On the surface, it was a great victory and an exciting start to the Shane Beamer era as Williams-Brice Stadium had plenty of excitement from fans who hadn’t seen that kind of atmosphere in a while.

Drill down a bit, and Eastern Illinois lost last week to Illinois State, and it didn’t put up much resistance or challenge the Gamecocks in South Carolina’s 46-0 win on Saturday. Was it a glorified scrimmage? Maybe so. This is likely not the lineup the Gamecocks will roll out there for the meat of conference play as quarterback Luke Doty and running back Kevin Harris are on their way back, possibly as soon as this week.

While the names may change on the depth chart and in the box score, what stood out was that it was a complete performance. South Carolina blocked 2 punts and scored on defense, and fans are as excited as ever to have Beamer Ball back. Those punt blocks and the aggressive 2-point conversion following the first touchdown were not seen very often around Columbia, certainly not in the first game.

Sure, it was Eastern Illinois. But what some of those plays did, most notably the 2-point conversion, was put them on video for teams like Georgia to prepare for in a couple of weeks. What the scouting report suggests about the Gamecocks is that they have an unpredictable offense, a strong defense led by the talented and deep defensive line and plenty of special teams prowess.

“We spend a crazy amount of time on it,” Beamer said of special teams. “Walkthroughs, practice, it’s a big point of emphasis, and (I’m) pleased with what they did.”

Beamer also mentioned the often overlooked detail of affecting a punter even when his players don’t get a block. It changes field position — the so-called hidden yards.

A blemish from the otherwise celebratory evening was the 2 touchdowns that were called back because of penalties. And before the game, word came from radio voice Todd Ellis that defensive back R.J. Roderick was among 5 players suspended for the game. But Beamer said afterward that they would all be back at practice and are expected to play next week.

What Beamer and company accomplished was deliver an attitude. Even though the Gamecocks faced an overmatched opponent, they achieved the goal of a rare shutout win where all phases of the game contributed. But there’s also a feeling that Beamer has changed the attitude and culture around the program, and the players are reporting as much.

“Overall, I think we went out there and executed what we wanted to do,” QB Zeb Noland said. “Just the attitude in the locker room before the game was fun and enjoyable, and there were no nerves because of that.”

Later in his press conference, Noland shared another aspect of a change in culture.

“Sometimes stats don’t matter, it’s what you see behind the scenes in the huddle when it’s just 11 guys,” Noland said.

It was notable that Beamer referenced the “Gamecock Walk” before the game because of his history of criss-crossing the country.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of walks where there’s a lot of people there,” Beamer said, “but I don’t think I’ve ever been around one that was as loud as that. That was just straight screaming.”

It remains to be seen how effective Beamer’s approach will be. But now that a real game is in the books, it appears to be continuing as he draws a unique outlook. Beamer noted how it was great to have College GameDay and SEC Nation back, and how he woke up at 6 a.m. “wide awake.”

It is a rare approach where he appears to take a fan’s perspective to the job, and he delivers a certain effervescence not seen in even the most outgoing players’ coaches. Let’s see how it evolves as the degree of difficulty ramps up in the coming weeks.