.’ I haven’t turned 21 yet,” Edwards said.
Edwards has already set multiple receiving records this season, and more are likely to come. For perspective, this is a program that has produced the likes of Alshon Jeffery, Sidney Rice, Pharoh Cooper, Sterling Sharpe, Kenny McKinley and Robert Brooks.
“He continues to set every record at that position here at the University of South Carolina,” Muschamp said. “You think about some of the greats that have played here. Bryan is certainly in that category. His competitive edge is off the charts, the way he practices, the way he prepares, the way he does everything is awesome.”
Between Edwards and the host of freshmen playing, most notably QB Ryan Hilinski, the Gamecocks have the ingredients to pull off two wins down the stretch. Identifying talent and developing it has not been a problem. Neither is Muschamp’s sales pitch, which he rattled off on Saturday night.
“We really like the guys that we’ve recruited,” he said. “We’ve played more freshmen than anyone else has in the country in four years. I think we’ve started more, so we’re willing to play guys that are good enough to play, get on the field and produce for us when they play.”
Looking to get a spark offensively, they moved offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner from the field to the press box. And aside from an early bust on coverage that allowed Vanderbilt’s touchdown, the defense was solid.
Now the Gamecocks need to put it all together at least twice more.