Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, the football team dismantles Oklahoma and Norman. And a weekend recap from around Carolina Athletics. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:54] Okay.
[00:00:56] Welcome to episode 4, 418 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And happy Halloween, Gamecocks. There were plenty of treats in it for us on Saturday afternoon. And you know what? Maybe we gave a few tricks out to Oklahoma as well. I'm sitting here starting a new month, enjoying and basking in this thing. And, yeah, y', all winning is freaking fun.
[00:01:28] Like, sitting here three in a row, just witnessing a really, really cool moment with the team coming together now. But just zooming in on Saturday afternoon, it's just been a lot of fun. And the team has put out some fantastic content, really leaning into the Halloween of it all. And the more you're looking around and listening to some of these national writers and, you know, analysts and whatever, they're talking about South Carolina, they're talking about Lenora Sellers and the job that Shane Beamer has done to turn this ship around. And it's pretty remarkable. It really, really is. And, you know, just when you think you're out, like, they just pull you back in. And that is the roller coaster that is Gamecock fandom. And you have to just tip your cap to this entire team and this entire staff for putting themselves in the position where they are right now. And it's crazy to say, you know, sitting here, you know, you may be listening to this, you know, November 2nd or whatever it may be. Just a month ago, the beginning of October, things were looking bleak.
[00:02:37] We were coming off a crushing loss in overtime to Kentucky, marked three in a row. And it really felt like the sky was falling, and it felt like a season was going to be wasted. That had such potential.
[00:02:53] And without getting too into the weeds on this, like, the team did not let themselves be defined by that.
[00:03:01] And you gotta give credit to Shane Beamer for that. And you have to give credit to, you know, both Briles and White. But I would also give credit to the veteran leaders on this team.
[00:03:13] And we don't know what happens behind closed doors, and we don't know what happens day in and day out in the weight room and things like that. But a lot of teams could have just packed it in. And you're seeing some teams around the country and some teams in the SEC where that is the case, where they had high hopes for a good season and it hasn't gone right for them, and it's a snowball effect.
[00:03:36] That's not what this South Carolina team did.
[00:03:39] They went on the road and looked inward and took care of business against Florida, rattled off that win against Tennessee. And then you go to Norman. Oklahoma against an Oklahoma team that, yes, is unranked, has struggled, but they have a couple of good wins under their belt. They beat Texas, which, yeah, maybe Texas isn't everything we thought they were going to be, but that's still a very good team.
[00:04:03] And they were coming off a win against Mississippi State, which a lot of people thought could serve as a turning point for them.
[00:04:11] So you go into this matchup in Norman in a rainy, crappy day, a homecoming game for them against a Brent Venables defense that was stout, and you absolutely dismantle them 42 to 25. And really, that 25 is generous because there was some garbage time yardage and a garbage time touchdown in there that got away from the Gamecocks. And even the 42 that South Carolina scored, I think is generous. Generous that could have very easily been a 50 burger or more if Beamer and Briles decided to keep their foot on the gas. Lenores came out of that game with like nine minutes to go in the fourth. Like almost the entire fourth quarter, he sat against Oklahoma, a real bonafide SEC team on the road. You're able to pull your starting quarterback there, but to go in there and respond multiple times in this game, I think is just a testament to everything that this team is doing right here.
[00:05:15] You had to lean on the run game in this one. And Briles, Lenoris Coleman, everyone really answered the bell in this. And this was just a phenomenal effort by Lenore Sellers in this one. Like this was. It was him and Brile saying, you know what we want to do here and we're still going to do it to you anyway. 96 yards on the ground for the Norris 301 through the air. He was doing everything. I mean, those throws that he had to DJ Black and Maze O. Bennett, that's vintage Lenora Sellers. But it's also growth in his ability to stay poised in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield. That throw in particular to DJ Black, he started to run a little bit, you know, the pocket collapsed around him. He stepped up last year. Linoris probably takes that off and it's a four yard gain because the defender was right there, that linebacker. Instead, he stayed behind the line of scrimmage, saw Black streaking down the field and Threw an absolute dot for that, for that touchdown. And that really started to say, okay, we're going to put our pedal to the metal on this and we can start to put this game away and we're in control of this one, really. And then that throw to Mazio, that's the type of stuff that has scouts drooling. That's the type of tape that, you know, if. If that. If this game was a ranked and ranked matchup or, you know, maybe if Oklahoma was doing a little bit better like that. That's a play that you could say is like Heisman tape with the spin out with a rusher coming up right there in the middle, scrambling a little bit out to his left. Hits Mazio in stride for the touchdown. It's a thing of beauty. Linoris was absolutely dialed in. And what was even more impressive was, you know, he threw two interceptions. That first one in particular was. Was really bad.
[00:07:07] And a lot has been made. Feels like every game of the win loss record when he throws an interception and it hasn't been in the favor of South Carolina. Now, a lot of that goes back to last year when a lot went wrong for the team. He threw two interceptions.
[00:07:25] And every time the team faced adversity, they responded in kind.
[00:07:32] Right. Right after he throws that first interception, the offense responds right and answers right back with a nice long drive of their own and points.
[00:07:43] When you threw the second interception, the defense bails you out and makes that play. So it was true complimentary football again that we've been seeing.
[00:07:52] And in a day where the elements were kind of against you, you're able to lean on what you do well and just really put together a beautiful performance here. But even with that, you know, Mazio himself had over 100 yards reception and shout out Nick Harbor, a guy that we hadn't seen in a couple. Couple of weeks, it felt like he was maybe getting buried in the depth chart a little bit. It wasn't clicking for him. Apparently. He was sick going into this game. He was struggling with like a stomach flu or something the day before.
[00:08:25] Ends up getting a touchdown grab, but also that incredible catch he made to be spotted at the 1 yard to set up the score.
[00:08:34] Like, that's exactly what Nick harbor needs to do. You know, he might not be the guy to get, you know, 7, 8, 9, 10 catches in a game, but the catches he makes are impactful and he's able to get open down the field. And that play design for his touchdown was also beautiful, where you kind of had everyone going one way and he was streaking over the middle, Lenore or over to the left. Lenora stops and hits him in the corner. Beautiful throwing catch.
[00:09:01] It was just that type of game where the little things were going, right. I mean, you even had a guy like Max Drag get involved.
[00:09:08] And it's a credit to Lenoris being able to operate this offense at an incredibly high level.
[00:09:16] It's clicked for him and it's even more of a credit to Kendall Briles for getting it to click for him and for unlocking the things that had been there.
[00:09:27] And I think there was just a lot of scar tissue in those first couple of games from frankly, the coaching that Shula did on Lenoris and whether it's Beamer challenging Lenoris in front of the team after that Alabama loss, if it was the motivation of Cutter getting some more reps in practice or it was time with the system.
[00:09:53] This all came together and you're seeing it right now in these last couple of weeks.
[00:09:58] But I mean, really like to have over 500 total yards, 42 points and you're 8 for 14 on third down, over 50% on third down against a Brent Venables defense. That just doesn't happen. Like that's. These are not things that South Carolina fans have said going against the likes of eventables defense. I mean, even a couple years ago when South Carolina splattered Oklahoma in Norman, that was a lot of the defense doing the work. You know, there were some, you know, there was pick six in there, there were turnovers created and whatnot.
[00:10:37] But this was just bully ball like South Carolina having their way with Oklahoma beautifully mixing in run and pass. Lenores doing exactly what he needs to do with his legs and then some and then leaning on the running backs.
[00:10:53] Quick change of pace there.
[00:10:55] Really, really tough news with Matt Fuller there. That's tough. I, I'm sitting here not knowing exactly the extent of it. All I saw was the blurb from the press conference where I think he was. It seems like he, he broke a bone and I don't know if his ankle or his foot. He's going to need to get surgery. I don't know right now sitting here. If it's done for the year, you might be listening to this and say, no, that's been confirmed or denied.
[00:11:19] Hopefully we can get Fuller back, let's say by the Clemson game.
[00:11:24] Right. I'm no doctor, I don't know how that works, but he's a huge piece of the offense. But you have to absolutely love what you saw from the Rest of these running backs who came in and did the job.
[00:11:35] Coleman has steadily rose to the top. You know, really that number two spot in the depth chart. Expect him to start the rest of the way. Christian Clark, this is your time to shine.
[00:11:45] You saw Isaiah get in there. Jaron Howell's hurt, but when he's healthy, he's someone you can see in the mix some more. So that room should be okay.
[00:11:53] But nonetheless that's a, that's a tough, tough pill to swallow and a tough thing that you really hate to see for a guy that has worked so hard and was really getting his shine. And he does a lot of things for this offense and they talked a lot about that on the broadcast here. But as good as the offense was, this was a master class defensively, a masterclass.
[00:12:18] You know, yes, you gave up 25 points, but if you look at the first three quarters you only gave up 10, seven of which one touchdown of which was the pick six that Lenores threw. So you went three quarters without giving up a touchdown and you're looking at this thing with between Lenoris and cutter, it was three turnovers.
[00:12:42] South Carolina was down three nothing in the turnover margin and won the game 42 to 25 and almost had 200 yards more of total yardage. That is 100% a testament to Clayton White and this entire defensive unit for smothering Oklahoma and not giving them any chance.
[00:13:04] And there were a couple of flashes here and there, but you really didn't give much life into Oklahoma.
[00:13:11] Couple of tough penalties that you don't like to see and another tough targeting penalty that I, I think was soft but nonetheless like Mattier could not get comfortable for extended amounts of time. The running game really didn't do much for them and they, they stuck with it. I mean they were, they were trying to really establish the run in the rain.
[00:13:31] Mattia really didn't have much going on and it, it was, you know, you, you bottled up. Satania too for the most part. Called him out specifically before this game.
[00:13:41] Gamecocks held him in check.
[00:13:43] Mater didn't, didn't, didn't really do too much on the ground. Like, you know, it was a garbage time touchdown for, for him. And yeah, it's, this is, this is a credit to Clayton White who really has this defense playing at an incredibly high level these last couple of games. And I don't know if there's one thing that you can point to, to me, a healthy level headed Dylan Stewart has brought balance to this side. It's like bringing balance to the force.
[00:14:14] Like he allows Clayton White to do the things he wants to do on defense. Clayton White system works when he has a defensive line that can get after it on their own.
[00:14:28] Like when you think of some of these good units that South Carolina's had, it's been deep, veteran, strong defensive lines. Like when you add the next layer of the linebackers, all the better. But there's always been strong play in the defensive backfield. But it's predicated on being able to get pressure with four, maybe five. When you have to start doing more blitzing and things like that, it puts more pressure on the defensive backfield. And that's not really what this defense is built upon. It's built upon playing strong man coverage and getting home with four, maybe five. So I think that has been a strong development.
[00:15:07] Tomiwad is, is a force in my mind. Noah Clark is a force in my mind. Up the middle, you saw Anthony Addison being involved in some plays. Julian Walker still, you know, maybe, you know, not quite as impactful as he was early on, but you know, coming off the injury and in the throes of SEC play for the, for the freshman. But I do think Stewart was able to level this defense and he's playing at an incredibly high level. So again, just top to bottom, this was a really, really good performance by South Carolina. Didn't really know what to expect in this one. You know, you, you had Carolina going in technically as the underdog. You're on the road, it's rainy.
[00:15:51] I thought it was going to be a game that felt a lot like that Tennessee game. Although I do think Tennessee's offense is better than Oklahoma's. But I thought it was going to be this back and forth struggle, which it felt like it might a little bit early. But then in that second quarter, bam. South Carolina gets three touchdowns on the board. And yeah, it was that, that DJ Black play to me was like, okay, we're doing all the things in this one here. Like this is not going to be purely just ground and pound type of game, but man, it's all really come together for South Carolina and it's a really, really cool thing to watch. And even a guy like Maze O', Bennett, like over 100 yards reception on the day, got that big touchdown.
[00:16:37] He's a player who is now surpassed all of his career highs in receptions, yards, touchdowns, and there's still, what, four games to play.
[00:16:47] So he's having a phenomenal year. The emergence of DJ Black has been great. Him and harbor kind of a nice one Two punch there.
[00:16:54] You want to see maybe a little bit more from the tight end, but offensive line did it. Did a fine job in my mind in that game, too.
[00:17:03] Fred Johnson on the defensive side was flying over the place like it was.
[00:17:08] It was a really strong team effort and really. And ended up emulating a little bit like that Florida game where you end up in a comfortable position late, which was phenomenal. You know, you're able to. I'm sitting here, I got the game up on an iPad. I'm sitting in my driveway handing out some candy. And, you know, I was dialed in as much as I could, but at times I was like, it's okay if I hand out a couple pieces of candy here. So nonetheless, big win for South Carolina. We're sitting at 5 and 3 now, which at one point just felt insane.
[00:17:40] Hosting Texas A and M Next. A&M's all sorts of sideways. But again, the key is like, don't let this be the pinnacle of the season. And I think that's been the theme, right? You went to the Swamp and Beamer said that you had that incredible win against Tennessee.
[00:17:57] Really, really great job of Beemer and everyone managing their emotions and going into this one still with a chip on their shoulder against Oklahoma. You have to continue that. You're going to be back at home now. It's going to be a raucous environment. Don't get too high against A and M. We'll talk about this next episode. But just a phenomenal win and just a kudos to this entire team for coming together now and rattling off three straight SEC wins, all in pretty impressive fashion.
[00:18:26] Five and three now four to go.
[00:18:29] And there's still so much left possible for this team, but all right, let's do a quick week in review from around Gamecock Athletics. Sort of a mixed bag here. Women's volleyball took the loss to Vanderbilt, three nothing. Men's soccer took the loss to Marshall 2 to 1. Women's cross country came third in the SEC championship. And baseball had a scrimmage against Duke and won 24, 3, 2, 5. Absolutely love to see that. But with that, y', all, that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please, like subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y' all go.
