Sights, sounds and postgame moments from final chapter of USC’s trying season
Hands glued to the front of his vest, a USC police officer stared blankly ahead. The set of bleachers in the north end of Williams-Brice Stadium was unusually tame for this late in a South Carolina football game and the officer could afford to take his eyes off the USC students and grab a peek of the game action.
Or lack thereof.
“Just run the ball,” he muttered to no one in particular as Clemson backup quarterback Chase Brice threw in the waning moments of the Tigers’ 38-3 rout of the Gamecocks, their sixth straight win in this series.
The clock, at three minutes then, eventually rolled down to zeroes and USC’s trying 2019 season was finally over. Anticipating their team’s exit from the field, Clemson fans gathered in one corner of the stadium and chirped at their counterparts in garnet and black.
“Merry Six-mas!”
“Six in a row!”
“What bowl game are y’all going to?”
A different type of crowd gathered in the opposite corner. Fans hung over the railing of Section 9 and said goodbye to their Gamecocks. South Carolina (4-8) isn’t going to a bowl for the first time in the Will Muschamp era. The embattled coach reached the tunnel, but not before mixed reactions. Some encouraging claps, yes, but one man booed loudly with his thumbs to the ground.
These are tough times for even the most loyal of Gamecock supporters. Merrick and Jason Harding were next to the booing man, but didn’t join in. The relatives, rather, stayed in their place until they slapped hands or took photos with every USC player who left the field.
“I mean, we were here during the Spurrier era when they were getting better and just progressing,” said Jason, a 2008 USC graduate who lives in Sumter. “And now it just seems like a lot of the fans have jumped off the bandwagon and we’re here supporting because we feel like …”
“We feel we have to,” said Merrick, finishing off his uncle’s sentence.
“We have to,” Jason continued. “Who else is going to?”
Saturday’s announced crowd of 80,580 came colored with chunks of orange. Clemson (12-0) is headed toward another College Football Playoff appearance and its supporters invaded Columbia to see their Tigers finalize a second straight perfect regular season.
South Carolina, meanwhile, won’t play again until next September. And, yes, Muschamp is remaining as coach, that much finally confirmed after a variety of confusing statements from administrators over the last month.
“You can talk about firing your coach or doing whatever, but save that for the offseason,” Merrick said. “There were games still to be played and it’s just a distraction. It’s hurting in the recruiting game. They don’t know if we’re going to get the same guy or not. It’s not good. It’s harmful. It’s very toxic.”
Jason Harding said Muschamp can turn around USC’s misfortunes, but “there needs to be some staff changes for sure. My biggest concern is injuries. I don’t know what’s going on with athletic training or strength and conditioning. There’s an issue there, too many injuries.”
A face for the future is quarterback Ryan Hilinski. The freshman hobbled to the locker room with his teammates and then returned to the field moments later by himself. He greeted every fan still in Section 9, including 13-year-old Tanon Mankowski. The eighth-grader from Bluffton had a garnet helmet filled with signatures, “Ryan Hilinski #3” now among them.
“I just told him good season,” Mankowski said, “and he said thank you.”
Mankowski, like many in this state, shares daily space with Clemson fans. At school, Mankowski said, the Tiger fans tell him that “South Carolina is trash,” but Mankowski fires back with the same response every time.
“If Clemson was in the SEC, they wouldn’t even be in the Top 25.”
He then grinned, the sign of a happy boy who still got to watch his Gamecocks play this season. Even though it’s over before December.
“I mean, it wasn’t the greatest, but we got some young talent,” he said. “So maybe not next year, but the next year …”
