Saturday, the South Carolina Gamecocks 4-3 (2-3) traveled to Norman to play the Oklahoma Sooners 4-3 (1-3) for the first time in program history. Here is what happened and what we learned from it:
South Carolina Gamecocks Rout Sooners
Picture Perfect Start
When Gamecocks fans went to sleep Friday night, they couldn’t have dreamt of a better first quarter (or a better first play).
The Sooners started true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback, even though he led the offense to only three points last week in a blowout loss to then No. 1 Texas. Things didn’t get prettier for Hawkins, as on the first play of the game DB Nick Emmanwori intercepted him. From there, it took the Gamecocks offense only five plays to go 41 yards and get the opening score with a Rocket Sanders run.
🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/gwOB3e6aWm
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 19, 2024
Just four plays later, the Gamecocks defense struck again. This time Demetrius Knight Jr. strip-sacked Hawkins, and Tonka Hemingway took it 36 yards for the scoop-and-score touchdown. Just 3:39 into the game, it was 14-0 Gamecocks.
TONKA TONKA TONKA pic.twitter.com/O2YMnZEuD3
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 19, 2024
Emmanwori snagged his second interception of the game off a tipped pass which he returned 65 yards for another defensive score. That would be Hawkins’s last snap of the game. His final stat line was 3-of-5 for 18 yards, two interceptions, and one lost fumble.
TO THE🏡 pic.twitter.com/ZgCRhvT1pD
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 19, 2024
South Carolina made another big defensive play when Demetrius Knight blew up a fake punt attempt. That set up Alex Herrera who welcomed scoring back into the game for the first time in six drives with a 39-yard field goal. The Sooners later responded with a kick of their own by Zach Schmit, finally getting on the board to make it a 24-3 game.
Immediately following that field goal, South Carolina put together its best offensive drive of the day. They moved the ball 75 yards in eight plays, the longest being a Joshua Simon 33-yard touchdown reception. The Gamecocks added a two-point conversion making it 32-3 at the half.
An Uneventful Second Half
Oklahoma opened the second half scoring early, on their first drive. Backup quarterback Jackson Arnold found Brenen Thompson for a 54-yard touchdown, though the Sooners failed the two-point conversion attempt.
JA ➡️ BT pic.twitter.com/HvjJWxoBcX
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 19, 2024
After one more Herrera field goal, one more Oklahoma turnover (a fumble), and a plethora of South Carolina sacks, the final score was 35-9. Welcome to the SEC, Oklahoma.
Analysis
This was a dominant win that revealed the character of the team, and how this South Carolina team is capable of playing. After suffering a heartbreaking loss in Alabama last week, the Gamecocks bounced back by going into Norman and squashing the Sooners. This game defined the culture that Shane Beamer aims to establish as Gamecocks head coach, and “Beamer Ball” was certainly in full effect.
The South Carolina defense was not only great, they played a nearly flawless game. Before the game, Beamer said the key to this game was wining the turnover battle, and that they did. The Gamecocks forced six forced fumbles, two of which were recovered by USC, two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns! When a defensive unit gets nine sacks — all by different players — and that isn’t even its most notable stat, you know a lot is going right for it!
If you just looked at the score after this game, you would have thought the offense was dominant, but that wasn’t the case. While it makes sense the Gamecocks were trying to be conservative with the ball, they didn’t show a lot firepower on offense. Sellers was 16/24 for 175 yards and a touchdown, but the run game wasn’t strong. South Carolina ran 39 times for only 76 yards. This lack of ball movement is why Punter Kai Kroger was on the field at the end of eight stalled drives. At the end of the day, the offense’s job was to hold the lead and not make bad mistakes, which they did. When you go up 21 just minutes into the game, explosive offensive plays aren’t necessary.
