The South Carolina football team defeated the Old Dominion Monarchs 23-19 on Saturday night in the season opener at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The Gamecocks forced a turnover less than a minute into the game, when fifth-year edge rusher Kyle Kennard forced a fumble from Old Dominion redshirt junior quarterback Grant Wilson, recovered by redshirt senior linebacker Debo Williams.
Three plays later, senior running back Raheim Sanders ran the ball in from the one yard line to give South Carolina a quick 7-0 lead.
The Monarchs tied the game up just two plays later when Wilson heaved a 72-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Isiah Paige.
The Gamecocks offense was stagnant for the rest of the half after the touchdown to begin the game. The next drive resulted in a field goal for sixth-year placekicker Alex Herrera, but the next four drives were all scoreless for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina headed into the half knocking in another field goal, leading 13-7.
The third quarter was much of the same for South Carolina, as Herrera hit another field goal to begin the half. But the Gamecocks did not score in its next two drives. Then the Monarchs offense started to heat up, they scored a touchdown and a field goal to tie up the game at 16-16 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Gamecocks trailed for the first time in the game early in the fourth, when the Monarchs nailed another field goal to lead 19-16.
South Carolina got its big break midway through the fourth quarter, when freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart stripped Wilson deep in Old Dominion territory, recovered by sixth-year defensive tackle DeAndre Jules.
Two plays later, redshirt freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran into the endzone, giving the Gamecocks a 23-19 lead with just six minutes remaining .
South Carolina put the game away on the defensive end when sophomore defensive back Jalon Kilgore intercepted Wilson off a deflection with 1:30 left.
“It certainly wasn’t pretty. We’ve got a lot to clean up,” Beamer said . “We’ll learn from this one, enjoy it, celebrate it ... (but) know that it was nowhere near good enough.”
The defensive pass-rush was a force to be reckoned with
The Gamecocks defensive line put together five sacks with eight tackles-for-loss against the Monarchs, looking dominant when Old Dominion looked to move the ball in the air.
Kennard was a catalyst on the line, recording 2.5 sacks with 4.5 tackles-for-loss in his first game as a Gamecock. His impact rubbed off on the opposite end with Stewart, who recorded 1.5 sacks of his own, with four total tackles. The edge rushing duo combined managed four of the five sacks, while each forcing a fumble resulting in a Gamecocks touchdown.
“I feel like it goes to Dylan (Stewart) and the rest of the D-line,” Kennard said. “They held their depths and put me in a position to do what I had to do.”
Along with two fumble recoveries, the pressure from the defensive line helped the Gamecocks intercept Wilson twice in the game, ultimately creating four turnovers to the Monarchs’ one.
“Our record around here is stupid good when we win the turnover battle,” Beamer said. "The number one statistic in football is the turnover margin, and we obviously won that tonight, and it was absolutely huge."
The rushing attack has improved, with much to be desired from the passing game
The Gamecocks made the new and improved ground game their identity in the victory, heavily relying on the legs of Sellers and Sanders throughout the game.
Sanders finished with 88 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Sellers ran for 68 yards and a touchdown, combining for 156 of the 174 yards the Gamecocks ran for.
While the ground game definitely looked strong compared to a season ago, it was definitely an exhausted offensive strategy as the game went into later stages. Sellers only went 10/23 on passing attempts, throwing for 114 yards.
Compared to the 56 attempts on the ground, the passing attack didn’t offer as much for the Gamecocks, causing a stagnant offense late in the game.
“It’s not as easy as you might think it is,” Sellers joked. “You just got to prepare the right way. I need to get better...at being more patient, just being myself, just being confident.”
Offense and Defense work together
On both of the Gamecocks touchdown drives, the offense needed a total of nine yards combined due to the incredible field position they received, starting deep in the red zone in both opportunities.
This is in large part due to the play of the defense, forcing both turnovers while the offense had little room to operate deep in their own territory.
Likewise, when Sellers fumbled in the second quarter, sophomore wide receiver Nyck Harbor was able to tackle safety redshirt sophomore Patrick Smith-Young before he could score a touchdown. Fortune was able to intercept Wilson just a play later in the endzone, with efforts of Harbor.
“We responded to adversity each time,” Beamer said. “Whenever something bad happened to one phase, the other phase picked them up.”
What’s next?
The South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0) return to the gridiron to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Sep. 7 at Kroger Field. The game will be at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.