Takeaways From Yesterday’s Blowout Win Over Charleston Southern

On By noahpathejaIn Football

70,000 fans showed up to watch Ryan Hilinski play his first game as a Gamecock, and I don’t think fans left was disappointed.

South Carolina set a program record for most points in a first half. They also set the program record for most total yards in a game with 775 and the most rushing yards in a game with 493.

Yes, you could say this is just Charleston Southern, but this a hell of a performance for any team.

This also gives the Gamecocks a lot of confidence heading into a very tough Alabama game.

Here are my three takeaways from yesterday’s game:

Ryan Hilinski is the future

Hilinski finished with an impressive stat line of 24-30, 282 yards, three touchdowns(one rushing) and one interception.

This is against a defense that gave up 46 points to Furman.

However, Hilinski looked very poised and comfortable in the pocket. He proved that he can throw the deep ball when he needs to, and he’s very accurate on quick passes.

The offense also looks way more alive with Hilinski under center.

It will be very exciting to see what he can do for the rest of his freshman year. His ceiling is extremely high.

The Defense looked much better

I know people will say “Oh, it’s Charleston Southern. That doesn’t mean anything”.

However, this was an impressive performance for a unit that has struggled to create turnovers or hold a team on third down.

South Carolina forced three turnovers and put a lot of pressure on quarterback Jack Chambers.

South Carolina only allowed 267 total yards and held the Buccaneers to 6-17 on third down.

The Gamecocks only missed two tackles, and only allowed one big run.

It will be a very different game next week, but I hope the defense can bring the same energy they brought today.

Feed Kevin Harris

If you had told me that freshman running back Kevin Harris would have 147 yards and three touchdowns on only six carries, I would’ve called you crazy.

This kid is going to have a bright future at South Carolina and I really hope we get to see more of him this season.

His final two runs of this game were both touchdowns that combined for 120 yards.

He will certainly add some much needed depth to the running back position.

Conclusion

Saturday encapsulated what will probably be the most fun game of the season.

I’m more excited for the future of this program after seeing who we have.

I also want to give a shoutout to Dakereon Joyner, who looked like an insane athlete.

He finished with four rushes for 53 yards and a touchdown.

He will definitely be good in wildcat situations.

Let’s just hope that South Carolina can put up a fight against an elite Alabama team next week.



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