How 'finding some joy' is fueling South Carolina football entering win-or-no-bowl November
COLUMBIA — In 2022, the phrase "find some joy" turned into a social media firestorm for South Carolina football when Shane Beamer used it to call out "doom and gloom" in the fan base after a victory at Vanderbilt.
In 2023, the Gamecocks (2-6, 1-5 SEC) have turned the saying into a mantra amid their worst start since Will Muschamp's midseason firing in 2020. The loss at Texas A&M last week marked the first season the time the Gamecocks have not won a road game since 2003, and South Carolina now needs to win out in November to reach bowl eligibility.
As South Carolina takes the first step towards that unlikely goal against Jacksonville State (7-2) on Saturday (noon, ESPNU), Beamer said one of his priorities is making sure that his players still love football — regardless of what happens on game day.
"When I got hired here three years ago, I met with every player on the team and so many of them talked about how they dreaded coming into this building every day," Beamer said Tuesday. "I'll be damned if I'm every going to be the head coach and not have our guys look forward to coming into this building. Does it stink on Sundays coming in here after a loss? Yeah ... But are guys excited to come out here and work each day in practice and be with one another? Yes."
It was a sentiment sixth-year running back Dakereon Joyner echoed as he enters his final weeks with the Gamecocks. Joyner, who was on the roster when South Carolina finished 2-8 in 2020, said he knows the Gamecocks can still "flip the script" on the 2023 season.
"As a team, we've still got a lot ahead of us," Joyner said. "I told the guys this morning, despite our record, (to) find some joy. We've got four guaranteed games left. We've got three more Tuesday practices after today. Enjoy every single moment, take advantage of every single moment and just come enjoy being with each other."
South Carolina received the second-most votes of any unranked team in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and hoped to build off of top-10 upsets of Tennessee and Clemson at the end of 2022, so this season has been a disappointment relative to both internal and external expectations. Still, Beamer doesn't see the slump as a reason to burn it all down in his third season. Rather, it's an exercise in remaining consistent through adversity.
"It's one of those things where you don't blow everything up and reinvent the wheel. You stay the course and look at the big picture of why things are the way they are right now and how, in short term, we can be better," Beamer said. "Each week is something different it seems like, which is frustrating, but to me it's just kind of staying the course and continuing to be who you are."
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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: How 'find some joy' fuels South Carolina, Shane Beamer amid 2-6 season
