The South Carolina football team opened its 2023 season in prime time as the College GameDay matchup of the week against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
For a shorter summary of the game, the postgame quick hit can be found here.
South Carolina Football vs. North Carolina:
A Game Summary
It was an inauspicious start for Shane Beamer’s team. Dowell Loggains’ first offensive series as playcaller resulted in a 3-and-out. The Gamecocks opened the game with an attempted trick play that never materialized as Xavier Legette appeared set to throw the ball after a swing pass but, instead, took a loss on the play. The o-line struggled (a theme for the night), and a punt followed.
Nick Emmanwori got banged up on the first defensive play, and BJ Gibson came in before freshman Jalen Kilgore replaced him. The defense got gashed, especially against the run then left UNC tight end John Copenhaver open in the middle, setting the Tar Heels up for an easy score on the ground when Omarion Hampton made it 7-0 despite USC having 13 men on the field.
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Cason Henry got the start at right tackle but struggled before getting hurt on the second drive. The first sign of life from the Gamecocks came on a 21-yard 3rd down conversion from Spencer Rattler to Xavier Legette. The 7 to 17 connection worked again on the next play for a 38-yard gain on a jump ball.
The Gamecocks moved very fast on this second offensive drive. Trey Knox brought the Gamecocks inside the 5-yard line after catching a ball over the middle of the field. 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl MVP Dakereon Joyner tied things up at 7-7 with a run up the middle on the next play.
The tackling improved for the Gamecocks on the next drive, but the ‘Heels were still able to move the ball. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye started the game 10-10 passing despite missing his top two receivers for the game, but the 10th completion left North Carolina short of the sticks on 3rd down as the first quarter expired.
The 11th pass attempt fell incomplete as the Gamecocks forced the Tar Heels off the field on 4th down and took over on their own 23.
Starting running back DK Joyner ran the wildcat with no success on the first play, but it showed that he is still first in line to get those snaps in 2023. A punt followed a Spencer Rattler trip sack, but North Carolina’s ensuing drive stalled out after a promising start due to multiple penalties and a dropped pass. A 37-yard field goal from Ryan Coe gave UNC a 10-7 lead.
Xavier Legette opened the next drive with a near 30-yard reception (thanks, in part, to a DK Joyner push), and Ahmarean Brown followed with a 20-yard run after catch. Two plays later, Juju McDowell took a swing pass to the 1 before punching it in on his next chance to give the Gamecocks a 14-10 lead after the Mitch Jeter extra point.
Maye carved up the Gamecocks as an answer, quickly moving this offense into Gamecock territory. New starter at nickel Keenan Nelson, Jr. got beat deep for an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown from Maye to Kobe Paysour. 17-14 was the score with just over 2:30 to go in the half.
On the next South Carolina drive, Rattler hit Ahmarean Brown for a nice gain on a swing pass, but Legette got banged up on the play. O’Mega Blake replaced him but got dinged for a holding call to negate a good gain. Rattler hit fellow quarterback Luke Doty for a big gain on second down before Rattler took a sack, forcing a Gamecock punt.
For the first half, the quarterback duel between Spencer Rattler and Drake Maye lived up to the billing. Rattler went 10-11 for 177 yards, Maye matched him for the same yardage on 16-20 passing. In contrast, the South Carolina football running game was non-existent. USC had 5 yards on the ground for the half on 14 carries. North Carolina was much better running the ball with 78 yards, including several chunk plays.
Out of the break, Beamer Ball/Lembo Ball was in full effect as Mitch Jeter kicked and recovered an onside kick to open the second half, but the offense squandered the opportunity with a Brown drop on 4th down. After the drive, it was announced that Juice Wells, who had barely played up to that point, was going to miss the rest of the game with the foot injury he’d battled recently.
North Carolina made the Gamecocks pay for not capitalizing by taking the good field position and putting the ball into the end zone in just 6 plays, including a deep ball to Gavin Blackwell that beat O’Donnell Fortune. Omarion Hampton punched it in after the deep strike, giving UNC a 24-14 lead.
The lack of push up front continued to haunt the South Carolina offense as two carries for no gain left USC behind the sticks before a miscommunication on the line led to Rattler getting sacked again. After an uncharacteristically short Kai Kroeger punt, UNC made short work of its next drive. Maye hit Copenhaver again, this time for a touchdown to bring the score to 31-14.
The nail seemed extremely near to being hammered into the Gamecocks’ coffin after the following drive resulted in no points as Spencer Rattler was sacked for the fourth time.
On the next possession, Maye gave the ball back to the Gamecocks after throwing an ill-advised pass with Stone Blanton bearing down on him. O’Donnell Fortune picked off the weak throw, and his offense moved the ball a bit to start the following drive.
Charlotte transfer Jaxon Hughes was beaten for a sack for the second-straight drive to end the third quarter, but Xavier Legette continued his strong day with another jump ball win to put the Gamecocks inside the red zone. A sixth sack in a 3rd-and-goal situation killed the touchdown chance, but Mitch Jeter remained perfect in his kicking career to bring the score to 31-17.
When UNC got the ball back after the kickoff, Drake Maye suffered a tough-luck interception that KaJuan Banks came up with after the ball was tipped up in the secondary. A nice return brought the ball inside the UNC 40, but the offense faltered and couldn’t convert a difficult 4th and 19, turning the ball over on downs.
The decision to not kick the field goal seemed a bit premature as the Gamecocks were down just 14 with over 8 minutes to go in the game.
Any hope of a comeback almost vanished with the missed conversion. North Carolina ran the ball down the Gamecock defense’s throat, chewing up the clock, but then inexplicably tried throwing the ball. A couple of incompletions and a big hit from Jalon Kilgore stopped the drive, and USC forced their first punt of the game.
The Gamecocks drove the field but turned the ball over on downs in the red zone. North Carolina ran some clock but punted again, giving South Carolina football another opportunity, but that too resulted in a 4th-down stop by UNC.
The final score stood at a closer-than-it-should-have-been 31-17.
Spencer Rattler and Xavier Legette had great performances for the offense (30-39 for 353 yards for Rattler, 9 catches for 178 yards for Legette), and Debo Williams led the way defensively with 14 tackles. Freshman safety Jalon Kilgore had 12 stops, and Stone Blanton finished with 10. O’Donnell Fortune and KaJuan Banks each had an interception. Mitch Jeter kicked and recovered an onside kick and was perfect on his kicks.
South Carolina Football vs. North Carolina:
Stats and Scoring Breakdown
While many fans will want to forget that this game ever happened, here are a few statistical bits of information that are worth noting from this game.
STATS
UNC:
Passing
Leading Passer: Drake Maye with 269 yards, 24/32, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Rushing
Total: 168 yards, 2 touchdowns
Leading Rusher: British Brooks with 103 yards
Receiving
Total: 269 yards, 2 touchdowns
Leading Receiver: Kobe Paysour with 7 catches, 66 yards, 1 touchdown
Defense
Total Yards Allowed: 351 yards
Turnovers: 0 takeaways; forced 4 turnovers on downs
Sacks: Amari Gainer (2), Kaimon Rucker (2), Beau Atkinson (1.5), Cedric Gray (1.5), Tomari Fox, Desmond Evans
Leading Tackler: Cedric Gray with 9 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss
Other
Omarion Hampton had 2 rushing touchdowns, John Copenhaven had 1 receiving touchdown
USC
Passing
Leading Passer: Spencer Rattler with 353 yards, 30/39
Rushing
Total: -2 yards
Leading Rusher: Dakereon Joyner with 23 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving
Total: 353 yards
Leading Receiver: Xavier Legette with 178 yards
Defense
Total Yards Allowed: 437 yards
Turnovers: O’Donnell Fortune interception, KaJuan Banks interception; forced 1 turnover on downs
Sacks: None
Leading Tackler: Debo Williams with 14 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Other
Juju McDowell had 1 rushing touchdown, Mitch Jeter recovered 1 onside kick
SCORING
- UNC Touchdown; Maye to Brooks, 8 yards; 7-0 UNC
- USC Touchdown; Joyner, 4 yards; 7-7 TIE
- UNC Field Goal; Coe, 37 yards; 10-7 UNC
- USC Touchdown; McDowell, 1-yard rush; 14-10 USC
- UNC Touchdown; Maye to Paysour, 34 yards; 17-14 UNC
- UNC Touchdown; Hampton, 1 yard; 24-14 UNC
- UNC Touchdown; Maye to Copenhaver; 18 yards; 31-14 UNC
- USC Field Goal; Jeter, 26 yards; 31-17 UNC
South Carolina Football vs. North Carolina:
The Injury Report
Unfortunately, injuries were a major storyline for the South Carolina football team in this game.
- Linebacker Mo Kaba was injured on an early kickoff and never returned.
- Offensive lineman Cason Henry drew the start at right tackle but left the game in the second offensive drive after getting his leg rolled up on a run play.
- Safety Nick Emmanwori left the game with a hamstring injury. He tried to return but could not move and was eventually removed for good. Beamer officially ruled Emmanwori out during a sideline interview.
- Wide receiver Xavier Legette left the game at the end of the first half with an undisclosed injury. He would return. Legette had a career game but had several moments where he appeared to be ailing, even after returning to action.
- Defensive back David Spaulding got hurt at some point during the first half and then did not return.
- Wide receiver Juice Wells entered the game limited with a foot injury. He played some in the first half but was targeted just once on a broken play. He did not return to action in the second half and was officially ruled out by Shane Beamer.
- Wide receiver Ahmarean Brown did not finish the game due to an undisclosed injury.
South Carolina Football vs. North Carolina:
Other Notes
- The offensive line played very poorly.
- The Gamecocks could not get any push in the run game despite trying a number of combinations up front.
- The Gamecocks could not protect Spencer Rattler, especially from the tackle spots.
- The same miscommunications that plagued the South Carolina football blocking unit last season appeared to be present once again, though less frequent.
- Tight end blocking left a lot to be desired.
- USC’s running game didn’t have much of a chance because of the o-line play, but the backs missed a few open running lanes.
- South Carolina’s defensive line played very poorly.
- No defensive lineman played particularly well.
- The pass rush was non-existent the entire night.
- The line was stood up and pushed backward on most running plays.
- The linebackers played fine, but they couldn’t provide the superhuman effort needed to clean up the poor effort from the defensive line. Even so, the two starters put up good numbers.
- Debo Williams had 14 tackles.
- Stone Blanton had 10 and forced a couple of rushed throws rushing the passer.
- The linebackers did their best in the passing game, but they are not adept in coverage.
- The Gamecock secondary wasn’t great for most of the night.
- New starting nickel Keenan Nelson had several tough moments.
- Freshman Jalon Kilgore had the best tackling night in the secondary, by far.
- DQ Smith had a good night tackling but got beat in coverage a few times.
- Marcellas Dial had a decent game in coverage, but it didn’t matter when at least one other player in the secondary was getting beaten virtually every play.
- Spencer Rattler was very good. He was running for his life the entire game but still ripped apart the North Carolina defense for a big-time performance.
- Xavier Legette backed up his career game from the Gator Bowl with an even better performance. Despite playing hurt for most of the game, he logged 9 catches for 178 yards.
- Ahmarean Brown had some nice moments but also had a critical drop on 4th down when the Gamecocks had a chance to make a major move in the game.
- Backup quarterback Luke Doty got some real run at wide receiver in the second half, catching three balls for 41 yards.
- 5-star freshman Nyck Harbor played a little at wide receiver but was not a factor.