This lost chance is one South Carolina might mourn for a while
Will Muschamp’s South Carolina football team had the path laid out ahead of it.
Three games it looked to be favored in. Three wins needed to go bowling. Three wins to salvage a season that started somewhat disastrously.
And the first of those proved too much.
The Gamecocks went up early, they fought back from a bad spot. And then their secondary melted town in a massive way in a 41-21 loss to Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
At the end of the game, senior linebacker T.J. Brunson wore a face that looked something like a disheartened scowl. Tailback Deshaun Fenwick, who didn’t see any action on offense stared off into the distance, and offensive tackle Jaylen Nichols wore the emotion and pain on his face.
When the team took the field after the final whistle to shake hands, many wore pained expressions. They shook hands in a friendly manner, some greeted former South Carolina standout Shaq Wilson warmly, but also seemed to understand the chance missed. Quarterback Ryan Hilinski had a towel on the side of his face, seeming to try to alleviate some fallout from a hard hit late in the game.
Nine of the Vols’ first 17 completions went for 15 yards or more. Those plays accounted for 301 yards, or 33.4 yards per catch.
There were bombs on play-action. Safety J.T. Ibe got shook several times by Jauan Jennings. Corner Israel Mukuamu got put in bad position on one or two post routes and gave up long receptions.
Muschamp predicated his defense on preventing big plays, and the Vols, that team that rolled through two quarterback and a Wildcat player behind center, just tore them up.
The Vols even had injuries at both tackle spots, and yet South Carolina’s defense couldn’t get much pressure.
What was lost? That would be the most secure route to the postseason. Now the Gamecocks need a 3-1 finish, with a slate that includes at trip to Texas A&M and a game against Clemson in Columbia.
Tennessee wasn’t an untalented team, but it was team working through its share of issues. It had lost to Georgia State and BYU. It had seemed to be coming around in a win against Mississippi State and a loss to Alabama.
The Gamecocks managed to take a lead late in the first with a miracle catch from Bryan Edwards. Then they put up 58 yards on 15 plays in the third quarter and watched the Vols rip off 24 points in a row, including a blocked punt (the second special teams TD allowed).
A week prior, South Carolina gave up a 21-0 run in a loss to Florida. But that was against a top-10 team and with some margin for errors.
That margin wasn’t there Saturday, and USC closed out in an avalanche of opponents scores again.
After 24 hours, the team will put this loss behind them. That’s how coaches want team to operate, focused on what’s ahead and not dwelling.
But the impact — in the the standings and the prospect of the team — that will linger however this season ends up.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 7:50 PM.
