South Carolina fans and those associated with the football program witnessed an all-systems failure at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday.

The Gamecocks, a two-touchdown favorite against North Carolina in Charlotte, were whipped at the line of scrimmage and squandered a double-digit lead in the second half to lose, 24-20, a permanent stain in a big game that's becoming the norm for head coach Will Muschamp.

He is now 22-18 overall at South Carolina and has one win over a team that finished with a winning record since the start of the 2018 season.

Unrest on social media was clear after the surprising loss, a setback that came on the heels of South Carolina's 28-0 bowl loss to Virginia in December. Both of these disheartening defeats came after Muschamp, who's now in his fourth year, signed a 1-year extension at the conclusion of the regular season last fall.

He did not receive an increase in base salary, but will receive his automatic $200,000 per year raise in 2024, which brings his total compensation to $5.4 million owed in the final year of his contract.

According to USA Today's salary database, Muschamp's buyout — as of April 1, 2019 — is $18.6 million if fired after Dec. 31, one of the larger sums nationally. That number is a gargantuan $22 million if he's fired before the season is over.

SEC programs pay hefty buyouts all the time, but that doesn't mean South Carolina will necessarily. The current administration is 100 percent behind Muschamp's regime and has said as much on the record throughout the offseason.

Athletic director Ray Tanner, who makes $900,000 annually and signed a two-year extension in December, is also under contract through 2024. Muschamp's buyout decreases substantially every year he stays employed and he wasn't considered on a hot seat of any kind entering the 2019 season.

The Gamecocks led the Tar Heels, 20-9, in Saturday's opener before surrendering scoring drives of 98 and 95 yards against true freshman quarterback Sam Howell and the North Carolina offense.

South Carolina had three cracks at winning the game in the final four minutes and change, but two possessions ended on Jake Bentley interceptions and the third, a Hail Mary try, resulted in a sack to close it out. North Carolina, after winning two games last fall, is rebuilding under Mack Brown and at least early on, appears ahead of schedule.

"Extremely disappointing with the outcome of the game and the way we played," Muschamp said.

In recent years, SEC coaching buyouts have varied greatly. The University of Florida paid out $6.3 million after firing Muschamp in 2014 while Texas A&M was on the hook for more than $10 million when the Aggies parted ways with Kevin Sumlin in 2017.

Tennessee owed Butch Jones approximately $8 million for his buyout that same year.

Against North Carolina, Muschamp's team was pushed around up front and surrendered more than 200 yards on the ground.

"Disappointed today. That's not what we wanted. That's not where I thought we were," Muschamp said.