Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox talking Gamecocks, Gamecock football loses in the most wild fashion against Alabama, and both soccer teams have a good weekend. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:56] Okay. Welcome to episode 266 of Cox talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And if you know a Gamecock, you know a fellow Gamecock, check on them. Just make sure that they're okay. And I hope y'all are okay. Hope you're happy and healthy and just didn't have any heart palpitations or hyperventilating or anything like that. That I'm sure a lot of us genuinely did experience after Saturday afternoon, because, my goodness, what a moment. And series of events for South Carolina fans and South Carolina football in general.
[00:01:45] Wow. So, yeah, check up on your fellow gamecocks, make sure they're okay. I'm sure you have. Y'all are good people, but my goodness, what a frickin way to start our Saturdays. Am I right? Just. It's unbelievable, actually. Unbelievable stuff. But, wow. Gonna get into all that in a minute here. We'll be spending most of the episode talking about the game that happened Saturday. Give my thoughts and things like that. And then, before I get into that, though, of course, let's discuss the weekend recap from around USC athletics. Big time weekend here. A lot of action going on here. So, starting on Friday, women's volleyball lost to UGA three to two. Men's soccer beat Georgia State two nothing. Men's soccer continuing this nice start of the season. They're having. I mean, at this point, they're just having a good year. Equestrian. That's right. We're talking equestrian here. They lost to Auburn 14 to five. You had both swimming and diving teams were in action. They lost to Uga, both of them, on Friday, but then turned right around and beat Vandy. Both of them. So that's exciting.
[00:03:00] And then Sunday, women's volleyball beat Florida 30. And women's soccer tide, Ole Miss two. Two. So you had both soccer teams having pretty good outings there. Nice Sunday for the women's volleyball team as well. So nice weekend from around Carolina athletics. But none took the headlines quite like the football team because, my goodness, yet again, South Carolina found itself in the midst of a wild and crazy game, trying to attempt the upset, only this time, a top ten team on the road at their place nonetheless get and come up just short. Gamecocks losing to Alabama 27 to 25. And I don't even know where to begin in this one. You know, you don't really know where to begin.
[00:04:00] We went into this game with our tail between our legs a little bit, thinking, you know, we just want to see some life. I mean, at least that's where I was at. I was like, I just want to see some life from the offense. I'd like to see the defense do a pretty good job in containing Alabama, who's very explosive and talented, et cetera, et cetera. And the Gamecocks go in and not only hang with Alabama, but they go in and you're winning right at it. You're behind by two points at the half. You're winning the game going into the fourth quarter, and you look the part for the most part. And, you know, going into that fourth quarter, I was like, oh, my God. Like, if you would have told us that we were winning the game in the fourth quarter, ten out of ten times, 100 out of 100 times, of course you sign up for that. But if you had told me that we were, like, within ten points in the four in the fourth quarter, I would have signed up for that. So the team came out and they looked well, you know, they. They looked improved. The defense continues to shine. That defensive line continues to be disruptive. The offense looked healthy. Rocket looked more like himself. You saw some nice plays from AsiO Bennett. Lenores was making some good throws, but at here we are yet again coming up just short. But I do want to say, before I get into that here, I think we can hang our hat on the effort. I do think that, you know, there's no moral victories, but we went into this game hoping to see some life. You know, there were many people, myself included, that thought this one could get ugly even. You know, Las Vegas had the spread at 21 22, depending on where you looked. So you can hang your hat on. The team is resilient, and that is a credit to Shane Beamer, because his teams, for the most part, have been able to bounce back after tough losses and fight, and they have been able to fight as the year goes on and all these things that you want to see. So this team is gritty. They are resilient. They were not intimidated by going to Alabama. They did not let the Ole miss game beat them twice because they went out there and they gave as good of effort as you can. And unfortunately, when you try to pull off an upset like that, especially on the road, you have to play darn near perfect. And the Gamecock certainly did not play darn near perfect. And so it's a testament to this team to be able to battle back and be right there. But unfortunately, there were too many mistakes. And when you make those mistakes, it's very, very hard to pull off the upset. You know, was chatting with a buddy of mine and, you know, you have Alabama in that top tier of the SEC. Like maybe they're not as dominant as they were last year, the year before, whatever, but they're still right there at the top tier.
[00:07:22] And you have South Carolina that's trying to make its way up to the next level, that's trying to take that next step as a program. And so when you look at the efforts against an LSU and against an Alabama, like, yes, there are some bumps along the road this season, like Ole Miss, but I'd like to think that South Carolina is closer to being at that next step. I'm not saying the top tier, but there, we're closer to taking that step as a program, that one step forward to beating some of these teams, to being in that next rung than we are to the bottom, you know, three and three now. But I think when we talk about South Carolina trying to take that next step as a program, Shane Beamer trying to elevate the program, it's hard. But I think we're closer than we are farther away, if that makes sense. And I think the showings against LSU and Alabama tell you that because you don't hang with a team like that twice just by luck. You know, you have good players, your coaching is solid. You are just not polished. And I think that's what we're seeing right now ultimately, and I'm going to get into this in a second here. Like ultimately we're living with a true freshman or, excuse me, a red shirt freshman quarterback. And there's growing pains. And unfortunately, right now we're going through some of those growing pains because when we talk about not being polished and having some of these mistakes, you are dealing with that a little bit. And then you do have the instance of, again, like not that big time wide receiver one. Mazio is great, Josh Simon on the tight end. You know, he's solid, but when you lack that true playmaker, it can hold you back a little bit. So that's kind of what we're seeing here. But let's get into what I liked and didn't like here from both sides of the ball here from the defense, what I liked. You know, there, there's a lot to like, really. But you went into this game talking about Ryan Williams and he was held in check. So I think that's a testament to the defensive backs to the entire secondary.
[00:09:43] They had a couple of bad plays where they got burned, a couple of head scratchers. But when we talked about Ryan Williams, he's a sensation, he's a phenom. He was really held in check for the most part. I love that they held Alabama scoreless in the third quarter. I mean, who would have thought that that would have happened, you know? And you held the team, Alabama to under 30 points and some, you know, you had that, you kind of backs against the wall in certain, certain instances, but to hold Alabama to under 30 points, that is quite the effort there. You have to just like what we saw, four sacks, timely sacks, too. Very, very impressed with that. And you're creating the turnovers. Od fortune. Kilgore, like these guys were making plays. Kilgore, he's the real deal. He is absolutely the real deal. This is not to take away from anybody else in that secondary or on that defense. But Kilgore seems to realize the moment because when he creates these turnovers and when he makes the big plays, it really does seem like it's in some of the bigger moments, like taking momentum back for the team, going against one of their better players, making a play high, pointing these things, like shout out to him.
[00:11:04] What I didn't like on the defense was you don't like Jalen Milro cashing in those two running touchdowns, giving up the points late in the game, you know, like when you really needed a stop, you didn't get one. You know, that stinks. But, I mean, all things considered, once again, they did their job, you know, again, like late in the game, like, okay, like, we have to find a way to step on their throat here, unfortunately, like, they did score, but again, you're holding them to 27 points like that. That busted coverage at the end was really, really bad. But getting those tiny sacks, getting off the field, like, you know, not letting these extended drives happen all too often and being able to bounce back, you know, you had the early score in the game and kind of in the back of your mind, you're like, oh, the floodgates about to open here, but they didn't. So you have to tip your cap. You have to tip your cap to the defense there. That's a good team in Alabama. They've put up a lot of points, and to hold them to 27, I think, is very, very commendable.
[00:12:19] Looking at the offense here, what did I like? I liked Mazio Bennett. Three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Again, he continues to shine like yes, I know I just said we don't have that true wide receiver one. And I think that that's fair to say. You know, you don't have this experienced bona fide superstar. Meizio is, is trending that way. He's having an incredible freshman season, but he is a freshman and, you know, you don't have this Xavier leggette that you can lean on. But I loved what we saw from him. Nic harbor. Can we talk about Nic harbor for a second? Loved this for him. We have waited for a year and a half for our Nic harbor moment and we finally got it in the most bizarre fashion with that toe tap touchdown at the end. On top of that, you know, he had some other catches as well. Just really liked what we saw out of him in that game. Just shout out to him. I mean, shout out to Nick harbor coming up in the clutch and the Norris even looked for him at the very, very end.
[00:13:32] You can see he is improving. His hands are improving so little by little hes coming along, but that was a huge moment for him and just so happy to finally see him get that amazing grab that we have been waiting for him in that moment there. I liked rocket Sanders. He looked like himself.
[00:13:52] Talked about needing him to break off an explosive run to be more consistent. I absolutely loved what we saw from him and if he can continue to stay healthy, you know, got 78 yards. If he can continue to stay healthy and be that reliant back for the team, it's only going to help. Right? Like that's what you saw Saturday. Like this team was healthy. They had that game under their belt, shook off that Russ against Ole Miss. And hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
[00:14:24] However, there are plenty of things to talk about when we talk about the offense here. Things that I didn't like. The turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.
[00:14:36] You can't give Alabama or any team when you're entering, period. But when you're trying to pull off an upset like this, you cannot give them those extra chances.
[00:14:49] You have to make them pay. When you have the ball, when you get the ball back from them or, you know, they have a drive that stalls or they have a turnover, you absolutely can't give it right back to them.
[00:15:04] That's what happened. We ultimately beat ourself in this game. And in my mind it boils down to the turnovers.
[00:15:12] And unfortunately, you know, the guy who was holding the ball in these instances was Lenore Sellers.
[00:15:20] And it's a team game. There's multiple instances and multiple things that we can point to as to why this game didn't go our way and why it got to the point where we had to have some magic and a damn near Miracle at the end.
[00:15:36] But we are dealing with a red shirt freshman. And he's looking every bit of a freshman at times.
[00:15:45] The ball security is just not there. This entire year, it hasn't been. And I don't know if it's a deal where maybe he's trying to do a little too much or maybe there's just like a little bit of he's in his head of, I gotta try and get rid of the ball. You know, I can't take a bad sack. I have to have to move quickly. But, you know, the fumble when he, like, tried to throw it there, like, you gotta. You gotta realize nothing's gonna happen from that. You gotta just hold on to the ball, take the sack. The botched handoff late in the game, that ultimately was the difference maker.
[00:16:26] I don't know what happened there. I mean, that's just reps, that's practice. I don't know how that happens.
[00:16:32] So something that you really didn't like is the turnovers, you know, so it's something that will be worked on. And, you know, as Lenoris continues to get reps and that in game experience and learning how to play with a close lead, learning how to come from behind, hopefully those things improve. I will. On the flip side of this, Lenore's made some great plays. When he's moving, he looks great.
[00:17:03] In that second half, he looked sharp. Of looking for the pass. Okay, it's not there. I'm going to move. I'm going to run. I'm going to move the chains. I'm going to get us positive yardage. That's when he's at his best. Some of these designed quarterback runs, I don't think he looked the best. The offensive line was not giving him the protection. But when he was able to take a few seconds and read the defense, look for his guy, not there, boom, I'm going to run. He looked great. He also made some fantastic throws, like zooming it in there. Couple that may be ill advised, but they worked. So you can see it coming together with him. And you can see that ceiling because he does have a good arm. You know, that play early in the game when he. He rolled out through it and went right through Gage Levarian's hands. Like, that was a great throw. The throw to harbor right. Like, fantastic throw.
[00:17:54] That throw to Mazio, you know, but then on the flip side, you have the turnovers and then the two point conversion throw. I know there was the defender right in his face, but you gotta put touch on that. You have to realize that that's gonna be a touch pass the second you see it happening. And I know they practice that, and I know that there was a guy in his face. If he didn't have the guy in his face. It's two point conversion. It's. It's a tie game.
[00:18:18] So there was a lot of good, but there was bad with the offense as well. The play calls after the onside kick recovery I thought were a little suspect. I didn't like them. Didn't do yourself any favors. That the very last one, I think Lenoris was trying to go for it all. I think he thought harbor was going to break more towards the corner, but harbor ran more of a post, but wasn't even that close of a throw. So again, there was good with the offense, there was bad.
[00:18:50] We have to give love to my guy friend of the program, Kai Kroger, with the best onside kick of all time. Just, what a crazy ending.
[00:18:59] And, you know, I want to speak on the missed kick.
[00:19:04] Like, yes, that would have impacted the game. It would have changed the game.
[00:19:09] But I've seen some. I've seen some. Some hate out there on Herrera. We didn't lose this game because of him.
[00:19:17] Asked to do a career long when the offense did him no favors.
[00:19:23] No, no, I'm not. I'm not going to get into that narrative. I think that there's plenty of people to point out for the loss of this game, and Alex Herrera is not one of them. But overall, for the game, again, it's this. You showed the good effort. You were right there. You almost shocked the world yet again.
[00:19:45] And it feels like we're at a glass ceiling where you can see it. And it's just this frustrating.
[00:19:55] Point of here we are yet again this season, right? And it's not the first time we've talked about this in general, but it's twice now this season where you were on the edge of having this amazing upset, and for a while you had. Things were clicking, but you just can't get out of your own way, whether it's penalties or turnovers, just self inflicted wounds.
[00:20:24] And I don't know, what's that? I don't know, what's that a reflection of?
[00:20:30] You know, like, is Shane Beamer getting his team in the right mindset in the second halves to perform in these high pressured situations?
[00:20:42] Is he himself composed enough on the sidelines to give off that sense of calm on the sideline? Or are we a little emotional? Do we get a little jittery, like we make a mistake? Like botching a handoff? We need to look at that.
[00:20:58] Is it just dealing with a young offense?
[00:21:04] Is it still, like, gelling and some of these, you know, it's. It's not easy, right? Like, not every team can hang with these big upset moments. Top 15 wins, top ten wins, potentially, and get them done. But that's what the great programs do. And so that's what I'm talking about when I say, like, I think we're closer to taking that next step as a program because you're right there. It just, we need to see it go through the hoop. But if this team, if the team that we saw Saturday can tighten the screws a little bit, particularly on the offense, and just not make some of these mental mistakes.
[00:21:42] I look at every game on the rest of the schedule and I say it's winnable. There's not a team or a game left on the schedule that I think, man, I just don't think we have a shot in that one. I think we have a shot in every single game. Now it's a question of, can we consistently show up? Can the team that showed up against Alabama and LSU with the offense moving and being dynamic, you know, like that drive that scored in the third quarter to get things going? I mean, that was the best drive I think we've seen this year for sure.
[00:22:19] But maybe even going back to last year to just balance eight minutes off the clock, working it, getting third down conversions and then finding the end zone.
[00:22:29] If we can see more of that down the stretch here, this back half of the year, we can hang with anyone.
[00:22:37] But at the same time, we have to look at this game and say, you know what? Here we are yet again saying we didn't do enough to get the job done when it mattered. We have to find that clutch gene, not making mistakes, playing within ourselves late in the game, because that's ultimately, ultimately what happened here was made a couple mistakes, both sides of the ball late in the game, bad coverage, turnover, etcetera, suspect play calling. So collectively, there's a lot to learn here. There's some good, for sure, there is some good, but there's also plenty to work on.
[00:23:15] 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, Cox.
