South Carolina football: Should Gamecocks have accepted bowl bid?

PROS

Extra prep time, team building

Accepting the bowl bid extends the practice calendar by another couple of weeks, meaning a young and largely inexperienced group can get an opportunity to build chemistry and continue to improve as a team.

There seemed to be a “me, first” kind of attitude under the last regime, but interim head coach Mike Bobo has continued to preach about the importance of strengthening relationships and playing for one another.

The Gamecocks had some departures after the Will Muschamp firing, but it now seems to have players in the locker room that are playing for the name on the front of the jersey rather than the back. Extra practice time can help the team continue to mesh, bring about new leaders heading into the offseason, and give much needed reps to younger players.

Those reps are essential when taking a look at the Gamecocks’ starting lineup. The team will have a freshman quarterback under center, as well as a number of underclassmen starting at key areas. The more practice time these underclassmen can get, no matter the situation, the better.

Beamer can see the team live

Shane Beamer will not coach the team during the bowl game, though he is now on campus in a full time capacity. He, instead, will focus on the future, as he lays out his recruiting plan and continues to evaluate new coaching hires leading into the offseason.

Still, with the new head coach in Columbia, he’ll be able to stop by practice daily and get a little more familiar with the players on the current roster. He’ll have an opportunity to evaluate talent, project where they might fit into his plans for the future, and even sway the decisions of players who aren’t quite sure of where they want to be in 2021.

These extra weeks of practice offer Beamer his first real chance to build relationships with the guys on campus.

A chance to build momentum ahead of 2021

We’ve talked about the practice time and importance of building team chemistry, but there’s also a game to be played, and one that could offer the Gamecocks a chance to end the season on the right foot. A number of players have expressed the desire to get the sour taste of a six-game losing streak out of their mouths and build some momentum heading into 2021.

A win versus a conference champion UAB squad can accomplish that. It can give players and fans a sense of hope following what was a rough regular season. It can help the coaching staff sell a new vision and direction for the team heading into the new year. And, most importantly, it can offer a reward to the players that have stuck it out and continued to work hard when others within the program stepped out early.