The Gamecocks come to town for a Week 2 SEC opener. It’s the second part of a tricky start to the Razorbacks schedule. The Hogs have already navigated through Cincinnati, but South Carolina will present a unique challenge. Here’s a first look at the Gamecocks, with a full advanced stats preview to follow on Thursday.
Series & Program History
Over the years, South Carolina has become the ultimate bellwether opponent for Arkansas. Both programs joined the SEC in 1992 and were annual opponents from 1992 to 2013.
Since 1992, they’ve played 21 times. In the 11 seasons that Arkansas has won, the Hogs have finished above .500. In the 10 seasons that Arkansas has lost, the Hogs have finished .500 or worse.
South Carolina doesn’t have a rich football history. The Gamecocks have exactly one conference championship: the 1969 ACC title. They reached the SEC title game in 2010, losing 56-17 to Auburn. They were nomads for much of their pre-SEC history: in the SoCon from 1922 to 1952, the ACC from 1952 to 1971, and independent from 1971 until 1992. Steve Spurrier went 86-49 from 2005 to 2015 and is easily the winningest coach in school history.
2021 Recap and 2022 Expectations
After going 28-33 in the Will Muschamp era, the Gamecocks had lost all of the momentum they had from the height of the Spurrier era. They hired Shane Beamer, son of Hall of Fame Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and onetime South Carolina assistant (2007 to 2010). In many ways, the hire was similar to Arkansas’ hire of Sam Pittman in that Beamer had never been a coordinator.
Expectations of 4-8 were considered reasonable last year, but the Gamecocks overachieved, upsetting Florida and Auburn to reach 6-6 and make a bowl, where they upended rival North Carolina. Expectations became supercharged when South Carolina landed coveted Oklahoma transfer QB Spencer Rattler. No one’s projecting a 10-win season yet, but Carolina fans absolutely believe they can compete in Fayetteville.
The 2021 Gamecocks improved during the season, but were only good at one thing: pass defense. The secondary was excellent, ranking 12th in Opponent EPA+/Pass and 10th in Opponent Passing Success Rate. They were very vulnerable to power run games, however, ranking 124th or worse in Opponent Line Yards per Rush, Opponent Stuff Rate, and Opponent Short Yardage Success Rate. This mostly continued in the season opener against Georgia State, as the Gamecocks surrendered 200 rushing yards but held GSU QB Darren Grainger to 7 of 29 passing.
Offensively, South Carolina was a mess in 2021 and things were only marginally better to open the 2022 season. The Gamecocks used three quarterbacks, all with mixed-to-poor results. The bigger issue was that they couldn’t run the ball, finishing 114th in EPA+/Rush. Once again, this continued in the opener, as the Gamecocks struggled to establish the run, forcing them to rely heavily on Rattler, who is talented but frequently erratic.
The 35-14 final score is mostly due to the Gamecocks blocking two punts for touchdowns; it was largely an even game otherwise, with South Carolina totaling just 306 yards of total offense.
Interesting Names
A coach you’ve heard of: Lou Holtz. Arkansas and South Carolina share Holtz on common, though Holtz had much more success in Fayetteville than in Columbia. Holtz went 33-37 in six seasons from 1999 to 2004, though he’s remembered fondly for taking an 0-11 team in 1999 and restoring the program to respectability by the time he retired, allowing his successor Spurrier to push the Gamecocks to new heights.
A player you’ve heard of: George Rogers. The Gamecocks don’t have a prestigious history, but they do have something the Hogs don’t: a Heisman trophy winner. Rogers took the 1980 trophy after rushing for more than 1,700 yards.
A game you’ve heard of: Clemson 29, South Carolina 7, 2004. Lou Holtz’s final game was not a good memory for the Gamecocks, as it ended in one of the most infamous brawls in college football history. Both sides were chippy, but the brawl erupted when Clemson players hit South Carolina QB Syvelle Newton in the head and then lay on top of him, preventing him from getting up. A photo of Clemson’s Yusef Kelly kicking a Carolina player in the head became most enduring image. In hindsight, the story becomes wilder when you remember that this brawl happened one day after the Malice at the Palace, the worst brawl in NBA history and arguably the worst in modern American sports history.
Random Facts
South Carolina’s unique nickname — the Gamecocks — has a cool backstory. It is named for Revolutionary War hero Thomas Sumter, who was known as “the Fighting Gamecock” for his aggressive commanding style. Fort Sumter — where the Civil War began — is named for him. Sumter’s story provided significant inspiration for Mel Gibson’s character in The Patriot: after the British burned his house down, Sumter led large-scale guerilla warfare throughout the Carolinas, playing a key role in forcing Lord Cornwallis to abandon his attempts to bring the area under British control.
Sumter’s great-grand-nephew, John J. Sumpter (note the different spelling), was a well-known Arkansas politician who served in the Arkansas General Assembly, fought in the Civil War, served as Garland County sheriff, and operated a hotel in Hot Springs. His son, John J. Sumpter Jr., was later involved in one of Arkansas’ most famous folk mysteries: the Arkansas Airship of 1897.
South Carolina recently navigated through a weird controversy surrounding their live mascot, a rooster named Sir Big Spur. The name Sir Big Spur is not actually owned by the university, so when the bird changed owners, debate over naming rights came up. The university was advised to pick a new name for the bird. They went with “The General”, only to have the new owners agree to allow the university to keep calling it Sir Big Spur.
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