SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL

Gamecocks Central hands game balls and breaks down key plays from the Gamecocks’ stunning upset over Georgia.

Handing out game balls was the easy part, with plenty of deserving candidates. But narrowing down five key plays, in a game that seemed to swing on a game-changing play about every other possession, was not. Here’s our best try:

FIVE KEY PLAYS

1. Edwards goes deep

After being pinned on its own seven, South Carolina worked its way out of trouble and past midfield. That’s when Bryan McClendon took a shot. Bryan Edwards ran an out and up, and the defender bit on the out. Edwards breezed past him and Ryan Hilinski hit him in stride for a 46-yard touchdown. It was the only offensive touchdown of the game for South Carolina, and the score gave the Gamecocks a 7-3 and showed they weren’t going to roll over.

2. Pick six

How do you score when the offense is struggling? Let the defense do it.

The South Carolina defense got to Jake Fromm all day, and got in his head. He made a bunch of bad throws (and some very good ones), but none was worse than the pick six he threw in the second quarter. Javon Kinlaw got good pressure, and Fromm started backpedaling. Still backpedaling, he threw off his back foot, unable to get any zip on the ball. Israel Mukuamu stepped in front of the intended receiver and snatched the ball away. He raced 53-yards up the sideline for a touchdown and 17-10 lead. It was a brutally bad decision by Fromm, but Mukuamu still had to do his part to make Georgia pay.

3. Blocked!

After Mukuamu’s pick-six, Georgia still managed to get into position for a field goal attempt before halftime. Rodrigo Blankenship, one of the best kickers in the country, famously had not missed a kick all season. But South Carolina burned its final two timeouts. I won’t go so far as saying they iced Blankenship, but they allowed the defense to catch its breath and get organized. Jamaree Salyer lined up across from D.J. Wonnum, with Javon Kinlaw and his three career blocked field goals, to his side. At the snap, Salyer hedged towards Kinlaw a bit, and that was enough. Kinlaw knocked Salyer back, and Salyer never got into Wonnum, who had a free jump. Wonnum got his hand on the kick and it never had a chance. The block preserved South Carolina’s one touchdown lead, a difference it would hold onto until late in the fourth quarter.

4. Holding

On fourth and six from the South Carolina 11, Fromm dropped back, was pressured, and threw the ball out the back of the end zone. But freshman defensive back Jammie Robinson tugged on the receiver as the ball soared over their heads, and the official threw a flag. The ball was clearly uncatchable, but it doesn’t have to be catchable when the penalty is holding. Still, the tug had absolutely no impact on the play. It was the tickiest and tackiest of calls, one that only goes the way of Top Ten teams, and bailed out the Bulldogs, who tied the game on the next play. After the game, Will Muschamp said it was the correct call, but I suspect that is the opinion of a winning coach.

5. College kickers

I’m just going to combine the final four kicks. First Parker White missed a 58-yard try that he had no business attempting wide right. Then, after an interception ended Georgia’s first possession in overtime, White missed a 33-yarder wide right again. But White regrouped, and made a 24-yard try in the second overtime. That set up Blankenship, still one of the best kickers in the nation. But he had already missed his first on the second quarter block. Going for the tie, Kinlaw, who switched to the (offensive) right side of the formation, got a good jump. Blankenship pushed the kick left.

GAME BALLS

Offense

Dakereon Joyner

That numbers weren’t impressive, just 6-12 for 39 yards and another 28 yards rushing. But Joyner avoided mistakes (no turnovers or negative plays), and stayed calm under the most pressure he’s ever faced. ESPN captured a telling moment on the sidelines. After a punt, Joyner got on the sideline phone to talk to the coaches in the booth (likely quarterbacks coach Dan Werner). Usually you see a player listening with a blank stare or making excuses. But Joyner was doing most of the talking, eyes focused, explaining what he saw and preparing for the next drive. He was less than 100 percent due to the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Kentucky game, but he still made everyone hold their breath every time he started to scramble. He wasn’t afraid to drop his shoulder for an extra yard, or block for Edwards on a reverse.

At the end of the day, he’s the quarterback who came off the bench to lead South Carolina to a win at #3 Georgia. Ask Erik Kimrey, Joyner is set for life in Columbia.

Ryan Hilinski

Of course, it was Hilinski who set Joyner up with the lead. Hilinski tweaked his knee early, but stayed in the game. He easily outplayed his counterpart Jake Fromm, going 15-20 for 116 yards and that beautiful touchdown strike to Bryan Edwards. Like Joyner, he was calm and focused under the most pressure he’s faced to date. The hit that knocked him out of the game was low and late. Adam Anderson lost his footing on the blitz, but made no attempt to avoid driving his helmet into Hilinski’s knee. It was the type of hit that gets NFL players suspended. Muschamp didn’t have much of an update after the game (read more here) and said he didn't think it was severe, but it looked bad.

Defense

Javon Kinlaw

Statistics do not do justice to what Kinlaw does on the field. In the first quarter, he beat his man so badly with a bull rush that D’Andre Swift never got to take a step forward. He collapsed the pocket on nearly every pass play, until Jake Fromm was looking for him even when he wasn’t in his face. Kinlaw got the pressure that led to Israel Mukuamu’s pick-six. On D.J. Wonnum’s blocked field goal, the blocker in front of Wonnum cheated toward Kinlaw just a little, and Kinlaw knocked him back, allowing Wonnum a free jump to block the kick, and he got a big hand up on the final missed kick.

Kinlaw is up there with players like Ohio State’s Chase Young as one of the best defensive linemen in the country this year, and he does it in the run game, pass game, and special teams. Muschamp said they tried to sub Kinlaw out for a breather three times, “And he said, ‘The hell with y'all' and went back in the game.’” Muschamp replied, "Hell, let him play. He's playing good."

Israel Mukuamu

This time I am going to give you the statistics: 11 tackles, three interceptions, one touchdown. Usually that’s a good month for a cornerback. Mukuamu and the rest of the Gamecock secondary has been something of a tease, blessed with the physical ability, size, and work ethic to be great, but yet to really put it all together. Against Georgia it finally clicked.

Special Teams

Joseph Charlton

Charlton was excellent as always. He punted seven times for an average of 45.4 yards, and dropped five inside the 20. Actually, by his standards, that’s a ho-hum day. He’s that good.

Parker White

You may wonder why he gets a game ball after missing half his attempts, including a 33-yard potential game-winner. But White ended up making his second attempt at a game-winner. Ask Rodrigo Blankenship how easy it is to make overtime field goals.