TAMPA, Fla. - While it was ugly and without touchdown for more than 40 minutes, South Carolina came alive offensively late in the third quarter and put up more points than any team Michigan faced this season not ranked in the top eight in the country.

The Gamecocks (9-4) left Raymond James Stadium with a 26-19 victory over the Wolverines, which boasts one of the top defenses in the country. First-time play-caller Bryan McClendon saw his offense only able to register one first down the first four drives of the game.

By the end though, the 26 points the Gamecocks scored was third-most allowed by Michigan this year having given up 42 to Penn State and 31 to Ohio State.

Two-time captain Hayden Hurst, playing his final game in a South Carolina uniform, says that McClendon stressed tempo in the weeks leading up to the game against Michigan. And he says tempo is “absolutely” the way to go for a college offense.

“He wanted us to move fast,” Hurst said. “He wanted us to get lined up as fast as we could and wanted us to execute at a high level. When we started doing that, piecing some plays and drives together, it started working. We had them on their heels.”

There were a few signs of life in the first half, but not much to crow about. The Gamecocks could muster only a field goal, which came after a big 38-yard pass play from Jake Bentley to Bryan Edwards, but nothing else.

“Proud of those guys and some of the shots we took down the field being aggressive and our mentality and what we’re trying to do,” Muschamp said. “Certainly the tempo helped us create some cheap yardage for us. I’m really impressed with Bryan and the job that he did.”

The tempo picked up in the second half as South Carolina was able to move the football and produce some first downs. The points started coming late in the third quarter after the Wolverines took a 19-3 lead.

“I could tell a difference,” running back Rico Dowdle said, assessing the play-calling this week versus earlier in the season. “You could see what we did the second half once we got the momentum. I think Coach McClendon made some great play calls and they worked. I think the biggest difference was how we prepared and how we produced. We started out slow but picked it up in the second half.”

The Gamecocks scored on four of their final six drives of the game. One of the two non-scoring drives featured a missed 48-yard field goal.

While the start was slow, South Carolina eventually found a groove under McClendon, as Muschamp said he didn’t have any influence on play-calling and he didn’t even speak with the offensive staff at halftime.

“With the confidence he brings, he’s an easy guy to get behind,” Hurst said, when asked if he thought McClendon would be a suitable offensive coordinator at South Carolina. “I love B-Mac and what he brings to the table. He’s an impressive guy.”

While it was only one game for McClendon and really only featured one-third of a game worth of success, Dowdle believes in the second-year assistant as well.

“Coach B-Mac is a great guy. I love Coach B-Mac,” Dowdle said. “Hopefully he can get the job. I’d be very proud for him and his family. Good luck to him, and I hope he gets the job.”

Muschamp has said several times there are multiple factors that will go into his decision on making an offensive coordinator hire. He wasn’t going to just use the result of the bowl game to decide whether McClendon would be the right choice or not.

McClendon had about a one month job interview, and whether he lands the role or not, Muschamp looks back at the time as a success.

“I thought Bryan McClendon did an outstanding job preparing our football team offensively and the entire offensive staff going into this game,” second-year head coach Will Muschamp said. “Made a lot of adjustments at halftime on some things we felt like we could take advantage of.”

Muschamp said in his opening statement following the win he wasn’t going to discuss the future of the offensive coordinator position on his staff. The players spoke, McClendon finished putting his resume on paper, and now Muschamp will take some time to decide.