South Carolina’s defense showed up and dominated Oklahoma en route to a 35-9 victory last weekend. 

It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools as Oklahoma is now in the SEC following massive realignment in college football. Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer got the better of his former team where he spent three seasons as the assistant head coach.

The Gamecocks jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead after scoring two defensive touchdowns. Oklahoma turned the ball over on its first three drives and found itself down three touchdowns just five minutes into the game. 

“This week we actually used the word dominate the turnover battle, and they absolutely did,” Beamer said. “What a start.”

South Carolina won the turnover battle against the Sooners four to zero. The Gamecock defense overwhelmed Oklahoma, recording nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Oklahoma even benched starting quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. for Jackson Arnold in the first quarter. 

“I said we're going to have a historic defense, and I said that confidently,” Gamecock defensive back and former Irmo star Nick Emmanwori said. “We ain't really finished out the season yet, but you can see how it's going. We got dogs all over.”

Oklahoma started the game with a pick that went right into the hands of Emmanwori on their first offensive snap. The Gamecocks turned that turnover into points after Raheim “Rocket” Sanders ran in the ball from three yards out. 

The Sooners’ next drive was also disastrous as Tonka Hemingway hit Hawkins and knocked the ball free. Hemingway then scooped the ball and ran 36 yards for a touchdown. 

Things got even worse on the next drive when Emmanwori got his second interception of the game but this time, returned it for a touchdown. 

“We can go toe-to-toe with anybody in this country," Beamer said. "I mean, if you’re one of the better teams in the SEC, you’re one of the better teams in the entire nation. And our record may not say it. And we know that every week is a grind in this league. But we’ve shown that we can go toe-to-toe with the best in this league.”

Offensively, the Gamecocks had their share of hits and misses, but with the large lead produced by their defense, the little mistakes did not add up or translate to Oklahoma points. 

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers was 15 of 24 for 175 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Joshua Simon had four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. 

Oklahoma moved the ball a bit after the rough start but only managed to score one touchdown. Arnold finished with 225 yards with a touchdown to Brennan Thompson. 

The victory put South Carolina back in the win column for the first time since its win over Akron Sept. 21. The team bounced back from a close loss over Alabama and improved its record to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC.

“To come off the heartbreak of last week and respond like we did today was really freaking awesome to watch,” Beamer said. “I think there was very much a mentality with our players after last week of enough’s enough, and we know what kind of team we can be. We’ve been banging on the door. It’s time to kick the door down. And we certainly kicked the door down today.”

South Carolina is two games away from clinching bowl eligibility for the third time in the Beamer era. The team missed out in 2023 after finishing 5-7. 

Picking up two more wins won’t be easy. All but one game is against a top-25-ranked team. South Carolina will have a bye this weekend before hosting No. 14 Texas A&M. The Gamecocks will follow that game with a road trip to Vandy, home games against No. 21 Missouri and unranked Wafford and its season finale on the road against No. 9 Clemson.