Saturday's Silver Lining - Not All Doom and Gloom for South Carolina Gamecocks

Joseph Griffin, Joseph Griffin | Sep 3, 2024

Aug 31, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer directs his team against the Old Dominion Monarchs in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports / jeff blake-usa today sports

The South Carolina Gamecocks escaped a potential catastrophe to start the 2024 season on Saturday evening inside Williams-Brice stadium against Old Dominion. A 21-point favorite as an SEC team playing a non Power-4 member, the Gamecocks needed all four quarters to squeak out a (23-19) win over the Monarchs.

Now, as the Gamecocks get prepared for their first SEC contest of the season on the road against Kentucky, there's some silver lining from the first contest.

Dylan Stewart, EDGE
There's one certainty when watching Saturday's contest, Dylan Stewart is going to be a phenom for the Gamecocks. In his first ever game in college football, Stewart had 1.5 sacks and created to forced fumbles, one of which led to South Carolina's final game-winning touchdown. Stewart is obviously still a freshman and there's still room for improvment, but flashing that immediately is a comforting sign for this coaching staff and fanbase.

Kyle Kennard, EDGE
South Carolina spent time and money on the EDGE position this offseason through both the portal and on the high school recruiting trail. Stewart showed immediate signs of return on investment, as did Kyle Kennard. Kennard's South Carolina debut begins with 2.5 sacks vs Old Dominion. For reference, Kennard is more than halfway to having more sacks than the team lead a year ago. It was a point of emphasis all offseason, and the Gamecocks showed in game one, they can get after the QB this season.

You Won
"We celebrate wins around here." Those were Shane Beamer's words after the football game. Of course, you would have liked to beat that Old Dominion team by several scores. Sure you would have liked to have some confidence headed into the Kentucky matchup. However, you managed to win the football game, while playing about as poorly as you could from an offensive perspective. Offensive coordinator Dowell Logains will have quite a task this weekend preparing Sellers for his first road start in Lexington.

You Might Also Like:

• Shane Beamer Assesses His Team's Performance After 23-19 Win Over Old Dominion
• South Carolina Gamecocks Football Depth Chart: Week 2 at Kentucky
• Photo Gallery: South Carolina's Victory Over Old Dominion

Join the community:

• Follow Fisher Brewer on Twitter: @USCTalk
• Follow Alex Joyce on Twitter: @AlexJoyceSI
• Follow Joseph Griffin on Twitter: @JosephGriffinJG
• Follow Luke Brumm on Twitter: @lukebrummcfb
• Follow USCTalk on YouTube for more video-based content: USCTalk YouTube

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!