Finishing touches: South Carolina wraps up home slate with senior day win over Wofford

South Carolina took the field Saturday on a day when it was so easy to think about everything else aside from whatever was happening on the turf of Williams-Brice Field.

Minutes before the 18th-ranked Gamecocks kicked off in what would become a 56-12 victory over Wofford (5-7), Florida upset Ole Miss to likely bounce the Rebels from the College Football Playoff discussion. Plenty more chaos needs to occur before the Gamecocks are in the 12-team field, but the Gators’ victory helped clear the path.

So looming over Saturday’s game was playoff hope and anticipation for the next game — at No. 17 Clemson next weekend, which will now likely be the first matchup between the schools while both are among the Top 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings since 2017.

Everything seemed more exciting than the game happening in the present — which can be dangerous.

“I know it’s cliche but it’s true: We just try and go 1-0 every single week,” said coach Shane Beamer. “We use the mantra, ‘They remember November,’ and we’re having a good November right now. It can be a great November, depending on how we finish.”

It would be so cosmically cruel — and yet a tad poetic — if South Carolina fell to a subpar, unranked Wofford team 40 years to the week after the Gamecocks lost to a subpar, unranked Navy team, spoiling a magical season just a week before playing a game at Clemson.

It started to feel eerie after Wofford kicked a field goal on its first possession, after the Terriers finished a 10-play drive in the end zone just before halftime to pull within five points.

“First quarter, just not good enough in a lot of ways,” Beamer said. “But there was no coming in the locker room screaming and yelling and throwing chairs and raising hell and all that. Which, I’m sure, a lot of our fans wanted us to do. We were very calm.”

This is a South Carolina team that has struggled a bit against non-conference opponents over the past two seasons. A year ago, it needed a fourth-quarter pick-six to get by Jacksonville State. In their 2024 season opener, the Gamecocks needed a late fumble recovery to beat Old Dominion.

These non-conference games have too often turned into scares.

So it had to be a relief to Beamer, his staff and every South Carolina fan when the Gamecocks put in backup quarterback Robby Ashford early in the fourth quarter. They were up three scores. Comfort was high.

Yet even though South Carolina rolled to a victory, it did not feel like a domination.

This Gamecocks’ defense, which has been one of the most dominant in the country, struggled, giving up 219 passing yards to Wofford, including eight plays that went for over 15 yards.

And South Carolina, which began the season as one of the most penalized teams in America before cleaning things up, was flagged eight times for 67 yards

Still, there were plenty of positives in this Clemson tune-up. Let’s start with quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who put together his most accurate game of the season. The redshirt freshman quarterback completed 24 of 27 passes (85%), racking up 307 yards and a trio of touchdowns.

“(I’m just) being decisive,” Sellers said. “They kind of just tell me if I make a decision, it’s the right decision all the time. If it works out, it works out. And if it don’t, it don’t.”

It was Sellers’ second straight game throwing for over 300 yards and, against Wofford, he added 53 yards on the ground.

Even better: Again, Sellers used his complete arsenal of receivers. With receiver Jared Brown and tight end Josh Simon out with injuries, 11 Gamecocks caught passes — headlined by Dalevon Campbell (five catches, 120 yards), Nyck Harbor (three catches, 48 yards, TD) and Rocket Sanders (five catches, 39 yards).

“They’re gaining in confidence,” Beamer said of his receivers.

At this point, who in Columbia isn’t?

Next South Carolina game

▪ Who: South Carolina at Clemson

▪ When: Noon Saturday, Nov. 30

▪ Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC

▪ TV: ESPN

2024 Gamecocks schedule

▪ Aug. 31 – South Carolina 23, Old Dominion 19

▪ Sept. 7 – South Carolina 31, Kentucky 6

▪ Sept. 14 – LSU 36, South Carolina 33

▪ Sept. 21 – South Carolina 50, Akron 7

▪ Oct. 5 – Ole Miss 27, South Carolina 3

▪ Oct. 12 – Alabama 27, South Carolina 25

▪ Oct. 19 – South Carolina 35, Oklahoma 6

▪ Nov. 2 – South Carolina 44, Texas A&M 20

▪ Nov. 9 – South Carolina 28, Vanderbilt 7

▪ Nov. 16 – South Carolina 34, Missouri 30

▪ Nov. 23 – vs. Wofford

▪ Nov. 30 – at Clemson – noon, ESPN