Darius Rush sparks the Gamecocks with his play and a pep talk for the Gamecock offense
Oct. 24, 2022
There were eight minutes left in Saturday’s South Carolina win over Texas A&M when quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks got the ball. Eight minutes to push for one more score, to salvage a win in a game that seemed to be coming apart at the seams. At that moment, senior defensive back Darius Rush and a few other Gamecock defenders walked over to the Gamecocks' offensive huddle. Tension had erupted between the Aggies and the Gamecocks between the third and fourth quarter, with a mild skirmish breaking out on the field. South Carolina’s defense didn’t like that. Rush gestured toward the smoke still lingering in the air from Williams-Brice Stadium fireworks, then gave Rattler and the Gamecocks his best bit of motivational coaching.
“My message to those guys was, ‘Hey man, they’re coming over here ... our home turf and they come in chippy at us,’ ” Rush said. “’ There’s smoke in the air. We’re gonna go give them some smoke.” Leave it to South Carolinas' defense to spark the offense. Don’t let the scoreboard fool you. In South Carolina’s 30-24 win over the Aggies on Saturday, it was Rush and the defense that set the tone from the very beginning and continued to pound the drumbeat as the game hung in the balance.
The Gamecocks had 17 points on the board before Rattler even completed a pass. The game opened with a sparkling 100-yard kickoff return by Xavier Legette for a touchdown, then USC’s defense took over. On the very first offensive drive of the game for Texas A&M, Rush read a deep throw from quarterback Haynes King, saw the receiver’s hips turn to come back to the ball, and Rush jumped the route, and picked it off, racing back 59 yards to the 5-yard line. Rush’s only regret is that he didn’t make it to the end zone. Still, the interception led to three points for the Gamecocks, and the Gamecocks' secondary continued to hold King in check. The game plan from defensive coordinator Clayton White was to contain Aggie's star tailback Devon Achane as much as possible, clogging up running lanes and forcing the Aggies to throw the ball.
“We heard that (Achane) was shifty fast, so we just had to stay in our gaps when he got the ball, and I feel like we executed that pretty good tonight,” defensive lineman Jordan Burch said. “Once you stop the run, they gotta throw the ball. So that’s what we tried to do and then get after the quarterback afterward.” That plan nearly worked to perfection. Though Achane still finished with 99 yards on 20 totes, the Aggies weren’t able to just ride they're running back. Gamecocks consistently forced Texas A&M into third-and-long situations averaging 7 yards to go on third downs and allowed the Aggies to convert only five of their 14 third-down attempts. King completed only 17 of his 32 throws, facing constant pressure and stingy down-field coverage. The Gamecock secondary tallied 12 pass breakups, and the defense as a whole racked up nine quarterback hurries, forcing King out of the game due to injury late in the second half.
For Rush, in particular, Saturday’s game was personal. Since stepping on campus in 2018, Rush has seen the Gamecocks drop four games to the Aggies which the Gamecocks beat for the first time ever as a program on Saturday. Tears welled in Rush’s eyes moments after the game ended. He knew the Gamecocks had it in them to finish the job even if Rush had to take it upon himself to give the offense a pep talk. “As a defense, we told those guys we’re gonna get them the ball every chance that we get,” Rush said. “And that’s what we did.”
Moments to remember from Saturday night's win
2022 USC vs Texas A&M - Xavier Legette Kick Return for Touchdown
2022 USC vs Texas A&M - Darius Rush Interception
Oct. 24, 2022
There were eight minutes left in Saturday’s South Carolina win over Texas A&M when quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks got the ball. Eight minutes to push for one more score, to salvage a win in a game that seemed to be coming apart at the seams. At that moment, senior defensive back Darius Rush and a few other Gamecock defenders walked over to the Gamecocks' offensive huddle. Tension had erupted between the Aggies and the Gamecocks between the third and fourth quarter, with a mild skirmish breaking out on the field. South Carolina’s defense didn’t like that. Rush gestured toward the smoke still lingering in the air from Williams-Brice Stadium fireworks, then gave Rattler and the Gamecocks his best bit of motivational coaching.
“My message to those guys was, ‘Hey man, they’re coming over here ... our home turf and they come in chippy at us,’ ” Rush said. “’ There’s smoke in the air. We’re gonna go give them some smoke.” Leave it to South Carolinas' defense to spark the offense. Don’t let the scoreboard fool you. In South Carolina’s 30-24 win over the Aggies on Saturday, it was Rush and the defense that set the tone from the very beginning and continued to pound the drumbeat as the game hung in the balance.
The Gamecocks had 17 points on the board before Rattler even completed a pass. The game opened with a sparkling 100-yard kickoff return by Xavier Legette for a touchdown, then USC’s defense took over. On the very first offensive drive of the game for Texas A&M, Rush read a deep throw from quarterback Haynes King, saw the receiver’s hips turn to come back to the ball, and Rush jumped the route, and picked it off, racing back 59 yards to the 5-yard line. Rush’s only regret is that he didn’t make it to the end zone. Still, the interception led to three points for the Gamecocks, and the Gamecocks' secondary continued to hold King in check. The game plan from defensive coordinator Clayton White was to contain Aggie's star tailback Devon Achane as much as possible, clogging up running lanes and forcing the Aggies to throw the ball.
“We heard that (Achane) was shifty fast, so we just had to stay in our gaps when he got the ball, and I feel like we executed that pretty good tonight,” defensive lineman Jordan Burch said. “Once you stop the run, they gotta throw the ball. So that’s what we tried to do and then get after the quarterback afterward.” That plan nearly worked to perfection. Though Achane still finished with 99 yards on 20 totes, the Aggies weren’t able to just ride they're running back. Gamecocks consistently forced Texas A&M into third-and-long situations averaging 7 yards to go on third downs and allowed the Aggies to convert only five of their 14 third-down attempts. King completed only 17 of his 32 throws, facing constant pressure and stingy down-field coverage. The Gamecock secondary tallied 12 pass breakups, and the defense as a whole racked up nine quarterback hurries, forcing King out of the game due to injury late in the second half.
For Rush, in particular, Saturday’s game was personal. Since stepping on campus in 2018, Rush has seen the Gamecocks drop four games to the Aggies which the Gamecocks beat for the first time ever as a program on Saturday. Tears welled in Rush’s eyes moments after the game ended. He knew the Gamecocks had it in them to finish the job even if Rush had to take it upon himself to give the offense a pep talk. “As a defense, we told those guys we’re gonna get them the ball every chance that we get,” Rush said. “And that’s what we did.”
Moments to remember from Saturday night's win
2022 USC vs Texas A&M - Xavier Legette Kick Return for Touchdown
2022 USC vs Texas A&M - Darius Rush Interception
