Talking Tuesday: #Gamecocks ready to put Vols in the rearview and focus on #Clemson (AUDIO)

Head coach Shane Beamer and key Gamecocks players met with the media, Tuesday, as South Carolina looks ahead to the annual rivalry game against Clemson.

USC should be a confident bunch coming off their best offensive performance of the season in a 63-38 pasting of then no. 5 Tennessee. With the upset over the Volunteers, the Gamecocks have met or eclipsed most of the expectations set for them in Beamer’s second season. Bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons: Check. .500 or better record in conference play: Check. Pull off monumental upset: Check. That leaves the major hurdle of ending USC’s losing skid to Clemson on the to-do list.

Not only have Gamecocks fans endured seven consecutive losses, but rarely has the game been expected to be competitive in recent seasons. But the dazzling aerial display recently turned in from Spencer Rattler and his receiving corps provides reason to believe this year’s game may be different. While acknowledging how big a win it was over the Vols, Beamer is ready to turn the page and focus on the task at hand. USC will also enter this year’s matchup relatively healthy, with running backs Marshawn Lloyd and Christian Beal-Smith both participating in practice and “trending in the right direction,” according to Beamer.

Longtime Gamecocks supporters have experienced heartache countless times in the series, watching their team lose in almost every way possible. If Rattler can carry the momentum from the Tennessee game into the rivalry, however, he can etch his name alongside USC quarterbacks whose impact still resonates because of their performances against Clemson.

Tommy Suggs, Jeff Grantz, Mike Hold, Todd Ellis, Steve Taneyhill, Phil Petty, Stephen Garcia, Dylan Thompson and Connor Shaw all tasted triumph and provided Gamecocks fans with a lasting memory in the process. And although, the signal callers garner the headlines, when South Carolina does defeat Clemson, it’s often the defense that delivers the biggest blows.

Safety Brad Edwards read Tigers QB Rodney Williams eyes and put the 1987 game away with a pick-six. Tony Guyton and Willie McIntee kickstarted the famed “Black Magic” rally in 1984 by sacking Mike Eppley for a safety. In 2001, cornerback Sheldon Brown intercepted Woody Dantzler twice and Jadeveon Clowney sacked Tajh Boyd 4.5 times in 2012.

South Carolina’s defense must do its part this weekend to slow down DJ Uiagalelei, Will Shipley and the Tigers running game if the Gamecocks are to pull the upset and snap the string.

Another chapter to the rivalry will be written, Saturday, with kickoff from Death Valley set for noon. Clemson is a 14-point favorite.

Key comments from Shane Beamer

• Beamer wants to stop talking about the Tennessee game. It’s now in the past, time to move on to Clemson. Points to the team not doing a good job of that last year, as they had a big win against Auburn, then maybe didn’t focus and prepare enough for Clemson
• Beamer says the team didn’t reinvent the wheel Saturday, but instead the coaches and players just executed better. He says the coaches did shrink the playbook a bit, and perhaps had the simplest game plan of the season. But execution was the key
• Clemson 10 fumbles in their last 3 games (lost 6). Beamer says that factors into the gameplay, as they look at who carries the ball loosely, how/when/why they fumble, and then looks to force those players into similar situations. Turnover margin will be key this weekend
• Beamer says playing against big QB’s like KJ Jefferson and Anthony Richardson has helped prepare his guys for Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei

Beamer previews the Clemson game

Quarterback Spencer Rattler

Cornerback Darius Rush

Defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway