South Carolina football players kept receipts, clapped back at media doubters

As the South Carolina football left the field on Saturday, they made some history, whether the players knew it or not. In the first year of a division-less Southeastern Conference, the Gamecocks were the first team to claim sole possession of 1st place in the SEC.

The team's 31-6 shellacking of the rival Kentucky Wildcats (and subsequent 1st-place spot in the conference standings) was carried by the defense. On the day, the South Carolina Gamecocks held their SEC opponent to just 183 total yards and only 44 passing yards as the USC front completely dominated the UK offensive line, especially in passing situations.

Dylan Stewart and Kyle Kennard were menaces on the outside once again, just as they were last week against Old Dominion, and the defensive tackle rotation of TJ Sanders, Tonka Hemingway, DeAndre Jules, and Boogie Huntley made life difficult for Mark Stoops' team, as well.

After the game, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer called out the media members who pushed what he called "lazy narratives" about his team after their less-than-perfect game against Old Dominion last week.

The head coach wasn't the only Gamecock who decided to call out doubters, though, as transfer defensive end Kyle Kennard took to social media to playfully spar with 247Sports reporter (South Carolina football fan) Brad Crawford.

After Crawford said this preseason that he was "reserving judgment" on the reports that the Gamecocks' pass rush was going to be much improved this year, Kennard kept that receipt and presented at the customer service desk that is Brad Crawford's Twitter/X account. It was not an instance of harsh feelings as Kennard thanked Crawford for his work covering the team. However, it did show that the Gamecocks have used their doubters as motivation.

Defensive tackle Monkell Goodwine posted an "In Beamer We Trust" message to his social media, and several other Gamecocks made mention of doubters during postgame comments or online. The official "Gamecock Football" account on Twitter/X also posted a reference to the old Shane Beamer-Mark Stoops beef with a simple caption of "culture travels" on a win graphic and another picture of a Gamecock helmet wearing sunglasses, and several USC players reposted them.

Some fans like it when players respond to outside noise, while others don't. However, if it keeps working for the 2024 version of the South Carolina football team, Gamecock fans won't complain one bit.