Rush Hour: South Carolina run game leads the way in win over Charlotte
The bleachers at Williams-Brice Stadium were almost bare in spots with 11:58 remaining in the first-ever meeting between South Carolina and Charlotte. But those seats weren’t empty because the home squad slogged through the wrong side of another historic dismantling as it did when No. 1 Georgia came to town seven days ago.
No. Not this week.
Those seats were vacated on account of the Gamecocks bludgeoning the visiting 49ers 56-20 in a contest that saw car taillights lining Bluff Road well before the final whistle out of sympathy rather than indifference.
“There’s no question this hasn’t been an easy week around here coming off the disappointment of last Saturday and some of the other stuff from this week,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “And just to play like we did ... really, really proud of them.”
None of South Carolina’s remaining opponents are as disastrously poor statistically on defense as Charlotte, sure. But for a Gamecocks squad that had yet to piece together 40 minutes of cohesive offense, the win was a start.
Running back MarShawn Lloyd did his best Reggie Bush impression dancing around, through and — quite literally — over any wobbly Charlotte defender that dared to try and stop him.
Charlotte defensive back Wayne Jones was the first poor soul who attempted to impede Lloyd’s path. Dashing through a truck-sized hole on the left side of the South Carolina line, Lloyd squared up Jones at the second level of the 49ers defense. The 5-foot-9, 212-pound tailback promptly hurdled Jones with a world-class leap, dipped back to the outside and raced into the end zone for the Gamecocks’ first of six rushing touchdowns.
Lloyd did one better on his second carry of the third quarter, hitting a hole and bowling over Jones once more before outracing the rest of the Charlotte defense for his second of his three touchdowns on the night.
He added his final score by shaking Jones on a stutter step and slipping inside from seven yards out.
“That’s what I came to South Carolina for — the energy, to win,” Lloyd said postgame. “We got a great overall team win and I’m super excited about that.”
Running mate and previously prolific Wake Forest tailback Christian Beal-Smith added a pair of rushing touchdowns of his own on Saturday.
Beal-Smith, who had been limited through the first three games of the season with a foot injury, leaped over the Charlotte defensive line for South Carolina’s fourth touchdown run of the night and his first score as a Gamecock.
He added a second on a 1-yard touchdown plunge midway through the third quarter — part of a 39-0 South Carolina scoring run that spanned 27 minutes of game time.
Juju McDowell notched the final rushing touchdown on a 4-yard run, while Arkansas State transfer receiver Corey Rucker’s 52-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception was the final score of the night.
“There were probably some people sensing, ‘Oh gosh, here we go again,’ ” Beamer said in reference to a slow start Saturday. “And we shut the door on that in the second half.”
Shaky as it was in the first half, the Gamecocks defense clamped down over the final 30 minutes of Saturday’s contest.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White’s unit combined for three interceptions on three consecutive Charlotte possessions to gift the South Carolina offense fields of 7, 33 and 43 yards on its three third-quarter drives.
South Carolina’s three picks also marked its most in a game since a 2020 win over Auburn.
“I feel like in the second half we were able to just play our game, play off instincts and not really overthink in the way that we were doing in the first quarter, the first half,” linebacker Brad Johnson said. “We were able to let loose and have fun, and that’s when plays started to be made.”
Take Saturday for what it was. South Carolina rolled — albeit after a bit of a messy start — over a team that ranked dead-last in the FBS in total defense. That much is true.
It doesn’t discount what looked like a disastrously listless offense against Georgia a week ago exploding for one of the most complete 40-minute displays of the Shane Beamer era.
It’s why receiver Josh Vann hung his head and laughed when his fourth-quarter punt return touchdown was called back for a blocking penalty roughly 70 yards from the end zone. It’s why South Carolina going for and eventually converting a fourth down deep in Charlotte territory thanks to a horse-collar tackle and already up 32 points felt worthy of cheers.
For one night, forget the miscues. Forget the opponent. Forget the 1-2 start to the season.
South Carolina was downright dominant and that’s something worth celebrating — even if those fans that departed early did theirs well beyond the confines of Williams-Brice Stadium at 11:08 p.m. on Saturday.
First down
Lloyd had the best game of his brief Gamecocks career on Saturday. He finished his day with 169 yards on the ground — including 64 yards via seven attempts on South Carolina’s first drive of the day.
The Delaware native recorded his previous career-high 55 rush yards in the 2021 season-opening win over Eastern Illinois.
Key Stats
49 — The Gamecocks scored 49 points for the first time against FBS competition since a 2018 win over Coastal Carolina.
70 — South Carolina’s number of rushing yards on its first drive. That’s more than it mustered in the entire loss vs. Arkansas (40).
Next USC football game
Who: South Carolina (2-2) vs S.C. State (1-2)
When: Noon Saturday, Oct. 1
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published September 24, 2022 at 11:08 PM.
