South Carolina claimed a thrilling 26-19 victory over Michigan in the 2018 Outback Bowl. Here are 3 big takeaways from the game.
The first touchdown in the 2018 Outback Bowl didn’t come until the third quarter, so for the first half of the game, it was a battle of field goals. Michigan got on the board early and held South Carolina to a single field goal through most of the game, until the second half when South Carolina came back with 23 unanswered points to win 26-19, giving them their ninth win of the season and a victory at the 2018 Outback Bowl.
In the first quarter, Michigan scored on two field goals from Quinn Nordin, who hit the mark from 35 yards and 26 yards. South Carolina got on the board in the second quarter with a 44-yard field goal from Parker White. Nordin hit a 45-yard field goal at the end of the quarter to make it 9-3 Michigan going into halftime.
Michigan scored its first touchdown coming out of halftime on a Ben Mason one-yard run into the end zone. Michigan added another field goal, this time a 48-yard blast from Nordin. Rico Dowdle helped the Gamecocks score their first touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Jake Bentley with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was no good, making it 19-9 Michigan.
This is where things got interesting. Michigan fumbled the ball on the Michigan 21 yard line and South Carolina recovered. Jake Bentley connected with Bryan Edwards on a 21-yard pass and the Gamecocks made it a 3 point game.
Minutes later, in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks took the lead when Bentley hit Shi Smith for a 53-yard run to the house. Parker White’s extra point was good, and South Carolina suddenly had 4 points on the Wolverines. The Wolverines had a chance to score but South Carolina intercepted the pass in the end zone, robbing Michigan of a chance to get back on top. A fumbled punt return led to the Gamecocks recovering the ball on their own 15-yard line. This was Michigan’s fourth turnover in the second half of the game that led to another field goal for South Carolina to make it a seven-point game with 3:47 to play.
A missed field goal by Parker White with under two minutes to play gave Michigan time to possibly make a comeback. On a 4th and 1 run, South Carolina intercepted the ball again, preventing the Wolverines from scoring. That was all South Carolina needed to seal the deal and claim the win.
Here are 3 takeaways from South Carolina’s 26-19 victory over Michigan in the 2018 Outback Bowl:
Gamecocks Persist
After being held to just 3 points through most of the game, South Carolina waited patiently until the fourth quarter to find the momentum to make a move. With their 23 unanswered points, the Gamecocks took the lead after a stellar performance from quarterback Jake Bentley. Bentley was 19-OF-32, throwing for 239 yards with 2 touchdowns and one interception.
Though the Gamecocks came into the Outback Bowl as the underdogs, they didn’t play like underdogs.
Too Many Turnovers
Michigan had an Outback Bowl record-tying 5 turnovers in the second half. Quinn Nordin’s field goals couldn’t do anything to stop South Carolina from catching up with so many turnovers. Michigan was a completely different team in the second half of the game and that’s all South Carolina needed to make a push.
The turnovers were a huge part of South Carolina’s victory, giving them a fighting chance to rally back from a 16 point deficit through most of the game.
Field Goals Matter
Michigan’s Quinn Nordin was cool under pressure, hitting 4 field goals with his longest being a 48-yard blast through the uprights. Given South Carolina’s resurgence in the second half, those field goals were the only thing buffering Michigan’s short-lived lead until the Gamecocks surged ahead. Aside from the one Wolverine touchdown, Michigan owed all of its scoring in this game to Nordin and that wasn’t enough to win the game.
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With the win, South Carolina improves to 9-5 on the season while Michigan finishes its season with an 8-5 record.