For Gamecocks, bowl trip is a nice reward. Why a win makes it all sweeter
If nothing else, bowl wins are mood-brighteners.
Sure they’re exhibitions, games at the end of the season where coaching staffs and rosters might be a tad less full than during most of the season. But the fact is, getting to close up with a win instead of a loss usually makes a fanbase feel better. And it’s not bad for the winning team either.
“It would be huge, more to be able to send these guys out the right way, these super seniors that I’m so appreciative for,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said.
“The bowl games that I have been successful in are the bowls where the team is most excited to be at the bowl. And from what I’ve seen, our guys are really, really excited to be here.”
Thursday’s 11:30 a.m. meeting with North Carolina (6-6) in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl is the program’s first postseason trip since 2018. It’s coming in a bit of an unlikely year, after a coaching change left Beamer with a depleted roster in Year 1.
But the Gamecocks (6-6) weathered playing three quarterbacks, an struggling offense and not beating any traditional mid-tier SEC opponents. They caught Auburn and Florida late in the season to secure a trip to the postseason.
This is the program’s 13th bowl in the past 17 seasons. For Beamer, it’s the 18th in the past 23 years, as he’s been on multiple staffs as an assistant.
“I’ve been a part of bowl wins and they’re really, really fun,” super senior quarterback Zeb Noland said. “They’re great for the fanbase. They’re great for recruiting going into next season. And, you know, you put a lot of work in these bowl games. You get 15 practices. So you want to reap what you sow.”
This squad likely wouldn’t be here without those elder statesmen, veterans who got an extra year because of the COVID pandemic and ended up key parts of the roster.
“Last time we went to the bowl game, it didn’t necessarily end exactly how we wanted it to,” linebacker Brad Johnson said. “So to be able to go out, last game, on a note like that, it would mean a lot to the seniors, you know, just a nice building block on the future, for next season.”
Johnson, a fifth-year senior, was part of the 2018 squad that came to Charlotte and took a 28-0 loss to Virginia. The team was missing key pieces on the offensive line and the defense, and was without star receiver Deebo Samuel — and everything seemed to go wrong against a feisty Virginia squad. The year prior, an upset of Michigan in the Outback Bowl made the Gamecocks an offseason darling.
That can be a lesson, how the hype of a bowl might not carry over, but at the very least, it leaves everyone feeling better.
Tight end Nick Muse eschewed the NFL for one more ride with this team. It hasn’t been perfect, both for him or USC, but as one of the veterans likely heading out after this one, he’s got a strong interest in finishing on the right side of the scoreboard.
“If we’ve got 11, I’m down to play,” Muse said. “I even told (defensive coordinator Clayton) White to put me on defense.
“Being in your hometown, friends, family, anybody who can come that’s coming, I appreciate it.”
When is the Duke’s Mayo Bowl?
Who: South Carolina (6-6) vs North Carolina (6-6)
When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday
Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC
TV: ESPN
Line: North Carolina by 9
SOUTH CAROLINA’S LAST 10 BOWL TRIPS
2018 Belk Bowl — Virginia 28, South Carolina 0
2017 Outback Bowl — South Carolina 26, Michigan 19
2016 Birmingham Bowl — South Florida 46, South Carolina 39, OT
2014 Independence Bowl — South Carolina 24, Miami (FL) 21
2013 Capitol One Bowl — South Carolina 34, Wisconsin 24
2012 Outback Bowl — South Carolina 33, Michigan 28
2011 Capitol One Bowl — South Carolina 30, Nebraska 13
2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl — Florida State 20, South Carolina 17
2009 PapaJohns.com Bowl — Connecticut 20, South Carolina 7
2008 Outback Bowl — Iowa 30, South Carolina 10
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 8:10 AM with the headline "For Gamecocks, bowl trip is a nice reward. Why a win makes it all sweeter."