South Carolina football: 3 takeaways from the season opener
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football started the season off on the right foot, beating the Eastern Illinois Panthers by a score of 46-0 in Williams-Brice Stadium over the weekend. It was smooth sailing from the beginning in a game the Gamecocks never trailed in.
The defense showed up, pitching the program’s first shutout since 2008, while graduate transfer Zeb Noland led a steady offense on its way to a 439-yard night. Noland tossed four first-half touchdowns in the contest, while running back ZaQuandre White led the team in both rushing and receiving, totaling 167 yards on 16 touches.
While the result is just what the Gamecocks needed to get the Shane Beamer era up and rolling, there were some causes for concern. The team looked sloppy at times, committing eight penalties for 61 yards. Wideouts need to get a bit more involved, as the passing game was still very tight end and running back oriented. The offensive line needs to open up a few more holes in the rushing attack, as Eastern Illinois was able to get in the backfield a number of times on Saturday.
With a matchup against East Carolina right around the corner, South Carolina needs to improve upon a few things while continuing to excel in the areas it did last weekend. Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from game one, and see how they can affect next week’s contest on the road.