South Carolina Football: Quick hit after ugly win over Jacksonville State

Shane Beamer and the South Carolina football team needed to pick up a win over the “other” Gamecocks of Jacksonville State on Saturday in order to preserve hope for bowl eligibility. Things weren’t always pretty in Williams-Brice Stadium, but the South Carolina Gamecocks reserved the right to consider themselves “the real Gamecocks” with a much-needed victory.

The “Cock-a-Doodle Duel” or “Cock Fight” or “Battle of the Gamecocks” (or whatever else the game might have been called) was an unexpectedly tight matchup, and that was not pleasing to the home South Carolina football crowd.

An ugly first half of play saw the home Gamecocks bailed out at the end of the 2nd quarter when backup quarterback Logan Smothers fumbled the ball back to USC with less than a minute remaining. A Rattler to Legette connection got the offense near the end zone, and another pass found #17 in the back of the end zone to give South Carolina a 21-14 lead at halftime.

Despite getting the ball first after the intermission, Shane Beamer’s squad got outscored 14-0 in the first half of the 3rd period. A long touchdown from Spencer Rattler to Xavier Legette tied the game back up 28-28. Legette was up to over 200 yards on the day but did not catch another pass.

The game slowed down in the 4th quarter as neither team’s offense could get much going. The home Gamecocks managed a field goal to go up 31-28, but Jacksonville State threatened to take the lead late. Instead, a game-saving interception by linebacker Stone Blanton was returned 88 yards for a touchdown.

The Blanton pick was followed up by an OD Fortune interception, and the South Carolina Gamecocks got to keep rightful ownership of the Gamecock nickname.

In an extremely ugly ball game, South Carolina football fans breathed an unsatisfied sigh of relief as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

The 38-28 victory keeps the Gamecocks’ hope for a bowl game alive. Next week, South Carolina football will welcome the Vanderbilt Commodores to Williams-Brice Stadium for another 12:00 showdown.