5 things we’ve learned about this USC football team, one-third of way through season

Ben Portnoy
·5 min read

South Carolina’s 2022 football season is already one-third of the way complete.

USC capped off its first month of competition by throttling Charlotte 56-20 on Saturday in Columbia.

Here’s a look at what we’ve learned about the Gamecocks so far this season:

South Carolina wasn’t ready to hang with big boys

There was plenty of preseason optimism for South Carolina, and rightfully so. Believing the Gamecocks were capable of competing for the SEC East title this year, though, felt a little far-fetched.

USC has been outscored 92-37 in its two games against SEC competition this year. Weird things happen in college football, but that’s not a recipe for success.

South Carolina still has games on its schedule against five teams that appeared in The Associated Press Top 25 in Week 4. Three of those teams were slotted in the top 11 nationally.

Georgia is mauling just about everyone, but the way it utterly dominated South Carolina last week was borderline torturous. It won’t look like that every week, but it’s mildly disconcerting.

The Gamecocks have opportunities for upsets. We’ll see how successful they’ll be in those endeavors.

QB Spencer Rattler hasn’t quite gotten to unload — yet

Spencer Rattler’s reputation has largely held intact so far this year. He’s been equal parts good and bad.

Rattler currently sits sixth in the Southeastern Conference in passing yards per game. He’s also tops in the league in interceptions (five) among quarterbacks who are throwing 15 or more passes per game.

We’re still waiting for that one big game that feels like it could be coming sooner than later.

Rattler was surgical against Charlotte on Saturday, completing 17 of 23 passes for 187 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. That modest line came, at least in part, due to South Carolina’s dominance on the ground.

The Gamecocks, more than likely, aren’t going to be able to run the ball the way they did on Saturday the rest of the season. Eventually it’ll fall on Rattler to get South Carolina through a shootout.

The Gamecocks defense can be a strength, if it stays healthy

Throw out the Georgia game and South Carolina’s defense has looked strong enough in spurts to inspire confidence moving forward.

The problem? Injuries are piling up.

South Carolina was already deathly thin at defensive end before Jordan Strachan and Terrell Dawkins went down. That’s how freshman Bryan Thomas Jr. ended up playing a role in Saturday’s contest.

Throw in a handful of injuries in the secondary and this group has been banged up quickly.

The good news is, not all of these should be long-term issues. Strachan is done for the season, as is starting linebacker Mo Kaba. The rest should be healthy at some point this season.

South Carolina has plenty of playmakers defensively, but it needs guys to stay on the field. If not, it’s going to look a lot more like the team that was run over by Georgia than the group that squeezed the life out of Charlotte in Saturday’s second half.

Running back MarShawn Lloyd is a certified star

Maybe it’s recency bias, but I think MarShawn Lloyd’s outing Saturday was a preview of things to come.

Lloyd had shown flashes of brilliance in games against Georgia State, Arkansas and Georgia, but he’d never had the breakout game like the one he enjoyed with Charlotte in town.

The former four-star recruit ran for 169 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries. That’s good for an average of 11.3 yards per touch.

Coming off a torn ACL last year, Lloyd never looked quite comfortable. That seems to be changing.

Lloyd is up to 244 yards and four touchdowns rushing this year — both of which lead the team. Spread that start over a 12-game slate and he’s on pace for roughly 730 yards and 12 touchdowns.

South Carolina needs more from Rattler, and the offensive line could stand to be more consistent. If Lloyd becomes a constant fixture in the run game, though, it totally changes the complexion of this offense.

South Carolina is going to be aggressive

Shane Beamer hasn’t been one to shy away from pushing the envelope in one-plus years as head coach.

Beamer and South Carolina finished second in the Southeastern Conference in fourth-down attempts a year ago, and they’re on pace to be in that range once more.

USC has attempted seven fourth downs so far in 2022. That’s good for third in the league behind just Tennessee and Vanderbilt. South Carolina is also converting those at a 71.43% clip — good for third in the SEC as well.

The Gamecocks haven’t been afraid to try some tricky things on special teams or go for short fourth downs this fall. Don’t be surprised if they pull out some more stops down the stretch.

South Carolina 2022 football schedule

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