Texorcism. In 2014 Texas A&M came into Williams-Brice Stadium for one of the most anticipated season openers in South Carolina history. The Gamecocks were coming off four straight outstanding seasons and had finished 2013 ranked 6th in the country, our highest finish ever. On top of that, the Aggies and Gamecocks were tapped to be the first game ever on the new SEC Network.

If you’re a Gamecock fan at all, you know what happened on that fateful night. TAMU rolled USC 52-28, signalling the end of the salad days fo Gamecock football. Since then our permanent West opponent (which has always been a weird thing) has been a major thorn in our side, winning every subsequent match-up and outscoring us by almost three touchdowns on average. Much like our win over Kentucky perhaps signalled a turning point in that rivalry, to really feel confident that our program is on the right track we needed to exorcise the Texas A&M demon.

Our guys responded with a blistering start to build a 17-0 lead over the first five minutes, and did just enough to hold on for a 30-24 victory, our first ever over the Aggies.

Honestly, Texas A&M is quite the dumpster fire right now. The story nationally is much less about our ascension and much more about how College Station is paying box office superstar money to a guy who started the season in the top 10 and is now floundering at 3-4 on the year.

But I don’t think we care much what the national folks are saying now do we? Getting a win over the Aggies took a huge monkey off our backs, and proved we could compete with a roster of elite athletes, no matter how dysfunctional they are.

Competitive fire. If you read this column regularly, you know my biggest complaint of the Beamer era so far has been our lack of competitiveness against very good to great teams. The last two games against Kentucky and Texas A&M have helped allay those concerns somewhat. While neither team is near the “great” category, they both carried long winning streaks against us into this season and have typically beat us through physicality and/or sheer talent. Our wins in those games this year both felt like we were more “SEC” in the trenches and with our physicality. Neither game was close to perfect, but our toughness under fire has been impressive.

X factor. Xavier Legette set the tone with a 100-yard return for touchdown on the opening kickoff. Later in the game, he de-cleated Texas A&M start Devon Achane on the kickoff coverage team. Legette has been a bit of an enigma over his three years at South Carolina, contributing big plays on occasion but never becoming a consistent threat at wide receiver. It was a great to see a major contribution out of him last night.

Fresh for everyone. Punter Kai Kroeger had a huge night last night, averaging 49 yards on six punts. HIs biggest contribution came in the second half when he had back-to-back booming 55-yard punts that helped keep the Gamecocks out of trouble in a close game. Sometimes punters are weapons, and it’s safe to say Kroeger was one last night.

Lloyd Lloyd all null and void. MarShawn Lloyd continued to establish himself as one of the best running backs in the SEC with a 92 yard, two touchdown performance against a stout A&M front. I made the suggestion that perhaps Lloyd is our best running back since Marcus Lattimore, which brought out the Mike Davis fan club in full force. Fair enough people, check back with me when Lloyd’s career at USC is done and we’ll compare notes.

Rattlerfield. The two most discussed and maligned members of the Gamecock offense – OC Marcus Satterfield and QB Spencer Rattler – had uneven nights that didn’t leave anyone feeling like our offense is about to take off.

Satterfield once again had an evening that consisted of about 75% brain farts and 25% really good play calling. There are moments of borderline brilliance (like, one drive per game), but many times he just feels like he’s trying to be clever and show everyone the genius that is The Satt. I really think he has some great ideas and schemes, but once he gets in the game it feels like the plan is disjointed at best.

As for Rattler, he continues to show his raw talent, arm strength, and scrambling ability. But as the SEC Network crew pointed out last night, he tends to hold onto the ball too long and leaves the pocket sooner than is necessary. He’s been hurt by drops as well, including one in the end zone by Jalen Brooks last night. But right now he’s more of a game manager, and if we’re going to do big things, we need a game changer.

White Lightning. Clayton White continues to get the most out of our defense. TAMU picked up 177 of their 389 yards on two drives last night, with 83 of those coming on their final drive. While the Aggie offense isn’t setting the world on fire, they have a lot of individual talent and the Gamecock defenders prevented any explosive, back-breaking plays.

Rock concert. I haven’t had the pleasure of being in Williams-Brice for a game this season, but judging by what I’ve seen on TV and social media the athletic department has done an incredible job with the game day experience. Sideline reported Cole Cubelic of the SEC Network last night said it was the best enviroment they’ve been in all year.

Go Cocks.

Our old Kentucky home. South Carolina won 13 of 14 games against Kentucky from 2000 to 2013. Until last night, Kentucky had repaid that streak by winning 7 of 8 from 2014 to 2021. As middle of the pack SEC teams and similar programs, both streaks were stunning anomolies that didn’t make a lot of sense. Both teams have had ups and downs over the last two decades, but niether’s greatest successes nor deepest slumps would suggest those kinds of win/loss streaks.

Of course, we’ve been on the losing end of the latest streak, and the Wildcats have arguably been the biggest thorn in the side of the Gamecocks as we try to ascend back to the top tier in the SEC East. After all, if we can’t beat Kentucky consistently, how are we supposed to contend with Georgia, Florida and now Tennessee on a regular basis?

Last night’s 24-14 win suggested that perhaps the pendulum is swinging back in our favor. For years the Wildcats have been bigger and stronger than the Gamecocks, pushing us around the way an upper tier SEC team does a lower tier SEC team. But the 2022 edition of USC football refused to let that happen through sheer will and, finally, equal or better talent.

Maybe, possibly, Kentucky has peaked and will begin to slide back to their rightful place in the bottom half of the SEC, allowing us to set our sights on bigger and better things in the conference. If we ever hope to get back to the SEC title game, we first must make sure Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt are in our rearview mirror.

Last night was a step in the right direction.

Play stupid games, get stupid prizes. Mark Stoops was really smelling himself at SEC Media Days this year. In an interview on Marty and McGee he was talking proudly about how he has changed the culture at Kentucky and that’s the reason for their recent, unprecedented success. Unprecedented success that of course includes zero SEC East titles. But I digress.

In the midst of his self back-patting he oddly decided to take a shot at Shane Beamer, a man who knows how to use social media to jazz up his players and fan base. In reference to Gamecock Football’s post where Beamer walks into a room, puts on sunglasses and dances and sings, here’s Stoops:

It’s easy to change a climate. You change a uniform, talk a little game, dance around, put on some stupid sunglasses.

Mark Stoops, speaking on Marty & McGee

Stoops walked the statement back, saying he wasn’t talking about Beamer (not sure who else he could’ve been talking about), and Beamer downplayed the situation as well. But unbeknownst to us, Shane-O tucked that little quip in his back pocket, and after the Gamecocks dispatched the Wildcats 24-14 last night, he went absolutely nuclear on Stoops.

Climate check 😎 pic.twitter.com/z9yv0lY14e

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) October 9, 2022

Now I’m not a big believer in bulletin board material and how it impacts what goes on in a 60-minute game. Once the opening whistle is blown and the pads start popping, more often than not coaching and talent take over, weekday trash talk be damned. But in this particular instance, Stoops’ unnecessary comment and Beamer’s response highlight the crusty old coach approach and the new, hip young coach approach.

And the new, hip young coach won this round by knockout.

Marcuspencer Rattlefield. The year 2021 featured perhaps the worst quarterback room at USC since 1999. Not a knock on on the poor young men that were forced into action, but the talent was FCS-level at best. That gave offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield a get-out-of-jail free card when it came to how bad the offense was.

The 2022 season was supposed to be different, with the addition of former Heisman candidate Spencer Rattler, a veteran offensive line, a couple of wide receiver transfers, and a finally healthy MarShawn Lloyd. But the high expectations have not been met to date. After three weeks the team was 13th out of 14 teams in the league in total offense, and a mauling of South Carolina State helped move them up to 11th after week four.

Most of the dissatisfaction has been heaped on Satterfield, his play-calling questioned on a regular basis. Rattler was given a pass the first couple of weeks because of the excitement that surrounded his arrival, but a chorus of naysayers crescendoed during the first half last night due to his inconsistent, and sometimes downright confounding play. (We didn’t say much about Satterfield last night on Twitter, but our frustration with Rattler bubbled over.) The Gamecocks had four opportunities in Kentucky territory in the first half, including one in the red zone, that netted zero points. We can’t win in the SEC like that.

Both men responded with a solid second half that helped us pull away from Kentucky. Satterfield mixed things up, and gave Rattler shorter, safer throws that took advantage of the playmaking skills of Juice Wells and Jalen Brooks. And of course Lloyd was a turbo bulldozer as usual, running for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Is our offense “fixed”? I don’t know, but the last night was encouraging. Rattler is going to have to be better on his intermediate and deep balls to help loosen up the screen and running games. And Satterfield…I don’t know. I’m probably not as down on him as most, but at some point he has to start putting up points or be held accountable.

Brooks & Wells & Vann & Shawn & Juju & Bell & Pine Tree. I literally texted Tbone “is Juice Wells still on the team” one play before his touchdown. The skill talent we have on offense is potentially among the best in the SEC, we just have to find ways to get them the ball. It was criminal in the first half that we barely heard some of these names mentioned. I realize there’s only one ball, but many OCs across the country would kill for a set of playmakers like this. I say this partly in a complaining way, but more in a hopeful way that this offense will get rolling in the second half of the year.

Sack attack. The Gamecocks skyrocketed from last in the SEC in sacks to 11th with a six-sack performance against a porous Kentucky offensive line last night. Strangely, Georgia is now last in the SEC in sacks.

Special. Ho-hum, another punt block. We’re leading the NCAA in that category. Too bad we didn’t score off of it.

Funhouse. I know we had some fun wins last year over Florida, Auburn and North Carolina, but there was something different about the win over the Wildcats last night. Maybe it was getting a really big monkey off our back, but it was positive and fun for the first time in a long time. Here’s to many more days/nights like that in the near future.

Next. Bye week baby, let’s get healthy and hit the second half of the season like a boss.

Go Cocks.