We break down key plays, game balls, and a burning question following the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Three Key Plays
1. Sack
North Carolina got the ball first and picked up first downs on its first two snaps. A couple of short runs set up a third and four at the Gamecock 44. It was probably four down territory as long as there wasn’t a loss on third down. But there was. Aaron Sterling came untouched off the left side. Sam Howell was able to duck under Sterling’s sack attempt, but it disrupted him enough for Jabari Ellis to get to Howell and bring him down. The once-promising drive abruptly ended in a punt.
2. Bomb
South Carolina struck quickly following the punt. After two runs picked up 29 yards, Dakereon Joyner took a shotgun snap, rolled right, and threw as far as he could back toward the middle of the field, where Jaheim Bell had sprinted past his defender. The deep safety had moved up, out of the play, and Bell ran under the pass and then into the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown. Just like that, South Carolina had all the momentum.
3. Third down conversion (x2)
No stranger to shootouts, North Carolina came back and made things interesting. But South Carolina put the game away with a pair of clock-draining fourth quarter drives. On each drive, South Carolina faced a third down. It was third and five on the first drive, third and seven on the second. Both times, South Carolina ran the same play, and both times it converted. Joyner got the shotgun snap, Kevin Harris went left, and Joyner went right. On the first play, he followed a big block from Nick Muse for the first down. On the second play, he followed a much less powerful, but still effective block attempt from Ahmarean Brown.The drives both ended in field goals, but they took up a combined 11:22 of the fourth quarter.
(Two) Three Game Balls
It’s the season of giving, so I’ll give out an extra one because it isn’t right to omit any of these three.
Jaheim Bell
Bell’s first three plays were a 20-yard rush, a 69-yard touchdown catch, and a 66-yard touchdown catch (from different quarterback, too). He already had the game of his life less than halfway through the first quarter. Bell finished with three rushes for 21 yards and five receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Kevin Harris
Bell was the big play guy, but Harris was the engine that kept things moving. He rushed 31 times, picking up positive yardage on 28 of those carries. Harris rushed for a season-high 182 yards, setting the program bowl record for carries and yards. South Carolina knew it had to play ball-control to keep the explosive North Carolina offense off the field. The result was 51 rushes for 301 yards, both program bowl records, plus 39 minutes of time of possession, and it was all powered by Harris.
“We had a plan of how we were going to win the football game, but even I didn’t think it would go that well,” Shane Beamer said.
Dakereon Joyner
Joyner hadn’t thrown a pass in two years. He was 17-30 in his career, for 169 yards and no touchdowns. But the Gamecocks needed a spark at quarterback, and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield decided Joyner, with his ability to run, was that spark. The Gamecocks kept the move under wraps; Beamer said the only time Joyner practiced at wide receiver was the 20 minutes that the media was allowed to watch practice earlier this week.
“We felt like we needed to get DK going in there,” Beamer said. “We had a month to get him ready.”
Joyner responded by going 9-9 for 160 yards and rushing 10 times for 64 yards. He didn’t have the full offense at his disposal, and the reads were limited to what Joyner felt best with, but that was the product of a good game plan. Joyner wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty damn close and earned player of the game honors.
One Burning Question
Can the Gamecocks mold the offense to fit Spencer Rattler next season?
Beamer dipped into the coach-speak during his postgame interview, saying, “Spencer or whoever our quarterback is next year.” But we all know, barring injury, it’s Rattler. He’s the most talented quarterback South Carolina has had in a long time, and the Gamecocks have to craft an offense to take advantage of his abilities. What Satterfield and the Gamecocks were able to do with Joyner and Zeb Noland (and, Beamer confirmed, O’Mega Blake, JuJu McDowell, and others) splitting snaps offered hope that they can put something together for Rattler.
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