By Mark Pszonak
The two FBS teams in the state had a rough opening weekend, but luckily for the Gamecocks, more people were making fun of Clemson after their debacle in Atlanta. But now it’s time to take a closer look at what happened in Columbia, who slid under-the-national radar with a 23-19 comeback victory at home against Old Dominion.
Entering head coach Shane Beamer’s fourth season, expectations were pretty reserved in Columbia. The Gamecocks had finished 5-7 in 2023 and were picked to finish 13th out of 16 SEC teams in the preseason poll. The thought was that they’d at least have an “easy” opener against Old Dominion, who was the preseason pick to finish 6th in the seven team East Division of the Sun Belt. Maybe South Carolina could establish some momentum and confidence before a trip to Kentucky in week two.
However, Old Dominion didn’t have the same plans, and if you watched the game, South Carolina didn’t really seem to have the same plan either. At the conclusion of the game, despite the loss, it can be argued that Old Dominion has more momentum and belief than South Carolina. They came into SEC country as a 20.5 underdog and should’ve left a winner, if not for some calamitous mistakes.
The Gamecocks scored two touchdowns in the game, which amazingly only totaled nine yards due to costly Old Dominion turnovers. The offense struggled to total 288 yards and new starting quarterback redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers labored throughout while completing 10 of 23 passes for 114 yards. The rushing game did show some life with Sellers rushing for 68 yards and Raheim Sanders adding 88 yards, but without any passing game, those options will dry out against stronger defenses.
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And those stronger defenses are abundant throughout the rest of the schedule. Up next is Kentucky which shut out Southern Miss 31-0 in their opener, followed by LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson. Oh, and Vanderbilt, which suddenly doesn’t seem like an SEC doormat after their opening game victory over Virginia Tech.
South Carolina must hope that Sellers develops quickly, but it is more likely that the maturation period this season will be slow and rather painful. Does Coach Beamer turn to Robby Ashford, a transfer from Auburn, if Sellers shows no improvement? That seems unlikely at this time, and even if he did, Ashford only completed 49.5% of his 277 attempts while with the Tigers, so is the move worth making?
It is most likely that Coach Beamer will be tied to Sellers this season, and if the young quarterback does not show consistent improvement against a fierce schedule, then the coaching hot seat may reach firestorm levels by the time we get into November. It is already shaping up to be a long season that may result in significant changes for the program.
