South Carolina’s miracle November doesn’t look like a fever dream after latest win

The opportunity has always been sitting there.

The FBS comprises 133 college football teams. Only one — South Carolina —finishes its season with four straight home games.

The Gamecocks (4-6, 2-5 SEC) have long touted gamedays in Columbia. South Carolina fans cannot boast about championships. But they can tout “2001.” They can tout “Sandstorm.” They can tout that South Carolina didn’t win a single game in 1999 and still 78,000 people packed into Williams-Brice Stadium every week.

As the losses piled up in 2023, this November stretch has always been the beacon of hope for South Carolina. It was the bat signal in the sky, the beaming light screaming, “Don’t lose hope yet.”

Then 2-2 turned to 2-6 and, let’s face it, most hope was lost. Four home games or not, South Carolina looked bad. Really bad. The Gamecocks gave away a game to Florida. They were outmanned against Missouri and Texas A&M. They nearly dropped a game to Jacksonville State last week.

Then came Saturday against Vanderbilt.

“I was talking to the guys before the game,” said quarterback Spencer Rattler. “We wanted to get a win today, but I was like, ‘Let’s win big today. We need to get a big win, score a lot of points, good complementary football.’”

The Gamecocks played their best game against an FBS opponent, boat racing the Commodores 47-6. It was the first time in 17 games that South Carolina’s defense held an opponent to under 20 points.

With home games against Kentucky (Nov. 11) and Clemson (Nov. 25) on the horizon, the Gamecocks still have a chance at a bowl.

Is that the standard for South Carolina? Probably not. After Shane Beamer guided the Gamecocks to 15 wins in two seasons, he raised the expectations for himself and the program. USC was supposed to come into this four-game homestretch playing for more than just bowl eligibility, right?

But football is better with stakes. A reason to tune in each week, to keep interest high. And heading into the third weekend in November, South Carolina is still playing for something.

Since the month began, Beamer has played into the Gamecocks’ late-season heroics over the past two years. In November 2021, South Carolina knocked off Florida and Auburn to become bowl-eligible. Last year, USC capped off the regular season with upset victories over No. 5 Tennessee and No. 8 Clemson.

“They remember November,” Beamer told his team this month.

Beamer deserves credit on the slogan. It sounds a whole lot better than, “We want to make the Birmingham Bowl.”

But two weeks ago — heck, even a week ago — it was hard to imagine South Carolina fans would remember much more than a loss to Clemson and some coaching staff turnover.

The Gamecocks looked disjointed. The defense struggled to make a timely stop. Rattler was playing well, but the USC offense was continuously off schedule and hampered by a band-aid offensive line.

One could argue Saturday changed nothing. But South Carolina’s odds at a miracle, at a four-game winning streak, at a bowl game, look far more plausible than they did seven days ago.

When asked what a blowout win over Vandy does for the Gamecocks moving forward, tight end Joshua Simon gave it about a half second of thought.

“One word,” Simon said. “Momentum. Momentum. Just get that momentum and finish strong.”

Things ramp up next Saturday. But even Kentucky, ranked at times this season, is just 6-4. The Wildcats just got blown out by Alabama. Plus, kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Darude will be in town. The forecast calls for no rain. People around here say crazy things happen during night games at Willy-B. Why not next Saturday?

If the Gamecocks clear that hurdle, Clemson would be waiting on the other side. Oh boy. Right before he said, “We built this program in God’s name, image and likeness,” Dabo Swinney wore the smuggest of grins. One could only imagine Swinney’s smile thinking about beating South Carolina in Columbia to keep the Gamecocks out of a bowl.

Clemson will be favored, probably by a touchdown or two. But the Palmetto State rivalry has a sort-of Game-7 feel. Records are pointless. Anything can happen.

Could you imagine if the Gamecocks finished the season on a four-game winning streak then went to a bowl and won that, too? South Carolina would be 7-6 — and enthusiasm would be rampant. Athletic director Ray Tanner might just hand Beamer another contract extension.

OK, maybe that’s too far. Maybe all of the what-ifs are too much. But none of this speculation would be possible if not for Saturday, if not for a dominating performance that shows everyone what the best version of South Carolina football can look like.

The Gamecocks are halfway to the November they want.