Saturday's loss to Clemson was a tough pill to swallow for the South Carolina football team, but there were still positives to take away from an 8-4 regular season, quarterback Jake Bentley said.
"It sucks losing, but we have to get better," Bentley said. "We're not gonna let this define our program. At the end of the day, we gotta keep working."
The Gamecocks were outgained by 262 yards and Bentley threw two interceptions and one late-game touchdown in a 34-10 defeat at Williams-Brice Stadium in the annual Palmetto Bowl. Head coach Will Muschamp was not shy in taking the blame for the poor performance by the Gamecocks.
"We need to play better, we need to coach better, and it starts with me," Muschamp said."Offensively, it was hard to get anything going ... [I was] disappointed with the showing today."
South Carolina's response moving forward will be key for what next season's team will look like. The Gamecocks finished the year 8-4 overall, a two-win increase from last year's finishing mark of 6-7. The Gamecocks are bowl eligible for the second straight season, and will most likely receive a more advanced opponent than last season when they faced South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.
For the Gamecocks, the 2017 season isn't a total loss. South Carolina did several good things that it can add on to for next year's campaign. The team improved in wins, finished second in the SEC East and cracked the Top 25 for the first time in more two years — not too shabby for the second year of a complete rebuild.
The Gamecocks must return to top tier recruiting in order to develop the talent necessary to compete at an elite level. Following Saturday's loss, Muschamp said he was "going recruiting tomorrow."
South Carolina may also need to revise its offensive scheme. In order for a team to win nine or 10 games in a season, the entire offense must buy in to the scheme it is running. Too many times this season the well-oiled offense machine that was seen against NC State would have to be repaired by the defense in the form of a late game stop or a turnover. The Gamecocks must get back to playing like they did against the Wolfpack and the Razorbacks to have a chance to build on the success they had this year.
"We need to work on the small things and the small details. Sometimes we get in the moment and lose sight of the small things," wide receiver Bryan Edwards said.
The defense was much improved compared to last season as well. The Gamecocks lead the league in forced turnovers and a few star players emerged this season, including defensive lineman D.J. Wonnum and linebacker TJ Brunson. Both of these players will return next year and will be instrumental in leading the defense with seven starters departing.
The Gamecocks will also look to improve their physicality at all positions. Clemson had far too much ease pushing the Gamecocks around. The line of scrimmage was constantly pushed forward at least three yards in favor of Clemson, receivers were shedding tackles and holding blocks on both linebackers and defensive backs and there were no shortage of missed tackles by Gamecock defenders.
Muschamp said two things are important moving forward: recruiting and bowl practices. While South Carolina is down 10 scholarships, Muschamp knows recruiting kickstarts everything the program is trying to achieve. In addition to recruiting, Muschamp and his players will take advantage of the extra bowl practices to simply get better.
"We're happy we're going to a good bowl this year ... It was a great season," Edwards said.
For now, the Gamecocks will have to let this loss sink in, but they can't let it bring them down.