South Carolina Has New Opportunity

Georgia manhandled South Carolina; however, the Gamecocks must move forward and forget this loss.

There weren't many positives from South Carolina's loss against Georgia. They were thoroughly embarrassed on national television; this is one of those games where you want to throw away the tape.

In some ways, that would bode best for the Gamecocks. Short-term mentalities are vital in sports, as you always need to be focused on the next challenge. South Carolina faced two top-25 opponents in as many weeks, a difficult ask for a program re-discovering itself.

They now enter a new part of the season. The Gamecocks take on Charlotte and South Carolina State in their next two contests, giving them a few weeks to re-teach concepts and iron out fundamental issues.

At that point, they should be 3-2 and marching towards conference play. They got an early taste of SEC action and came away with a bitter taste in their mouth; however, they should have a real chance in the rest of their SEC slate.

They can still compile an impressive season but need to fix some problems. The Gamecocks bring consistent effort every week and enjoy playing for their coach, but there are some day-one install concepts that they still struggle with.

Beamer's Confidence

Head coach Shane Beamer remains confident in his football team. After the game, he credited his team's effort, saying they've "got a bunch of fighters" and that he believes in them the rest of the way.

He demands excellence from this program, and while they can't compete on a national level yet, they can certainly play better than they did on Saturday. They have an excellent opportunity to have fun over the next two weeks, as they should open as big favorites over the next two opponents.

From there, things become challenging. Five of their last seven opponents are ranked, illustrating how demanding their schedule is. They play three of those games on the road in hostile environments, making things even more challenging.

However, this team has confidence in itself. Everyone that comes to the podium appears poised and ready to move on to the following week. While there are things they can correct, fans must remember we are only three weeks into the season.

They are still deciphering their identity, which will take another month to configure. Patience is vital, especially during a rebuilding process. College coaches complement Beamer and this Gamecock program every chance they get, signifying they are a team on the rise.

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