South Carolina took their anger out on Oklahoma in a big win on the road

Two weeks ago, South Carolina suffered a brutal loss at home to Ole Miss in a game where the offense couldn't get going, and the defense did everything they could to keep the Gamecocks in the game. Last week, the Gamecocks lost a close one against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a game USC had in their hands and they let slip away.

Things were different today, however, in their 35-9 win against Oklahoma. The Gamecocks didn't start off slow, they didn't give the football away, and they didn't have a lot of penalties. Today, South Carolina used all that pent-up aggression and put it into their game against the Sooners and the game was practically over five minutes into the first quarter.

The defense showed up big for the Gamecocks by getting three turnovers on Oklahoma's first three drives of the game. The biggest difference in this game was the fact that USC was able to score on all three of those turnovers, one on the offensive side of the ball and two on the defensive side.

South Carolina came out ready to play, and it showed as they picked off Oklahoma freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. on the first play of the game, and the offense finished the job by scoring a few plays later. Just three plays after the touchdown, the Gamecock defense had a fumble scoop and score that put the team up 14-0. Finally, not even five minutes into the game, South Carolina picked off Hawkins yet again, this time returning it for a touchdown to put them up 21-0, and in the end, that would have been enough for the win.

Oklahoma made a change at quarterback after the first three drives, putting Jackson Arnold into the game, which gave the Sooners a little bit of life, the South Carolina defense continued to dominate. The Sooners were only able to put 9 points on the board as the quarterback was harassed all game long.

The South Carolina defense had a career day with nine sacks, two quarterback hits, two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, six forced fumbles, one returned for a touchdown, four total turnovers, and 13 tackles for a loss. The Gamecocks never allowed Oklahoma to get any sort of momentum going on the offense.

Now, the South Carolina offense still needs more work, even though they were able to put 21 points on the board. Two of those were touchdowns with a two-point conversion, and they also scored two field goals. Only one of the touchdowns that the South Carolina offense scored was a full drive, as the other was done on a short field.

In the second half, the offense seemed to go extremely quiet, and there was visible frustration from head coach Shane Beamer. Even with a big lead, Beamer wanted his team to perform at their highest ability, especially against a growing and desperate Oklahoma team.

This was a great win for The Gamecocks, especially with a big game against Texas A&M at home next week. Hopefully, the Gamecocks can use this game as momentum heading into the ranked matchup against the Aggies and rely more on their defense going forward.