House Calls: South Carolina turns special teams magic into win over SC State
We need to start with Vicari Swain. A lot of folks have talked about LaNorris Sellers for Heisman, but perhaps no player in America has done more to help their team win than Swain for the Gamecocks.
Midway through the second quarter in No. 10 South Carolina’s 38-10 win over S.C. State, the Gamecocks’ offense looked lifeless. “Pitiful” is what coach Shane Beamer called the offense at halftime. It was at the point that fans were sarcastically clapping for first downs.
The pesky FCS foe from Orangeburg was leading a Top 10 team in America 3-0. Then S.C. State (1-1) did something silly. It punted the ball to Swain — whose 64-yard return touchdown was key to the Gamecocks (2-0) beating Virginia Tech last week.
On Saturday, he caught the pigskin against the sideline, lost his footing, spun out of his tackle, then darted right. It looked like an Iowa cornfield. The only thing between Swain and the end zone was S.C. State’s punter, who USC receiver Eriq Rice sent flying like a bag in the wind. Touchdown.
Not two minutes later, the Bulldogs did it again. This punt to Swain was blocked and dribbled up the field. A S.C. State player was a foot away, ready to down it. Every special teams coach in America probably tells their guys to back off.
But Swain ran up, grabbed the ball, nearly got leveled, somehow backpedaled into open space. Then he turned right. There was nothing stopping him — again.
“It was a great moment for us. It created a spark,” Swain said.
Not since Dick Harris in 1971 had a Gamecock returned three punts for touchdowns ... in a season. Swain did it in six quarters.
And, well, the excitement felt subdued. Partially because his heroics were only bailing out the Gamecocks’ offense — an offense that seemed to need hundreds more reps to iron out its stagnation.
On two punts, Swain might have broken more tackles than South Carolina’s running backs in the first half. Sellers seemed without an easy button. Everything looked hard. And the offensive line was getting beat too often by an FCS defense.
It’s why Beamer walked off the field at halftime and didn’t seem keen on relishing in more Beamer Ball heroics. He had to come up with a word to describe his offense. “Pitiful” seemed apropos.
“We know we need to be a lot better,” Beamer said. “We can’t rely on our defense and special teams to score three touchdowns a game like they did tonight.”
The final score reads like your typical rout. But S.C. State looked like the better team for two quarters. Perhaps the Gamecocks were slow to start after weather delayed the game almost two-and-a-half hours.
They did seem to settle down in the second half, opening with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that ended with running back Oscar Adaway finding the end zone.
Of course, the Gamecocks defense ballooned the lead with a scoop-and-score from linebacker Jaron Willis — meaning more time for Sellers and the offense to stand on the sideline.
And speaking of that defense, it did not replicate its other-worldly outing against the Hokies. It gave up nearly 200 passing yards. That’s not the concern. The worry stems from all the guys who, by the second quarter, were injured on the sidelines.
Cornerbacks Judge Collier and Brandon Cisse. Nickelbacks Jalon Kilgore and Jaquel Holman. Edge Jatius Geer. By halftime, the Gamecocks defense was extremely thin — which wasn’t a huge worry for Saturday, but could have lingering consequences.
“It’s not good,” Beamer said of the team’s injuries.
That’ll be something to monitor. It also might not mean much if South Carolina can count on Swain taking every other punt to the house.
Next South Carolina game
Who: South Carolina (2-0) vs. Vanderbilt (2-0)
When: 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 12:35 AM.
