Can the Gamecocks catch some of Will Muschamp’s bye week magic?
Chances are, the connection isn’t quite that strong, but any boost couldn’t hurt.
In four seasons in Columbia as South Carolina football coach, Will Muschamp has coached five games after off weeks. They’ve gone 4-1 those games, with two memorable wins and the only loss coming to a national runner-up Clemson team.
Before that, he usually had bye weeks ahead of the Georgia game at Florida, going 1-2 among such games, including a rather miraculous upset in 2014, and 3-0 after other byes.
It might be more coincidence than bye week magic, but South Carolina needs whatever it can get this week.
The Gamecocks are coming off their lone bye week of the season. They went into it with a rather disheartening loss to LSU. As younger players got a little more work, current Gamecocks said the vibe isn’t much different.
“We went in with a bad taste in our mouth, of course,” backup quarterback Ryan Hilinski said. “Coming home from Louisiana and going to the bye week, we just wanted to improve on a lot. And we just wanted to, you know, perfect our craft, perfect a lot of things that we needed to improve on.”
It meant more rest for older players, toying with new looks and getting out of the usual game week routine.
Starting quarterback Collin Hill was with a different program (Colorado State) the past 4 years, but he said the approach wasn’t too different.
“It’s pretty similar,” Hill said. “You can do a lot of good-on-good stuff. When I say that, it’s more not game plan-type things. A lot more periods and situations against each other, which is a good thing. It’s good to get some competition, very similar to what we did at Colorado State.”
If there’s any kind of boost to be gained, it would be big against a Texas A&M team ranking in the top 10 but also a bit more vulnerable that that number might lead folks to believe. The betting line is around 7 1/2 points, leaving it close to tossup territory.
It’s worth looking back at the post-bye games of the Muschamp era and what USC was able to pull off in each.
Oct. 22, 2016 - South Carolina 34, UMass 28
No, beating the hapless Minutemen wasn’t particularly notable, especially with some defensive breakdowns, but it was a strong start for a new key player. The Gamecocks broke out Jake Bentley, who had been redshirting to that point, at quarterback. He threw for 201 yards with a 155.7 rating and helped spark a three-game winning streak that ultimately landed the Gamecocks in a bowl game.
Oct. 28, 2017 South Carolina 34, Vanderbilt 27
This wasn’t the smoothest post-bye game, but South Carolina answered every Commodore push by widening the lead. A.J. Turner put up 121 yards and USC added a win as part of a 5-1 stretch on the way to nine victories.
Oct. 27, 2018 South Carolina 27, Tennessee 24
This one was a little more grinding to be sure. The Vols, 3-5 at the time, went up 11 early in the third, but the Gamecocks scores 16 of the final 19 points, hitting the go-ahead field goal with less than 6 minutes to go. There was a controversial non-fumble call and Rico Dowdle ran for 140 yards on 10 yards per carry.
Oct. 19, 2019 South Carolina 20, Georgia 17
This upset is the biggest of the Muschamp era and perhaps a primary reason that era is still going. The Gamecocks were at a serious talent deficit, but got the running game going early and got some big plays on offense and defense to go up 17-10. Without their starting quarterback, they held on for a tense win, arguably the program’s biggest since a 2010 upset of No. 1 Alabama.
Nov. 30, 2019 Clemson 38, South Carolina 3
At the end of a long season, there was no magic this day. The Gamecocks were down their best offensive player and had several others nursing injuries. The Tigers went up 14-0 after the first quarter and had things in hand by halftime.
South Carolina (2-3) vs No. 7 Texas A&M (4-1)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia
TV: ESPN
Line: Texas A&M by 7.5
