Scott Davis on South Carolina football: Hold Me

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Scott has followed Gamecock sports for more than 30 years and provides commentary from a fan perspective. His columns appear on Gamecock Central each Monday during football season and other times throughout the year. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @scdonfire.

Can you understand me, baby don’t you hand me a line… - Fleetwood Mac

I was looking for someone who understood what I was going through.

I’d texted all my tried and true Gamecock believers during South Carolina’s spectacularly bizarre, back-and-forth game against Missouri. I tried my Dad. My old college roommate. My brother-in-law.

Nobody seemed to care about what was happening in the monsoon at Williams-Brice. “Are they playing?” was the typical response. See, everyone I knew that cared about the Gamecocks had decided to put up a shield on their emotions for the rest of 2018 after that Kentucky game. The season was over four games in – whatever. They were done.

And I get it. I tried to put that shield up, as well.

It just didn’t work.

Because there I was, pacing around my living room as Parker White approached the field to kick what would be perhaps the most important field goal attempt in the Will Muschamp Era at South Carolina. It was clear that I cared. Deeply.

That’s when I heard my wife whimpering upstairs.

She’d gone to take a shower during the lightning delay after watching every single second of one of our strangest games ever.

I found her standing in front of our bedroom TV, hands clasped together in prayer mode, waiting for the outcome.

Kick snapped, it’s up, it’s good.

Ballgame.

We literally sprinted into each other and hugged as hard as it’s possible for human beings to hug each other. You might even say we tackled each other.

That was all I needed.

For some reason, I kept thinking about the old ‘80s song “Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac while the game was on the line (and if you’re wondering if it’s possible for me to relate everything in my life to the 1980s…well, it is).

I needed someone to hug during and after that emotional football game.

I needed someone to hold me.

And fortunately my wife did just that.

It was over. We’d won. In the rain. In the most absurd scenario you could ever imagine us winning.

The season was flickering and it had a pulse.

It wasn’t bursting with life, but it was alive.

That was all I needed to know.

Parker White – During all of White’s field goal attempts Saturday, I nervously kept shouting “I just don’t believe in this guy” as he lined up an attempt. Look, we all know White had his struggles last season, and that fed into my ridiculous reactions on Saturday.

And as he kept nailing kick after kick, I kept shouting it, because I’m superstitious and an incredibly weird person and it appeared to be working. When I went upstairs to find my wife for the final kick, I said “I just don’t believe in this guy” and smiled.

And then the kick went up.

Dead solid perfect, the end.

Michael Scarnecchia – 20-for-35 for 249 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions on a day when he was asked to be South Carolina’s QB1 for the first time since he stepped on campus as a relatively forgotten man approximately 5,000 years ago. That’ll work.

Bryan Edwards, Warrior – You can’t count the number of times the SEC Network announcers said something along the lines of, “Listen, Bryan Edwards just isn’t right out there.” And it was obvious that he wasn’t. And yet with the football game (and South Carolina’s season) on the line, a hobbling Edwards kept making tough catches to keep the team afloat. As a fan, that’s one of those games that I’ll never forget.

The Columbia Cup – I’ve written about this for a couple of years now, but I enjoy that these two teams exchange a trophy and pretend this is a hardcore rivalry game even though they’ve only been playing each other for five minutes. Ever since I saw a flu-ridden Connor Shaw being carried off the field holding the Columbia Cup at Missouri after orchestrating an incredible comeback, I’ve just bought into the idea that this is an actual rivalry. For whatever reason, it’s worked for me. I haaaaaaaate Missouri. Like, hate. I love beating them.

Every South Carolina Gamecock Fan Who Hung Around in the Rain and Through a Lightning Delay and Made Their Home Stadium an Intimidating Environment Anyway – Spectacular performance by South Carolina’s fans on Saturday. This only happens once or twice a year when I’m watching sports, but I actually kept saying aloud “Wow, these fans are really bringing it out here” or “This stadium is rocking right now!” or other similar nonsense. In a way, the rainy, hurricane-like environment almost seemed to bring out the best from a group that just hasn’t known what to expect from their team on a weekly basis in 2018.

Angry and Ecstatic Will Muschamp in the Rain – Not sure I’ve had more fun as a South Carolina fan than I did watching coach Muschamp scream at officials, work the sidelines and then fist-pump himself into a possible life-threatening condition when Parker White nailed the game-winner. All while rain poured down on him and the rest of his coaches. His fiery post-game interview made me want to punch someone in the face just for fun. That’s a guy who cares about the University of South Carolina.

Every “Office”-Related Meme That Appeared on Gamecock Social Media This Week When It Became Apparent That Michael Scarnecchia Would Be Starting At Quarterback – If you enjoyed the 2000s sitcom “The Office” with Steve Carrell like I did, you enjoyed seeing Gamecock fans embrace the moment and send up multiple “Michael Scarn” videos and photos on Twitter and Instagram this week. Seeing those made me realize we actually had a chance to win this game.

Bradley Cooper Quietly Becoming the Best Actor in the United States of America Even Though No One Realizes It Because He Was the Fun Guy in “The Hangover” – It’s been happening for awhile now, but Cooper’s emotional, strange and downright weird performance in “A Star is Born” officially confirms it: He’s the best actor working right now, and it really isn’t close. Remember how he transformed himself into a completely different person in “American Sniper” a few years ago?

He then made an underrated and largely forgotten movie playing an alcohol-soaked chef in “Burnt” and absolutely punished every single scene he was in. There’s a touching moment about halfway through that movie when he sloppily ends his years-long sobriety after a disastrous evening cooking for Michelin reviewers. “What happened?” a fellow chef and mentor asks as he wallows drunk on the floor.

“W f&**ed it up,” he says. “I f*&&ed it up.”

It’s a moment of complete resignation and there’s something perfect about it.

Even after all that good work, “A Star is Born” will surely last as his definitive achievement as an artist. I mean this as the ultimate compliment I can give: It’s a weird, strange performance. He’s almost unrecognizable – thinking about the d-bag preppie in “Wedding Crashers”…it’s not even the same guy. His voice, his mannerisms, the way he carries himself – not the same person.

He also gives the most realistic portrayal I’ve ever seen of a person struggling with addiction. If there’s ever been someone in your life who is struggling with it, that’s what it looks and feels like. Exactly.

Bradley Cooper does not drink in his personal life and hasn’t for decades.

That’s a great actor right there.

Just About Everything South Carolina Did or Tried to Do On Defense Saturday – As the weeks have gone by, it’s become increasingly clear that coach Muschamp and Travaris Robinson are working with an undermanned group on defense this season, especially at the linebacker position, where they just don’t appear to have answers at the moment. Missouri rushed for a startling and terrifying 286 yards Saturday. If you thought that Georgia game was ugly from a defensive standpoint, this one was somehow actually uglier. This was definitely one of those games where you looked around and said, “How in the world did we win this football game?” after it was over.

Drew Lock Somehow Having 47 Years of Eligibility – Has he been Missouri’s starting quarterback since 1995 or is it me? And is anyone else tired of hearing announcers gush about how he’s going to be “a phenomenal NFL quarterback”?

South Carolina’s Running Game – Is all but non-existent right now a mere two weeks after an overwhelming performance against Vandy. Whether it’s the offensive line, the running backs or the offensive scheme, it’s just not working and doesn’t look like it’s going to any time soon. The Gamecocks actually ran the football more than Missouri did on Saturday and still managed to rush for almost 160 yards less than the Tigers did. We’re talking 47 carries for a meager 128 yards at 2.7 yards per carry. Missouri is not a strong defense. That’s, uh, problematic. While we’re here…

South Carolina’s Overall Offensive Game Plan – Apparently consisted of running the ball directly into the line of scrimmage on first, second and third down. And then doing it again. And again. Yeah, I know you were playing an untested quarterback making his first start, but it’s never a good sign when an idiot like me is able to look at the Gamecocks’ offensive formation and shout, “Um we’re actually running right here, and I have no idea why.” I know it’s important to coach Muschamp to establish a running game and I’d love to see it happen, but sometimes you just need to accept reality when you’re not good at something.

Punts Being Blocked/Altered on Consecutive Offensive Series – That’s how you lose a football game. Again, this was one of those games where you looked around after it was over and said, “How in the world did we win this football game?”

But win we did, somehow, in a driving rain on an afternoon when the 2018 season seemed almost certainly lost.

And as a reward, we get to face a Texas A&M team next that we’ve never once beaten since they joined the Southeastern Conference.

Hold me.

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