Old Dominion coach has message for South Carolina fans who booed home-team Gamecocks

Old Dominion football coach Ricky Rahne directed some comments toward South Carolina fans Saturday night.

The ODU coach questioned the boos he heard from South Carolina fans during the season-opening game at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Monarchs, members of the Sun Belt Conference, gave the Gamecocks all they could handle before USC pulled out a 23-19 victory.

The Gamecocks trailed midway through the fourth quarter before getting a turnover and scoring on LaNorris Sellers’ 3-yard run with 6:11 left to take the lead for good. USC sealed the win with a Jalon Kilgore interception on the Monarchs’ final drive.

Before he left his postgame press conference, Rahne said that USC fans shouldn’t be so hard on the team and, rather, be thankful for getting a win.

“The other thing is — probably for the South Carolina people in here, more than anybody — but make sure these fans understand there was a lot of booing out there today. Make sure these fans understand those kids can be in the other locker room,” Rahne said. “They deserve to be able to feel good about winning a football game because they just played a heck of a football team, so they shouldn’t feel bad.

“No one should make them feel bad about, quote-unquote, ‘barely winning.’ So, if that is the headline that everybody’s going to write, I can assure you that is not a good headline.”

The crowd thinned out a bit after the 40-minute weather delay in the second quarter, and scattered boos could be heard on and off during the game as the Gamecocks struggled at times, especially on offense.

The boos got louder after USC, which trailed 19-16, failed to convert on a third down and had to punt to ODU midway through the fourth quarter.

Most Gamecocks fans were likely hoping for a blowout and carried over some frustration with the program that is coming off a 5-7 season and missed out on a bowl game. South Carolina entered the game as 20.5-point favorites over the Monarchs and paid them $1.5 million to play the game.

After the game, USC coach Shane Beamer wasn’t asked about the fans’ booing. He made it clear he wasn’t going to apologize for the win but acknowledged it was far from a perfect performance.

“Winning is hard. Some people may not like that. We celebrate wins around here,” Beamer said. “We are celebrating in that locker room because our guys have worked too damn hard since January to not go in there and have some fun and celebrate a win because we only get 12 of these that are guaranteed, as well. Sloppy, without a doubt. Really, all three phases. Lot to clean up.”

The Gamecocks will get a step up in competition next week as they travel to Kentucky for their Southeastern Conference opener. The Wildcats defeated Southern Miss, 31-0, in a game that was called in the third quarter because of weather.