Tag: 2022 Gator Bowl

How Twitter reacted to Gator Bowl: Gamecocks side

The fan base seems to be taking this surprisingly well.

This year’s Gator Bowl undoubtedly will bother South Carolina fans all offseason. The Gamecocks had Notre Dame on the ropes or on the verge of collapse several times only to let the Irish get their groove back. They had one last chance to send the game to overtime on their final drive, but a couple of costly penalties backed them up to the point where only a prayer would save them. The prayer went unanswered, and the Irish celebrated a 45-38 win.

With the season likely to end with the Gamecocks not ranked, it will go down as a disappointment in many respects. While an 8-5 record isn’t terrible, the talent on this roster indicated that things definitely could and should have gone a little better. Alas, the only path forward is to figure out how to compete next season in an SEC that only continues to get stronger every year. Until the first game of 2023 comes, Gamecocks fans will be left to tweet their thoughts, and a lot of them are positive in spite of this tough defeat:

How Twitter reacted to Gator Bowl: Irish side

Just guessing you’re very happy right now.

If a 100-yard pick-six wasn’t going to intimidate Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, nothing would. After South Carolina’s O’Donnell Fortune picked off a [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] pass to tie the score on the aforementioned play, everything looked like it would come apart in the end. Instead, Buchner wrapped up game MVP honors with this 16-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], giving the Irish a 45-38 they wouldn’t relinquish:

As soon as the Gamecocks turned it over on downs with the help of some dumb penalties on their part, Irish fans were ready to celebrate the program’s first bowl victory in three years. It punctuated a 9-4 season that will serve as a passing grade for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s first season at the helm. To end with that and a ranking in the final poll is a good year in anyone’s book. If you don’t believe that, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t, take a look at some of these postgame tweets from Irish fans:

Twitter reacts to Logan Diggs’ go-ahead touchdown in Gator Bowl

Pretty run.

It turned out [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag] wasn’t content with a game-tying touchdown in the Gator Bowl. Apparently, getting in on a successful fake punt was necessary, too. Lenzy was on the receiving end of such a play, and he picked up 20 yards to keep Notre Dame’s first fourth-quarter drive alive. It was a bit of revenge for South Carolina pulling the same stunt in the first quarter and scoring a touchdown off of it.

While Lenzy didn’t score a touchdown on this particular fake punt, he did set one up. Three plays later, [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] ran for a 39-yard score, his second of the game, to give the Irish a 38-31 lead, their first of the game:

If the Irish come away with a victory, that sequence will be one of many things the fan base looks back on. In fact, many members wanted to look back on it immediately, and you can see that through these tweets:

Twitter reacts to Braden Lenzy’s game-tying touchdown in Gator Bowl

Huge touchdown.

Notre Dame has bent but not broken against South Carolina in Gator Bowl. Not once have the Irish held the lead. But they keep putting themselves in position to eventually take it.

Late in the third quarter, the Irish trailed, 31-24, after the Gamecocks’ Xavier Legette scored a touchdown on which he appeared to kick up white chalk on the edge of the end zone. The touchdown stood upon review, so the Irish were forced to play from behind yet again and hope for another big play. They got one when they were set up nicely on a short punt, and [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] hit [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag] for a 44-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage:

This is yet another reminder of how different the Irish are this season. In years past, they would have curled up in a ball at any sign of adversity. Instead, they’re going to make the Gamecocks earn this game. Irish fans on Twitter love that and this touchdown:

 

Twitter reacts to Tyler Buchner’s second touchdown of Gator Bowl

He did it again.

[autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] must have a thing for scoring game-tying touchdowns. Doing it in the first quarter of the Gator Bowl to tie it at 7 was impressive. He did it again in the third quarter, this time to knot the score at 24.

Notre Dame hasn’t led in the game up to this point, but some offensive skills players contributed to the cause on its first scoring drive of the second half. A couple of nice runs by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] and a 25-yard reception to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag] set the Irish up in the South Carolina red zone. They were in that red zone for exactly one play as Buchner scored his second rushing touchdown of the game, this one from 11 yards out:

We don’t know if the Irish will win this game, but we know Buchner will be a big reason if they do. We also know people were happy with this latest touchdown as evidenced by Twitter:

Twitter reacts to Logan Diggs’ 75-yard touchdown in Gator Bowl

What a run!

Notre Dame needed a big play to say it still was alive in the Gator Bowl. A fake field goal for a touchdown and a pick-six before the first quarter ended indicated that it was South Carolina’s contest to lose. While that very well might still be the case, the Irish have sent a message that they aren’t going away quietly. That’s the only logical conclusion after [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] completed a pass to [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag], who ran all the way to the end zone on a 75-yard play, the Irish’s longest of the season:

Buchner’s first touchdown pass of the seaeson cut the Gamecocks’ lead to 24-17, and their heavy contingent of supporters in the stands suddenly were back on their heels. The points their team had scored so far likely weren’t going to be enough to take down the Irish. Meanwhile, Diggs’ score received plenty of attention on Twitter as you can see from these tweets:

 

Twitter reacts to Tyler Buchner’s game-tying touchdown in Gator Bowl

He’s back.

[autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has been waiting for this moment for a long time. He gets to start at quarterback for Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and he’s doing it against both South Carolina and a heavy contingent of its supporters. If that pressure is getting to him, he hasn’t shown it.

Buchner’s second drive began after [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag] recovered a fumble at midfield. Over 10 plays in roughly three-and-a-half minutes, he guided the Irish mostly through passes to get to the Gamecocks’ 15-yard line. At that point, he kept the ball himself and ran to the end zone to tie the game at 7:

You would think with all the Sam Hartman talk, Buchner wouldn’t be as motivated to perform. Instead, he’s out to prove he can offer something to the Irish in 2023. At least some Irish fans appear to think that already as evidenced by these touchdown reactions posted on Twitter:

Tale of the Tape: Team Stats – Notre Dame vs. South Carolina

Which team sizes up better to you?

Notre Dame will have to lean into its strengths in order to beat South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. The defense is an obvious strength for the Irish, as are the ability to stay disciplined and prevent first downs. They also have done a good job at holding onto the ball for extended periods, and that will be key for an offense missing some familiar names. The question is whether that will lead to points.

The Gamecocks are as good on special teams in all aspects as anyone in the country. It would be a nice time for the Irish to unleash that punt blocking they’ve become known for throughout this season. The Irish also will want to be wise in fourth-down passing situations on offense because it’s more likely than not that the Gamecocks will come up big there. Either way, this game should be won by the better defense, but it won’t matter if the points aren’t there to support it.

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What the experts are predicting: Gator Bowl

What’s your prediction for this game?

Notre Dame has a chance to end its season on a high note. However, the 2022 Gator Bowl might not be so easy without [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] and with [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] trying to shake the rust of three-and-a-half months missed because of an injury. Hopefully, those issues will become minor once this game against South Carolina gets underway.

Let’s look at what some college football experts, including fellow College Wire sites, are predicting for this game:

Tale of the Tape: Leading Receivers – Lorenzo Styles vs. Antwane Wells

Are the Irish in trouble with this area for the Gator Bowl?

Understanding why [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] isn’t on this chart but still seeing it has to be a bitter pill for Notre Dame fans to swallow. With the best tight end in Irish history preparing for the NFL draft, the title of most productive Irish receiver falls to [autotag]Lorenzo Styles Jr.[/autotag] While Irish fans would have liked to see more than one touchdown for the player with that distinction going into the Gator Bowl, this is how it’s going to be. Still, maybe Styles will turn a bunch of heads.

South Carolina has retained its leading receiver for the season in Antwane Wells Jr. If all goes well for him in this game, he will reach 1,000 receiving yards for the season. That could be easy since the Gamecocks have NFL-bound quarterback Spencer Rattler available for this game.

All of this could lead to a rough contest for the Irish, but maybe it only looks rough on paper. Maybe they’ll be the program with the offensive showcase instead.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89