Why South Carolina football's win vs Vanderbilt mattered more after its Jacksonville State struggles
COLUMBIA — Despite a victory over Jacksonville State in Week 10 to end a four-game losing streak, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer said the team's film session the day after was far from celebratory.
While he wanted the players to enjoy the win in the moment, Beamer was also frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of effort in the 38-28 win, especially on defense.
"I came in here last Saturday and talked about that we're going to celebrate the win but we're going to correct a lot and hold guys accountable, and we did," Beamer said. "Last Sunday was probably not a very pleasant meeting, because there were frankly some examples on tape in all three phases where we weren't playing with the effort that we expect here. ... We needed to see that today."
Junior defensive lineman Alex Huntley agreed with Beamer and said the team's upperclassmen and leaders took that message to heart. Quarterback Spencer Rattler told the team before Saturday's game against Vanderbilt: Just winning wasn't enough this week.
"We wanted to get a win today, but I was like, 'Let's win big today,' " Rattler said. "We need a big win, really score a lot of points and play good complimentary football. Defense played amazing today. ... They put us in great field position, so it was just a great game for us."
Win big the Gamecocks did, routing the Commodores 47-6 for their largest margin of victory in any game this season. Despite cold, rainy conditions, Rattler completed 78% of his passes for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Xavier Legette logged 120 yards to become the sixth player in program history with 1,000-plus receiving yards in a season.
Huntley caught a touchdown pass in addition to his tackle for loss. Linebacker Bam Martin-Scott recorded a career-high 13 tackles with a sack and a pass breakup. The Gamecocks (4-6, 2-5 SEC) combined for six quarterback hurries and eight breakups, giving up just 104 yards passing and 130 rushing to the Commodores (2-9, 0-7).
Even the special teams delivered one of the unit's best performances. Despite two missed extra points in the rain, Keenan Nelson Jr. recorded South Carolina's first special teams touchdown of the season on a blocked punt that he recovered and returned 18 yards to the end zone.
"That's the fun part of football, being with these guys day in and day out, and seeing them have success feels like also your success," Huntley said. "Guys like Bam, he had a crazy day and each time the whole sideline, every play he made, was going crazy because other guys love seeing him make those plays. It's really easy to celebrate and have fun out there."
South Carolina needed to prove that it was capable of dominance, something the team had not shown in any other game this season — not against FCS Furman or Jacksonville State in its second year transitioning to FBS.
GAMECOCKS ROUT VANDY: South Carolina football dominates Vanderbilt 47-6, keeps bowl eligibility hopes alive
While Vanderbilt is consistently the stooge of the SEC, it is still a Power 5 program. The Commodores are just a year removed from late-season upsets of Kentucky and Florida, and the Gamecocks won by a single point the last time Vanderbilt came to Williams-Brice Stadium in 2021.
South Carolina now heads into two must-win matchups against Kentucky (6-4, 3-4) and Clemson (6-4) to reach bowl eligibility, and it likely will be a significant underdog in both games. No matter who it was against, the Gamecocks have never needed a win like this as badly as they did on Saturday.
"It's one word: momentum," senior tight end Josh Simon said. "Just had to get that momentum to finish strong."
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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Vanderbilt was South Carolina football's most important 2023 win
