Thumbs up, thumbs down: South Carolina vs. North Carolina in Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Here’s a look at what went right and wrong for the South Carolina Gamecocks in their 38-21 win against North Carolina in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Thumbs Up
Dakereon Joyner: Bowl games often produce surprise plays and unexpected wrinkles. The biggest surprise of all Thursday was how often Joyner, a wide receiver, lined up at quarterback. Though Joyner played quarterback in high school and trained as both a signal-caller and receiver under Will Mushcamp, he had primarily played receiver this year, with occasional plays out of the Wildcat formation. On Thursday, Joyner took the first snap at quarterback and shocked the Tar Heels with a 69-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaheim Bell in USC’s opening offensive drive. Splitting time with Zeb Noland, Joyner started the bulk of USC’s offensive series at quarterback, completing all nine of his passes for 160 yards and a touchdown while also running for 64 yards on the ground.
Jaheim Bell: Speaking of Bell, the dynamic tight end gave the Gamecocks a massive jolt early in the game. Bell rushed for 20 years on the first play of the game, taking the ball from Joyner on a jet sweep. After his 69-yard touchdown reception, Bell hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Zeb Noland on the team’s next drive. Midway through the first quarter, Bell two catches for two touchdowns and 135 receiving yards. He cooled off as the game progressed, spending time on the sideline with an athletic trainer, but his early impact made a seismic difference for USC. He finished with a team-high 159 receiving yards on five catches.
Jabari Ellis: Playing his final game as a Gamecock, the veteran defensive lineman was a physical force all game long, making UNC quarterback Sam Howell uncomfortable in the pocket with consistent pressure. Ellis recorded a 10-yard sack on third down to start the game, derailing what had looked like a promising Tar Heel drive. Late in the second quarter, he tackled running back Ty Chandler for no gain on third down in the red zone, forcing the Tar Heels to kick a field goal. He finished the game with five tackles and a sack.
Third-down defense: Led by the veteran Ellis, the USC defense was especially stingy on third downs Thursday, deflating several promising UNC drives. Matched up against Clayton White’s defense, Howell and the Tar Heels failed to convert their first seven third-down attempts and went 1-for-9 on third down overall.
Kevin Harris: Limited by injury for much the season, last year’s SEC regular season rushing leader didn’t show quite the same burst in 2021 as he did in 2020. But that changed Thursday, as Harris ran all over the UNC defense, posting a whopping 182 yards on 31 carries in one last bid to raise his stock before making an NFL Draft decision. Harris has not yet indicated what he will do after this season.
USC Thumbs Down
The mayo bath: Depending on one’s thoughts on mayonnaise as a condiment, this could actually be a thumbs up. As part of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl theme, the winning coach of the bowl received a mayo bath rather than the standard Gatorade bath. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer surely was pleased to come away with a win, but washing off 4.5 gallons of watered-down mayonnaise after it’s been dumped on you can’t be a fun activity.
Passing defense: It’s difficult to find faults in a South Carolina effort that was dominant from the get-go. If there was one area of weakness, it was in a USC secondary that allowed Howell to connect on six passing plays of 15-plus yards, including a 37-yard touchdown to wide open tight end Garrett Walston on a flea flicker. Those plays didn’t come back to hurt the Gamecocks, as the Tar Heels couldn’t consistently finish drives, but they kept UNC within striking distance.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 2:40 PM.
