Not even rain in 58 degree weather could stop 78,883 South Carolina and Florida fans from showing up to the SEC East battle at Williams-Brice Stadium.
As the game began, all eyes looked to South Carolina freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski, who was playing with a sprained left knee. He helped build instant momentum with a strong opening drive by completing a flea flicker 41-yard pass to senior wide receiver Bryan Edwards.
“We would not have played him if he wasn’t healthy and hadn't been cleared by our medical staff,” head coach Will Muschamp said when asked about Hilinski’s knee.
Hilinski got the Gamecocks down the field, but it was redshirt senior running back Mon Denson who ran for a yard to score for South Carolina. This opening drive touchdown not only put the Gamecocks on the board, but served as foreshadowing for South Carolina’s game as a whole.
The offense continued to keep Florida on its toes, but the passing game was not working the way Muschamp was hoping. Hilinski continued to overthrow his receivers, and receivers were dropping on target passes, which resulted in numerous missed opportunities for South Carolina’s offense.
“We as coaches, we need to sort of figure out a way for us to be more consistent in the passing game," Muschamp said. "It's frustrating. We’re running the ball well, but we’ve got to develop some things throwing the football."
Edwards spoke on what might have gone wrong as well.
“It was a little rainy today, so I feel like it just threw our timing off a little bit. We had opportunities down the field, we just couldn’t connect,” Edwards said.
Run game it was for the Gamecocks, but when senior running back Rico Dowdle injured his right knee in the first quarter, South Carolina needed a play maker. In this case, they ended up with two.
Denson and senior running back Tavien Feaster both stepped up to the challenge, combining for 233 of South Carolina’s 387 total offensive yards.
“I hate that he even went down, praying for him; you know, hope he has a speedy recovery and everything’s OK with him," Feaster said. "But obviously, yes, this is a moment of me coming out, trying to prove myself to the coaches and just trying to gain the trust of the teammates."
Despite the close score throughout the game, South Carolina kept momentum by having explosive run plays and embracing the energy coming from the fans. There was, however, an obvious momentum and attitude shift after a few calls that did not go in the Gamecocks' favor. South Carolina fans were quick to be vocally unhappy and began throwing wet towels and water bottles towards the field.
Edwards said he and the team were focused on the next play and controlling what they could.
“We knew it was going to be a 60-minute game. Obviously, sometimes things don’t go your way," Edwards said. "You got to learn how to handle adversity the right way, and I think we did a good job of doing that.”
Florida gained momentum in the fourth quarter. With less than two minutes left, South Carolina was unable to comeback. Florida took the 38-27 victory to become 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC.
“They made the plays at the end and we didn’t, and that’s on me," Muschamp said. "We’ll regroup and get ready to go to Knoxville.”
South Carolina is set to kick off against Tennessee in Knoxville next Saturday at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network.