The four most impactful games of the Will Muschamp era at South Carolina
One of the great quirks of college football is how the difference of one game can affect the whole feeling of a season.
A nine-win season just feels different than an eight- or seven-win season. And sometimes, one win with the right momentum, context or a little something extra can mean a bit more.
In four years of Will Muschamp‘s time leading the South Carolina Gamecocks football program, a few games particularly stand out. They are games that ended up meeting a lot, either for good or for ill, setting a tone for how each season was seen.
Oct. 29, 2016: South Carolina 24, Tennessee 21
This was, in many ways, the game that allowed the Gamecocks to go bowling that season and garner some attention in Year 1 with a new staff. After a 2-4 start, freshman Jake Bentley was inserted at quarterback a week earlier, leading USC to an uneven win against UMass. The No. 18 Vols were ranked at 5-2, with the only losses coming to top-10 teams. But behind solid passing from Bentley, a big day from tailback Rico Dowdle and a strong defensive performance, the Gamecocks held on. After dispatching a floundering Missouri team, the Gamecocks were all but assured a return to the postseason with a somewhat ragtag group. The win against a ranked team was USC’s first under Muschamp — and the only one until 2019.
Jan. 1, 2018: South Carolina 26, Michigan 19
The middle of the Gamecocks’ 2018 schedule opened up to allow a 5-1 run on the way to an 8-4 regular season. A trio of SEC teams in the New Year’s Six games helped pull USC up to the Outback Bowl, where it was a touchdown underdog to the Wolverines. The Gamecocks had fired their offensive coordinator in December, and through 40 minutes in Tampa the team looked anemic, down 19-3. Then the team ripped off 23 points in 20 minutes, putting up big plays and taking advantage of every break the defense made. It’s proven to be the high-water mark of the Muschamp era. The win sent the team into the offseason with high expectations and got Bryan McClendon the offensive coordinator job, which produced a season of fireworks in 2018 and then a season of struggle last fall.
Nov. 10, 2018: Florida 35, South Carolina 31
It took a series of events for this one to slip away in Gainesville. After South Carolina went up by 17, Florida’s next three drives went 75, 89 and 66 yards, all for touchdowns. South Carolina’s went 17, 13 and minus-1. On one third-and-long on the first drive, Florida recovered a fumbled snap on the bounce, completed a tipped ball for a first down and had a quick whistle wipe out a possible USC fumble recovery. The reverberations of that game were large. A win would have been among the three biggest of the Muschamp era to that point. It would’ve set the stage for a 4-0 stretch heading into the Clemson game. Beyond that, South Carolina would have been 8-4 heading into a bowl. It’s unclear if the Gamecocks could’ve avoided the Belk Bowl, where they got skunked by Virginia, but that difference of coming off 8-5 vs. 7-6 was big going through a long offseason.
Aug. 31, 2019: North Carolina 24, South Carolina 20
With a brutal schedule that featured five preseason Top-12 opponents, the 2019 opener felt in some ways a must-win game. The Tar Heels were coming off two wins and had new coach Mack Brown. At the time, it looked like one of the most winnable games on the schedule. And then the Gamecocks lost, squandering a double-digit lead. A decent, but not great, UNC defense shut down Jake Bentley and the USC offense. The loss put the Gamecocks in a situation where they needed to win against every non-ranked opponent to at least go bowling — or pull an upset. They fell further behind with a loss at Missouri, briefly revived postseason hopes against Georgia and then went 1-2 in the final games in which they were favored. The last play of the UNC game also cost the Gamecocks their QB in Bentley, who suffered a season-ending foot injury. It’s deeply unclear where things would’ve gone if he was healthy and available, but the ups and downs of true freshman QB Ryan Hilinski (who himself got hurt) were another factor in the season.
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BONUS: The game that would have been impactful had it gone the other way.
Sept. 23, 2017: South Carolina 17, Louisiana Tech 16
In truth, the low-scoring yet wild game is mostly forgotten, as it was a near-miss in what was ultimately a nine-win season. But coming off a disappointing upset loss to Kentucky, the Gamecocks nearly blew a game to the Conference USA program and needed a miracle final drive to avoid an embarrassing defeat. That kind of loss, especially following the UK game after a solid 2-0 start, is the sort of thing that lingers with a program. Instead, the Gamecocks pulled out all the stops, then lost a road game at Texas A&M before a stretch of five wins in six games.
