South Carolina got back into the win column this past Saturday with a dominant 50-7 win over the Akron Zips. 

The Gamecocks outclassed the Zips in every aspect of the game. South Carolina finished the contest with almost 400 more yards of offense than Akron and got to play its backups for the majority of the fourth quarter. 

“Akron is a good team with respect to Akron, but we thought that they shouldn’t be able to be on the field with us,” Gamecock edge rusher Kyle Kennard said.  

Backup quarterback Robby Ashford made his first start as a Gamecock after replacing an injured LaNorris Seller. The Auburn transfer had the game of his career, recording 376 total yards of offense and three total touchdowns. 

“Been through a lot of ups and downs in my career, and it's taught me a lot,” Ashford said. “Just a hats off to my guys and my teammates man. None of this would have been possible without them. I wouldn't have been able to go out there and perform if everybody wasn't.” 

The Gamecocks were clicking right from the jump. The offense went three and out on its first possession. Akron ran for a first down on the first play of its first drive, but on the next play, Kennard popped the Akron runner in the backfield for a six-yard loss. The Zips never recovered and punted back to the Gamecocks. 

South Carolina drove the ball into Akron territory. Ashford showed his running abilities on this drive with a 36-yard pickup and another big run to convert a third and 10. The Gamecocks drive stalled at the Akron six, but on a fourth and two, the team kept its offense on the field. 

Ashford threw a pass to true freshman tight end Michael Smith for the first down. Oscar Adaway III took the ball on the next play and punched it in the endzone for the first of many Gamecock touchdowns in the game. 

That first touchdown wouldn’t have been scored if not for the fourth down conversion. Going in, head coach Shane Beamer and his staff planned to be aggressive and take the opportunities the opposing team gave them. 

South Carolina went for it five times on fourth down and converted four of those attempts. The team also converted a two-point conversion. 

After Ashford fired a 30-yard dot to receiver Mazeo Bennett for the score, the Gamecocks lined up in a swinging gate formation. Kai Kroeger and long snapper Hunter Rogers were alone with the rest of the team lined up on the edges of the field. 

Usually, this formation is used to confuse the defense, and the team eventually runs to set up a PAT attempt. Instead, Kroeger took the snap and ran towards the right sideline where his blockers were positioned. He found the endzone and put the Gamecocks up 15-0. 

“We talked about it as a team, that we just wanted to be on the attack, and we weren't going to sit around and wait for something to happen,” Beamer said. “I feel like I told Dowell on the headphones, ‘You got four downs,’ more than I ever have here at South Carolina.” 

The team was one play away from its first shutout since beating Eastern Illinois 46-0 in the first week of the 2021 season. Akron quarterback Ben Finley struggled against the Gamecock defense, but on one play he broke through by finding his receiver for a 46-yard touchdown. The Akron wideout had a step on the Gamecock defender and Finley delivered a perfect ball. 

Other than that one blemish, the Gamecock defense dominated. The team finished the game with three tackles for loss and an interception, while allowing only 154 yards of total offense. 

The Gamecocks improved to 3-1 with the win over Akron. The team enters a much-needed bye week before facing top-10 Ole Miss at home. South Carolina will use that break to make adjustments and hopefully get healthy. 

Aside from Sellers’ absence, South Carolina was down receiver Jared Brown and linebacker Bangally Kamara. The team lost leading rusher Raheim “Rocket” Sanders early against the Zips, but Beamer is confident the injury won’t last long.