The blemishes on South Carolina’s record: ‘Two missed opportunities’

South Carolina tight end Jacob August took hardly a beat to answer.

His squad sits at 3-2, about where many expected it to be five games in. But one loss, Kentucky, wasn’t one that was totally expected. The other was closer than projected, but also involved a blown 10-point lead.

So does this team feel good where it is, or feel good chances were missed?

“Two missed opportunities,” August said. “We know we should have won those games. Give all the credit to Texas A&M and Kentucky. They played good games, they won those games. At the end of the day, we’ve got to finish those games. That’s on us.”

The Kentucky game was a mess from the standpoint of missing chances on offense, letting a solid defensive performance go to waste. The Gamecocks faced a bigger talent deficiency against the Aggies but also pulled ahead and watched the lead slip away.

One could argue the Gamecocks are close to 5-0, but close wins against N.C. State and needing a comeback against Louisiana Tech mean USC is about as close to 1-4.

But the Gamecocks are looking at the first scenario, well, looking forward while still ruing what was so close, especially letting the lead slip away in Texas.

“We had that game,” tailback Ty’Son Williams said. “That’s why it’s so frustrating, going over. We’re in control of the game. We’ve just got to finish it, got to have more of that killer instinct. Hurts.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2017 at 4:33 PM.