Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks. Gamecock football starts 1 and O. Women's Cross country starts the year off well. And women's soccer continues to roll. Okay, here we.
[00:00:55] Okay.
[00:00:56] Welcome to episode 335 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And how about those gamecocks?
[00:01:12] Waking up one and oh, nothing better than going into Sunday afternoon looking for a win and waking up Monday when you got one.
[00:01:21] Feels so funny to say, just not being on the Saturday, but nonetheless waking up undefeated, feeling good. And my goodness, what a fun day. Gonna get into it, of course, here, but while the game certainly didn't always come easy to us, we end up on the right side of things. We end up with a, at the end of the day, a pretty comfortable win.
[00:01:45] And your Gamecocks, our Gamecocks are one and oh. And after the long, long wait to get back to this season to start things off with a win where all of the country is watching you, you know, albeit maybe in a interesting fashion, to get that W is still amazing. And we're off to the races now, y'. All. Like, we are so freaking back. Like, what a weekend of college football. Like, what a weekend to be a fan of the sport. First off, amazing job by ESPN and shout out to the goat Lee Corso.
[00:02:19] Saturday mornings just honestly won't be the same without him. But he went undefeated in his final session of picks and then you had fantastic matchups all the way around. That team in the upstate lost. So there's just a lot of good that happened from this weekend. And it just feels so good to be back and good to be back with y' all doing a recap episode. So, yeah, pretty much until the end of baseball season, you know, with a few exceptions, around holidays and travel, things like that.
[00:02:50] I am back to twice a week. So we'll be recapping the weekend from around Carolina athletics. So let's jump into this here.
[00:02:59] Friday, men's soccer unfortunately lost to USC upstate 2 to 1. Women's volleyball beat ETSU 3 nothing. And women's cross country won the Covered Bridge Open to start the year off with a win. Like, how about that? That's incredibly impressive. Starting things off one and oh, as well.
[00:03:21] Saturday, women's volleyball beat Campbell, three nothing. And then Sunday women's soccer beat Georgia State three nothing. They've had a really, really good start to the year. They've beaten some impressive opponents, tied Clemson, but nonetheless they have Had a really strong start to the year. And then also on Sunday, unfortunately, women's volleyball lost to Clemson 3 to 2. So for the first time this academic year, screw the Tigers. It's all right, ladies, you'll bounce back. But a good weekend all around from USC athletics. But really, again, none bigger than what happened Sunday afternoon in Atlanta when, yeah, I mean, all of the eyes of the college football world were on South Carolina. And albeit in classic Gamecock stressful fashion, this team still got a huge victory to start that year. 1 0, of course, Gamecocks beating Virginia Tech 24 to 11. And yeah, I mean, it is funny, right? Like, it does feel like the Gamecocks played with their food a little bit and maybe they left some, you know, meat on the bone, so to speak, in this one.
[00:04:41] But, you know, you ended up with that 13 point win. It just never quite felt super, you know, smooth. You know, 80% of the time the game was a little frustrating. Maybe even more than 80% of the drive. I mean, 80% of the game. Excuse me, but that opening drive, though, I mean, this was like you said, talk about setting the bar high.
[00:05:04] That first drive from the Gamecocks was a thing of beauty. And I think ultimately what you saw in that is the formula for this offense to be successful moving forward. Like, it was very balanced, but you had a lot of that short to intermediate passing where you were getting the tight ends involved. It's been widely speculated that Shula is going to lean on the tight ends as well. You, you saw a couple of run plays, but really just like moving methodically along, leaning on some of that passing game.
[00:05:38] The experience of Lenoris, you're not asking him to do too much. And then when you get to the red zone, boom. That's the dagger. That's your ace in the hole. That's Lenoris designed run truck, sticking a guy into the end zone.
[00:05:51] So balance, you know, nothing too crazy, but then when you get into that mode where you have that X factor and you can use it, you do it. But it was a thing of beauty and it almost felt too easy. And I guess it maybe was too easy because it did take a while for that side of the ball to find any sort of rhythm again. And yeah, it just felt like the game was a bit of a slog for most of the game. And I did talk about that going into this one, that I did expect that early.
[00:06:26] I didn't necessarily expect a 75 yard opening touchdown drive, you know, for.
[00:06:33] To have the ultimate contrast, but it really felt like those middle quarters where it just was tough sledding. But you did see some good defensive flashes from the team. You saw the offense show you, you know, sparks of what it can do and when they are able to move the chains. You saw what, what they can do and how balanced that they can be. It was just simply not doing that very often. Like just far too many three and outs in that first half outside of that opening drive. But you know, you can't talk about this game and not talk about the punt return heard around the world. I mean shout out to Vicari Swain.
[00:07:16] This team needed a spark. You know, I was watching it, you know, and talking amongst our table.
[00:07:22] It was just that it was just like the team just needed a spark. The team needed just like either a big sack or a big completion or something to wake up and I think that really did it because everyone seemed to rise up to the occasion after that and you know, leave it to Shane Beamer to bring Beamer ball to this game against Virginia Tech. Just how fitting. And yeah, that, what was it like 70 yards more or less like 75 yard punt return giving Carolina that much needed boost. And it was just a, I don't even know what the, how to describe it. Like I think almost every other coach in that situation where you get the penalty takes the five yards, you're starting the ball, you know, on the, on the 30 or the 25, whatever was going to be after that, Shane Beamer says no, we're going to re kick it. And then I was kind of feeling that on the punts up until that re kick, you kind of felt like South Carolina was really going for it, like they were really trying to block one.
[00:08:27] And on that kick, the one that Bakari housed, you kind of saw them drop some more guys back and it was just so well executed. And you know, I think I saw somewhere that it's the first punt return since ace Sanders in 2013.
[00:08:44] I mean I, someone fact checked that for me. I, I saw that online and it's hard to believe but maybe it is real. I mean obviously we've had kick returns but it was just exactly what the team needed. Woke them up. And I mean speaking of a Sanders, I mean outside of his punt return against Georgia in 2012, was this the biggest punt return in, in South Carolina history?
[00:09:09] Like at least in recent memory? Like maybe there's one, you know, kind of before, you know, we were really, I was like, you know, able to comprehend things or like really started watching Carolina sports. So I'm sure, someone has another answer for that, but at least in recent memory, this is the biggest punt return in South Carolina history and it really propelled the team to the ultimate victory. But let's jump into what I liked and what I didn't like from around the team here overall. Overall theme for the team here, I liked seeing all three phases contributing to this win. The best teams play complimentary football and that is ultimately what you saw on Sunday. Like might not always be pretty, but you had to lean on the defense, you needed some special teams, and when it was the offense's turn to turn it on, they did.
[00:10:06] I didn't like from an overall standpoint being the most penalized team. This is something we've talked about in these recent years in South Carolina. And so that needs to be cleaned up. First game, it's a little funky, I understand, but to get to where this team wants to go, you have to play disciplined football.
[00:10:27] Now on the offensive side of the ball here, I loved, already talked about it here, loved that opening drive. Just wow, more of that, please.
[00:10:40] So look at what you did well there. How can we replicate some of that when it's not these scripted plays? What did we do well and how can we double down on that?
[00:10:51] I liked seeing the potential breakout game, or maybe the breakout game from Nick Harbor. I mean, it felt like a long time coming for this one. 99 yards, a touchdown that came from an absolute dime from Lenores. But he really should have had two touchdowns. Like his stat line should have been a little bit different. You know, he obviously can clean some things up. He had one or two drops that were, you know, really untimely. But this was a great game for a guy that I think will really benefit from that confidence boosting game. He's worked so hard and this was that first offseason. We've talked about it a lot, focusing just on football. And so to see it, to see those returns and to start off on such a good foot, it's only going to help him, only going to help his confidence moving forward, his, you know, doubling down on all the efforts he's doing. And he should have had two touchdowns.
[00:11:48] And aside from that, this is a team that right now doesn't have a clear cut wide receiver. 1. You know, it's almost a committee approach, which is okay.
[00:12:00] But if harbor can emerge as that true number one guy, it will help everything else fall into place. And just that touchdown he had with a streak, that is a, that is a play that South Carolina fans, we have waited years for just Run as fast as you can. You're the fastest guy on the field, you're bigger than everybody else, and Lenores is going to put it on you. And boy, it was a thing of beauty. So hopefully we see plenty more of that this year.
[00:12:36] Outside of him, though, I liked what we saw from the tight end group, especially early on. You saw Brady Hunt have a nice game, Mike Smith as well. And you love seeing Lenoris strength, just still being able to make magic when things go sideways and look like when things mattered most, when you had your not backs against the wall, but when you needed to be clutched, they got to the end zone. And even in the field goal, we had to settle for on the harbor review overturn, like the team was able to get into that position.
[00:13:15] So you still, you should have had more points with the touchdown overturned. But, you know, we talked about this a little bit at times last year too. It just like, even before that too, just when you needed to get it done doing that. And there is something to be said about that now. What I didn't like was, at least by my estimation here, just a real inability to run in between the tackles.
[00:13:44] You know, we went into this year and a lot was made of a supposedly improved offensive line.
[00:13:52] And I just don't. We. I don't think we saw that really. And I'm not getting into like, pass protection here or anything like that because there certainly were a few moments where, you know, tape's gonna show that there were mistakes, but I think overall, like, they were okay. But run blocking and just being able to run up the middle needs to be worked on because that's gonna help everybody. I think a guy like Oscar Attaway thrives there.
[00:14:20] Rasool like, you know, everything gets made about his ability to make plays in the open field, which is true, and you saw that on Sunday. But he. He has the real ability to cut as well. So if he gets some room inside, he can make some things happen. So you just have to be able to do that. You know, also, I, you know, we've talked about it here, but I just didn't like the low that this offense hit for the majority of the game. You know, I had it jotted down here the middle of the game, like those middle quarters, but it was really like after that opening drive until like midway through the third, where you started to see some life.
[00:15:04] You know, it just seemed like they were trying to establish the run and, you know, establish a few other things that just didn't really work out and went away from those Things that came so easy in that opening drive. And at least from my, you know, couch coach perspective, that's what it looked like. And it was frustrating to watch.
[00:15:26] And yes, there were a couple of drops that were drive killers. There was a penalty or two that was a. That was a drive killer. So if you clean up those things, we might be having a little bit of a different conversation. But nonetheless, you can't hit a lull like that. Now, I do have a Take that it's week one, okay? Like week one in college across the board is tricky.
[00:15:55] You look at some of these games that were played this past weekend and there were teams that just didn't look sharp. There are offensive units that are projected to be some of the best in the country that didn't look sharp.
[00:16:10] There's no preseason games, and I think sometimes it shows.
[00:16:15] And then on top of it too, Virginia Tech, you were going against a system that you really didn't have much tape on.
[00:16:22] They have some players, they have good linebackers, they brought in a really good edge rusher. Like, we can't discredit that.
[00:16:29] But I think just you combine going against a rather unknown system coupled with you hadn't played for months, there's rust, there's all this stuff you're shaking off. You saw some of these delay of games and things like that.
[00:16:46] So I have to believe that moving forward, this team and this offense especially will continue to improve. You remember last year we were talking about the same thing. Now I understand it's a little different where you have, you know, a more seasoned Lenora Sellers, but nonetheless, like we were saying, that this offense last year after week one was just anemic and had nothing going for them because you could barely get it going against odu. But everybody settled down and you saw that week one to week two improvement and you saw it every week thereafter. So I understand we need some more consistency, but let's not take what we saw for a chunk of the game on Sunday as what we're going to see every week.
[00:17:35] Now, defensively, I loved being able to keep Tech out of the end zone. Like, that is just incredible. Like, and I feel like it's almost getting overlooked, you know, like you're keeping a Power 4 opponent who has a legitimate quarterback. You kept him quiet for most of the day, but you kept them out of the end zone. And when Tech was close in that red zone, the defense stepped up and either generated a turnover or a big tackle for loss.
[00:18:04] Speaking of that, you love being able to generate turnovers. You Know, that's been a calling card of this defense for years now. And it showed up in a couple of really big spots on Sunday.
[00:18:17] I really liked the linebacker play overall. Massive shout out to Fred J.R. johnson. He stepped up in a big way, in a way that we had hoped for.
[00:18:28] And you just saw the speed in that unit. And man, if this is anything to say for a week one opponent or, or week one game, if they can improve week over week, the linebackers could be a force to be reckoned with. But one thing at a time, shout out JR Johnson. But you had Jo making plays, you had Sean Murphy making plays like it was exactly what you really wanted to see.
[00:18:55] I liked what we saw from the D line, you know, I mean, you have to shout out Stewie, a huge sack, just fighting through adversity, you know, shook off that stinger, came back to it. I thought the defensive tackles played well. They made a couple of big, you know, moments when they had to. And we're still bringing along some of the other defensive ends and I just, you know, overall, like, you kept Virginia Tech's running game at bay. And I think overall from that front seven, I was impressed. You know, there was not this drop off a cliff that I was afraid we might see in this game. You really didn't see it.
[00:19:36] What I didn't like were there were several plays where Virginia Tech gashed us through the air. Now a couple of those plays, it's just the receiver winning a 50, 50 ball. And like that's going to happen. You know, not every pass is going to be incomplete. Right.
[00:19:54] But there were a couple of times where they were just open and you know, you're getting that yards after the catch, you gotta tighten that up. Like again, some of these are. It's bound to happen, but if we're gonna look at something that is a call out. Right. But again, I, I thought Csay looked great, Kilgore's look great. You know, we're still gonna see what happens with Judge, but Payton Williams dq, like these guys were balling.
[00:20:22] So overall for the game, like, this is a huge way to start the season. Like the team is a one and oh, and that is a lot better than a lot of other teams right now. And especially some of these matchups that were Power 4 matchups here. Like, again, like the line opened up at eight points in favor of South Carolina. We ended up winning by 13 and it should have been more. And so you did all that with an offense that sputtered for much of the day. You played complimentary football.
[00:20:56] And yeah, like, there are certainly things that can be worked on, but we saw good things from all three phases of this team. And again, just a very similar spot where we can maybe say how this team started last year and then improved week over week.
[00:21:13] So I look for the team to do that. They're going to settle into their rhythm here. It's a wacky game to start this neutral site on a Sunday. Like, there's all different factors at play, but you're one and, oh, you're undefeated. You did your job by one point, by 13 points, by 50 points.
[00:21:31] One and O is how you have to start the year.
[00:21:34] And we're back. That's all I can say. We are so back. I'm so happy. Relieved.
[00:21:41] It was a stressful one, but so happy for the team. So happy for us. Going to settle in, coming back home this weekend, taking on S.C. state. I will, of course, preview that next episode. 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.
