Williams-Brice crowd brings the noise. The Gamecocks and Aggies heard it
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said Saturday night’s crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium created one of the greatest atmospheres he’s been a part in his coaching career.
Texas A&M players didn’t disagree with that statement after the Gamecocks’ 30-24 win over the Aggies. It was South Carolina’s first victory in nine tries against Texas A&M.
“The atmosphere was great. They have great passionate fans. And with the lights and everything, it made it a great atmosphere to play football in,” Texas A&M offensive lineman Layden Robinson said. “You dream of playing in moments like this.”
The Aggies played in front of a raucous crowd this season at Alabama’s Bryant Denny Stadium, and Robinson said Williams-Brice on Saturday night was on par with that environment.
Robinson said the Aggies struggled with the crowd noise, especially when they had the ball deep toward either end zone. Texas A&M was banged up on the offensive line going into Saturday night’s game and started three freshmen. The noise made it even more of a challenge, as the Aggies were called for eight false-start penalties in the game.
“I told the team before we left the hotel that the crowd is going to be a good advantage for us, but it isn’t going to win the game for us. But I may have screwed that up,” Beamer said. “The noise they created, the false starts they caused — thank you. That was an awesome environment. I want our fans to celebrate the heck out of that one.”
The announced crowd was 77,787, the fourth sellout of the season in five home games. The only game USC didn’t sell out was when the S.C. State game was moved to Thursday because of Hurricane Ian.
Saturday’s crowd was amped up during the pregame Gamecock Walk. Things reached a fever pitch about 10 seconds into the game when Xavier Legette returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. It was USC’s first opening kickoff for a score since Deebo Samuel in 2018.
“That was for sure the loudest game I have been a part of,” said USC quarterback Spencer Rattler, who played in front of big crowds at Oklahoma for two years before transferring to the Gamecocks. “When Xavier took that 100-yard kickoff return back, it was electric. My chest was bumping from the sound of the crowd.
“It was big time. A lot of false starts they had and turnovers. Whenever you have that crowd noise, it helps.”
The noise was so significant the South Carolina Emergency Management Division felt the need to report that the raucous crowd was the cause of any shaking in the area — not another earthquake.
“No. That’s not an earthquake in the Midlands. That’s Williams-Brice Stadium. Stop calling,” the S.C. Emergency Management Division said on social media.
At least 71 have been detected in the Palmetto State this year, according to South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The noise helped the Gamecocks set up their third scoring drive of the first quarter. Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King tried to change the play and say something to his linemen. But the center snapped the ball, it hit King’s leg and USC’s Tonka Hemingway recovered the fumble.
Hemingway returned it to the 19 and running back Christian Beal-Smith scored on a 6-yard run to make it 17-0 in the first quarter.
“The crowd helped out a lot, especially on third down when they got loud,” USC junior defensive end Jordan Burch said. “You saw how many times they came offsides, so it was really big. That was probably the loudest I have heard the crowd since I been here. It was exciting.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 1:11 AM.
