Fourth quarter struggles erased –
Even with a 14-point lead, there's a reason South Carolina fans found themselves clutching to the nearest possible object in the second half against South Alabama. In fact, the point differential is the reason why fans were unable to relax. Coming into Saturday’s game, the Gamecocks had been outscored 102-69 in the fourth quarter, and had seen late leads against Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee slip away in the final quarter. However, against South Alabama, the team allowed only a field goal in the second half and held the Jaguars to 45 total yards in the fourth quarter. South Carolina capitalized on its opponent’s stagnant offense, scoring 14 points in the final 15 minutes to put the game out of the reach. The Gamecock's defense played well enough to earn praise from head coach Steve Spurrier, who, at times, has been the unit’s harshest critic this season.
“Fortunately, our defense really came to play in the second half,” Spurrier said. “We shut them out in the second half, and held them to field goals in the first half. Even though they were on the field most of the time, we made them kick field goals, and they only had nine points.”
Forgettable farewell –
Junior running back Mike Davis checked into the game during South Carolina’s second drive of the game after yielding to junior running back Brandon Wilds, who started at the position. Davis entered the game and immediately caught a 28-yard pass from redshirt senior Dylan Thompson, setting up a six-play 73-yard touchdown drive for the Gamecocks. Then, on South Carolinas' third and fifth offensive drives, Davis coughed up the football, the second of which resulted in a South Alabama field goal right before halftime. After fumbling twice, Spurrier yanked Davis in favor of Wilds and redshirt freshman running back David Williams.
"The fumbles sort of got him sidelined,” Spurrier said. “Two out of three times you touch the ball [and fumble], we just didn’t know if he could hold on to the ball. We’ve got plenty of other running backs, though.”
Despite being a junior, Davis participated in South Carolina’s Senior Day Saturday afternoon and will likely declare for the NFL Draft after the season, although he has not yet publicly made a decision.
“Three turnovers a day” –
Coming into Saturday, South Carolina’s defense had tallied five interceptions all season. Saturday afternoon, senior defensive back Brison Williams and sophomore linebacker Skai Moore picked off two passes each, as the Gamecocks’ defense recorded five turnovers on the day. Aside from South Carolina’s win against Furman, Saturday’s game was the only contest in which its defense forced both a fumble and an interception in the same game. The team’s defense looked to be at its best when juniors TJ Gurley and Chris Moody manned the safety positions, allowing Williams to move to cornerback, where he made both of his interceptions. Since moving Moore to middle linebacker a week ago, the defense has surrendered 567 total yards over a two-game span. That total is the lowest two-game yard total allowed by South Carolina this season.