How South Carolina football ended two droughts vs. JSU to retain quest for bowl eligibility

COLUMBIA – It had been weeks since South Carolina football forced a turnover, but when one comes, others tend to follow.

The Gamecocks got their first turnover since Sept. 30 with a fumble recovery late in the first half Saturday. Three more followed in the second half, including an 88-yard interception by linebacker Stone Blanton returned for a touchdown to end Jacksonville State’s upset hopes in a 38-28 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“We needed them today,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “That was huge. … I told them that at halftime. These things come in bunches, and we just got one, let’s keep it going.”

The turnovers came in the moments South Carolina (3-6) needed them. Blanton’s interception secured the game’s outcome when it looked like Jacksonville State (7-3) could snag a late lead.

In the first half, Jacksonville State was building a late drive after moving the ball 41 yards in eight plays. With the score tied and 53 seconds remaining before halftime, Jacksonville State quarterback Logan Smothers dropped the ball and defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway outmuscled him to recover the fumble.

Four plays later, quarterback Spencer Rattler connected with Xavier Legette to put the Gamecocks up at halftime.

“It’s complementary ball,” Rattler said. “We talked about it before. Defense had four takeaways today, which makes our job a lot easier. Now we need to be better when they get us a takeaway at going down and scoring.”

South Carolina scored 17 points from turnovers, all at opportune times. Along with Blanton’s defensive score and Hemingway’s fumble recovery, a second fumble recovery in the fourth quarter set up the go-ahead field goal.

Jacksonville’s final three drives ended with a turnover, including an interception by O’Donnell Fortune on its last drive that allowed Rattler to kneel out the game.

“It’s huge for our team to have that momentum swing,” Blanton said. “It can change the outcome. We needed something big, and we were able to get it and get off the field when we needed to.”

Turnovers were the surest way for South Carolina’s defense to get off the field. The Gamecocks allowed 421 yards, including 225 rushing. Each of Jacksonville State’s touchdowns came on drives of 62 yards or more, while three of its four turnovers came on drives over 40 yards long.

“When you let the other team run 84 plays for 421 yards and go over 50% on third down, you’re probably not going to win,” Beamer said. “But if you win the turnover battle, you probably are, and that was obviously the difference in the game today.”

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With three games remaining, all at Williams-Brice Stadium, the Gamecocks need to win out in order to reach bowl eligibility. After a close win against Jacksonville State in a game where South Carolina was 15.5-point favorites, it’s clear there is space to improve.

“You can always get better,” Williams said. “We’ve gotta get better at getting more turnovers, we’ve gotta get better at tackling. We missed tackles. … We’ve got to get better at everything, and that goes for offense, special teams, defense – all three phases.”

Yet, all things considered, South Carolina can take solace in ending a four-game losing streak after going 0-for-October. For Beamer and the Gamecocks, that’s enough reason to soak in a win.

“We were not good enough in a lot of areas today, but we are going to celebrate the heck out of this game,” Beamer said. “We just had one heck of a celebration in that locker room and our guys are super excited and dancing their butts off.”