Tag: South Carolina Gamecocks

Clemson basketball falls to Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks, 77-45

Clemson led in the first half but a big South Carolina run led the Gamecocks to a win over the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum Wednesday night.

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers (3-1) led for more than 11 minutes in the first half against No. 1 South Carolina, but couldn’t overcome a big run from the Gamecocks (5-0), who pulled away for a 77-45 win in Littlejohn Coliseum in the Palmetto Series presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery.

Graduate Loyal McQueen led the Tigers with 15 points, while Mia Moore added 12 points and six rebounds. The Tigers shot .389 from outside, knocking down seven three pointers on 18 attempts and hit all 12 of their free throw attempts in the contest.

The low-scoring first quarter saw Clemson’s defense, which entered the game ranked first in the nation in scoring defense and third in field goal percentage defense, hold the Gamecocks to just five field goals over 27 attempts (.185) in the first 12 minutes of gameplay. Clemson was able to open up a modest 7-4 lead behind McQueen, and the Tigers led 11-10 after the first quarter.

The Tigers opened up a 17-12 lead on Mia Moore’s three-pointer from the top of the key with 5:18 to play in the half, and led for more than 11 minutes in the first half. However, South Carolina scored the game’s next 23 points, spanning halftime, to take a 35-17 lead early in the third quarter. Clemson cut it to 37-26 midway through the third quarter, but South Carolina again responded, closing on a 14-5 run.

UP NEXT: The Clemson Tigers will travel to Florida to Destin November 25-26 where they will compete in the Emerald Coast Classic.

CLEMSON LEADERS: Loyal McQueen 15 points 2 assists (4-15 FG, 1-2 3FG, 6-6 FT), Mia Moore 6 rebounds, Tessa Miller 2 assists

NOTABLES:

  • This was Coach Poppie’s first meeting with South Carolina.
  • Loyal McQueen’s fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
  • The Tigers held the Gamecocks to 14% from 3FG on one made three in the first half.
  • Clemson shot 7-18 from behind the arc.
  • Clemson shot 12-12 from the free throw line.

—via Clemson Athletic Communications

South Carolina rocks Missouri on TD pass with 15 seconds left

South Carolina with a stunning late victory over Missouri

South Carolina jarred Missouri in a slobberknocker of an SEC contest on Saturday, 34-30.

The Tigers had taken the lead on a Brady Cook pass to Luther Burdern that was good for 37 yards with 1:10 left in the game.

The Gamecocks drove 70 yards in six plays that took 47 seconds on the game-winning march.

The touchdown was scored on a shovel pass from LaNorris Sellers to Eaheim Sanders. with 15 seconds left.

It was the fifth TD pass of the game for Sellers.

Instant reactions to No. 10 Texas A&M’s blowout 44-20 loss to South Carolina

Texas A&M falls 44-20 on the road to South Carolina, dropping its first SEC game of the season.

No. 10 Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1 SEC) was handled by South Carolina (5-3, 3-3 SEC) 44-20 on the road, the Aggies’ first SEC loss of the season.

The SEC is an extremely competitive week-to-week league. There are no trap games in this league. You line up, and the better team each week wins. On Saturday, the Gamecocks punched A&M in the mouth and ran away from the Aggies in a statement win.

Coach Mike Elko’s style of defense was absent. The Aggies were plagued by untimely penalties and a lack of toughness. However, the most unforgivable thing had to be the poor tackling. The defense was called perfectly several times, but the defender missed the sack or there was a defensive penalty.

Offensively, they looked like the team that stepped onto the field against Notre Dame to start the season. Redshirt quarterback Marcel Reed started; however, the spark from his three-touchdown comeback win over LSU was missing. They couldn’t push the ball downfield, the running game stagnated with the loss of running back Le’Veon Moss in the first half and Reed had two costly turnovers.

Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

It was not a good night in the office for the coaching staff or the players, who dropped a tough game before the second bye week of the season. This loss is not season-ending, but the Aggies will need to win out to have a chance at the SEC title game and a college football playoff spot.

Going into their second bye week, the Aggies’ next game is at home against New Mexico State on Nov. 16 at Kyle Field in Bryan-College Station, Texas.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.

Best Photos of Oklahoma Sooners matchup with South Carolina

Best photos from Oklahoma Football’s matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners were blown out again for the second straight week. But this time it was by the South Carolina Gamecocks, a team that came into the game an even 3-3 on the season.

They’d played some good ball, losing close ball games to Alabama and Georgia but had also narrowly beat Old Dominion and were blown out by Ole Miss. On Saturday, the Gamecocks took advantage of three early turnovers caused by pressure from their dynamic defensive front to jump out to a 21-point lead. And that was all she wrote.

With Oklahoma in catch-up mode, the Sooners tried to throw more than they would have liked to get back in the game. That was a recipe for disaster, playing into exactly what the Gamecocks do best: rush the passer. Jackson Arnold didn’t have much of a chance.

By the end of the game, the Sooners had allowed nine sacks and lost by 26 points.

It was another wasted defensive performance by an offense that has been mostly anemic in 2024.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Sooners loss to South Carolina

Turnovers and a poor performance on the offensive line sunk the Oklahoma Sooners in their week 8 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners fell to 4-3 on the season with their loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. In the offseason, most observers would have chalked the Gamecocks off as a win in their preseason predictions.

I, and many others, underrated the Gamecocks and vastly overrated the Sooners. In particular, the turnover the Sooners faced on the offensive line this offseason turned out to be too much to overcome.

Sure, the wide receiver injuries and the inconsistent quarterback play haven’t helped, but on Saturday Oklahoma’s pass protection was inadequate and didn’t give either quarterback a chance. After the three turnovers to open the game put Oklahoma in a 21-0 hole, South Carolina was in a perfect position to get after the quarterback.

Ultimately, the Sooners are a long way off from being a contender in the SEC. There’s a lot of work to be done.

Let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Week 8.

The Good – Defense Steps Up

The defense played really well. There might be a case to be made that South Carolina got conservative in the second half and that’s probably accurate. But they didn’t need to do anything more on offense to win the game.

But the defense did their job even in the first half.

Zac Alley’s unit gave up just one touchdown drive when South Carolina started on their side of the 50-yard line. Other than that, the Gamecocks were gifted with short fields by the offense.

The Sooners held South Carolina to 1.8 yards per carry, recorded six sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Can’t play much better than that, especially after the offense puts you in a 21-0 hole less than six minutes into the game.

More: Sooners Tumble, new No. 1 in SEC Power Rankings

Up Next: Turnovers Bad, but not all on QB

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Early turnovers, offensive ineptness doom Oklahoma Sooners in loss to South Carolina

The Oklahoma Sooners offense turned the ball over four times and allowed nine sacks in their 35-9 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners were going to need at least a solid performance from their offense to have a chance against a talented South Carolina defense. And they didn’t get it.

Oklahoma turned it over on their first three drives. Two interceptions and a fumble by [autotag]Michael Hawkins Jr.[/autotag] The Gamecocks took advantage of the short field and took a 7-0 lead. South Carolina then forced a fumble of Hawkins and returned it for a touchdown, and then they got a pick-six on the third offensive possession for the Sooners.

That was the day for Hawkins, who was replaced by [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

Less than six minutes into the game, South Carolina was up 21-0 and the hole was too big for an offense that has struggled during SEC play.

Oklahoma was held to just a field goal in the first half for the second straight week and trailed 32-3, the largest deficit the Sooners have trailed at half since the late 90s.

Though Arnold came in and moved the ball, the Sooners offensive line couldn’t hold up against a relentless South Carolina pass rush. The Gamecocks came through with nine sacks on the day. No player had more than one sack on the day.

It was going to be a difficult matchup for Oklahoma’s offensive line, but the Sooners struggled not just with the pass rush, but the Gamecocks coverage units made life difficult for the Sooners offense.

Oklahoma turned the ball over four times and nearly had several more turnovers in the game. South Carolina had just one drive that originated in Gamecocks territory. That one drive was an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Otherwise the Sooners’ defense forced eight punts and 254 yards of total offense, including just 185 yards in the first half.

Coming off the bench, Jackson Arnold finished the day 18 of 36 for 225 yards and a touchdown. The highlight came on a 54-yard touchdown strike to [autotag]Brenen Thompson[/autotag].

True freshman and walk-on wide receiver Jacob Jordan led the Sooners in receiving with six catches for 86 yards. [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] played hard all day, carrying the ball 17 times for 70 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry for his best day of the season. Barnes also added four catches on five targets for 21 yards.

Still, it was a bad offensive performance for the Oklahoma Sooners who have yet to have a good performance in SEC play. The offensive line isn’t capable of providing enough protection for Oklahoma’s quarterbacks and the they haven’t gotten enough help from the players around them to be successful.

But the start to the game torpedoed any hope the Sooners had of winning the game. With the loss, the Sooners fell to 4-3 on the season and 1-3 in SEC play. Next week, Oklahoma goes on the road to face the Ole Miss Rebels.

More: 5 Takeaways from Oklahoma’s loss to South Carolina

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

South Carolina rides first-quarter surge to clobber Oklahoma

South Carolina routed Oklahoma in the schools’ first meeting

You can’t spell trouble without OU.

South Carolina scored 21 points in the first quarter on Saturday in SEC play and rolled to a 35-9 victory over Oklahoma in Norman.

Both teams were 4-3 after the game in Norman. The Sooners are 1-3 in their first season in the conference.

Stunning.

Michael Hawkins was intercepted and fumbled in the first quarter. It was 21-0 before the home crowd knew what hit OU. The score was 32-3 at halftime.

This was the first meeting between the schools and the Gamecocks will not forget it.

South Carolina posted 254 yards of offense but scored 35 points thanks to the defense’s play.

Brent Venables is 20-13 in two-plus seasons at Oklahoma and the team is heading in the wrong direction.

The victory had to be sweeter for the Gamecocks because before Venables came to Oklahoma he was the long-time defensive coordinator at Clemson, South Carolina’s chief rival.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was an assistant at OU from 2018-20.

South Carolina erupts for three touchdowns in five minutes at Oklahoma

South Carolina had Sooner fans in shock in the first quarter

Talk about an early shocker.

The move to the SEC hasn’t been kind to Oklahoma. It was getting worse early on Saturday in Norman.

South Carolina was less than a touchdown underdog against the Sooners. The Gamecocks were putting on a show in the first quarter.

They scored three touchdowns — two on defense — to roar to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter against Brent Venables’ struggling Sooners.

A former Sooner and Gamecock had a comment.

3 Keys for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

How can the Oklahoma Sooners pull off a in over the South Carolina Gamecocks? Here are three keys to the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a big opportunity to right the ship with a tough matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday.

On the surface, you might say, “South Carolina? Tough?” Yeah. This is a team that beat Kentucky, who beat Ole Miss in Oxford. These Gamecocks were a two-point conversion attempt away from sending their game with Alabama to overtime. In Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks played LSU to a three loss. South Carolina had the lead until the final minutes of their loss to the Tigers.

Shane Beamer has them playing tough regardless of opponent. Although they were blown out by Ole Miss, they’re a better team than they showed on that day in Columbia.

It’s a tough matchup for a Sooners team hoping to rebound from their blowout loss to the Texas Longhorns. So what do they need to do to pick up the win? Let’s check out this week’s keys to the game.

1. Get the Ground Game Going

The best way to take the pressure off of your young starting quarterback is to find an effective running game. The best way to neutralize an elite pass rush is to find an effective running game. Ipso facto, Oklahoma needs to find an effective running game.

That may be a tall ask at this point in the season as the Sooners have struggled throughout and are one of the worst rush offenses in the country. At the same time, there have been positive signs in each of the last two games. Yes, even against Texas.

After Oklahoma forced a three-and-out on the Longhorns’ second drive, the Sooners opened up with a three-yard run by Gavin Sawchuk, followed by an eight-yard run by Jovantae Barnes for a first down. From that point, Seth Littrell had Michael Hawkins throw it on three straight plays, one of which turned into a 13-yard sack knocking them out of Texas’ side of the field and ultimately forcing them to punt.

A three-yard run might not be much to write home about, but getting to second-and-seven gives you more options than throwing incomplete on first down and being in second-and-10.

Second and third-and-long is a place Oklahoma doesn’t want to be in against the Gamecocks. They can get after the passer as well as anyone in the country with their talented defensive front. South Carolina can get home with just four, so they can drop seven into coverage and make Hawkins dink and dunk. But if the Sooners can grind out some yards in the run game, it may force the Gamecocks to commit more defenders to the box on early downs.

The dirty, three-yard runs can be effective. Just keep churning them out and grinding away. While there’s been a lot of talk about explosive plays, Oklahoma simply needs to move the ball. If it’s only three and four yards at a time, so be it.

Sure, a lot of the outcome of this game does ride on the quarterback, but the Sooners need to get the run game going. Lean on Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk, Taylor Tatum, and an offensive line that’s coming together instead of putting everything on your young quarterback.

Up Next: A Complete Game

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Oklahoma star wide receiver questionable on initial injury report

Deion Burks is listed as questionable for the Oklahoma Sooners week 8 matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been battling injuries at wide receiver all season. [autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag] has missed the last two games for the Sooners, but is questionable heading into Oklahoma’s matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

If Oklahoma’s leading receiver can find his way onto the field, it would be a huge boost for the Sooners offense.

Running back and kick returner [autotag]Sam Franklin[/autotag] and backup tight end Kade McIntyre are also listed as questionable heading into this week’s matchup. If Franklin isn’t available to return kicks, that role could go to Billy Bowman, Peyton Bowen, Eli Bowen, or running back Taylor Tatum.

McIntyre has been limited to three games this season and played a season-high 11 snaps against Auburn, according to Pro Football Focus. With injuries at wide receiver, the Sooners have tried to work more two and three tight end sets.

On the South Carolina side, the Gamecocks appear fairly healthy. Wide receiver Jared Brown will miss this week’s action. He has eight receptions for 103 yards on the season.

Defensive lineman DeAndre Jules played against Ole Miss but missed last weekend’s game against Alabama. He’s been productive in a rotational role for a talented Gamecocks defensive line, playing as many as 25 snaps against Kentucky and 34 against LSU. He’ll miss his second straight game.

Oklahoma Football Injury Report

Player Position Status 10/16
Jayden Gibson WR OUT
Jalil Farooq WR OUT
Gentry Williams DB OUT
Geirean Hatchett OL OUT
Nic Anderson WR OUT
Kendel Dolby DB OUT
Tyler Keltner K OUT
Andrel Anthony WR OUT
Deion Burks WR Questionable
Kade McIntyre TE Questionable
Sam Franklin RB/KR Questionable
David Stone DL Probable

South Carolina Football Injury Report

Player Position Status 10/16
Jared Brown WR OUT
Jalewis Solomon DB OUT
Kelvin Hunter DB OUT
Jakai Moore OL OUT
DeAndre Jules DT OUT
Payton Mangrum WR Questionable
Cason Henry OL Probable

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.