GamecockCentral.com columnist Scott Davis, who has followed USC sports for more than 30 years, provides commentary from the perspective of a Gamecocks fan. You can follow Scott on Twitter at @scdonfire .

I settled into my trusty den chair for South Carolina-Arkansas on Saturday afternoon without knowing what my expectations were. I could see players and coaches in high-definition on my friendly flat-screen. I could hear the droning of a pair of SEC Network announcers. It looked like Williams-Brice Stadium. But I still didn’t really know what I was watching. Did I expect happiness? Terror? Sadness? Nausea? No one knew.



Yes, this was one of those “Could Go Either Way” games for the Gamecocks, the kind of game that all too often has gone against the program since it joined the SEC a quarter-century ago. I, for one, was flummoxed. I didn’t know if I’d see this team buck the oddsmakers and calmly take care of business (like they did earlier this season against N.C. State) or if the ballgame would turn into one of those unexpectedly ugly losses like last season against Mississippi State, when you wondered about five minutes after kickoff why you’d ever felt good about Carolina’s chances.

I just didn’t know. You probably didn’t, either. But either way, I did know it was one of the most important games on the schedule in 2017.

That’s because “Could Go Either Way” games tend to define whether or not we feel good about what South Carolina has done in any given football season.

Once in a generation or so, the Gamecocks mess around and absolutely stun someone (like when they ended Alabama’s long winning streak in Williams-Brice in 2010). And about as rarely, they’ve found themselves on the wrong end of an outright shocker (The Citadel, and…The Citadel).

Most of the time, though, it’s these toss-up games against middle-of-the-pack SEC teams that make the difference in a season that ends in a bowl game and with most fans feeling somewhere in the neighborhood of decent about the team, and a season that lives forever in our nightmares.

“Could Go Either Way” games get coaches fired or get them contract extensions. “Could Go Either Way” games destroyed Brad Scott and made Steve Spurrier the winningest coach in school history.

How do you tell if you’re in a “Could Go Either Way” game? Well…

Do you feel extra good about getting a win even though the opponent isn’t that good?

If you lose, do you find yourself thinking: You know what? South Carolina’s just got to be better at football than (fill in the blank with the name of the team that just beat you)?

Have you seen the opposing team beat South Carolina about as many times as you’ve seen the Gamecocks beat them?

Are you facing a team named Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Missouri, Kentucky or any of the major college programs based in North Carolina?

If so, you’re probably watching a “Could Go Either Way” game. And if you’re a Gamecock fan, these are the games you need to care the most about if you want to see your team win more than five or six football games each season.

It’s always going to be special to watch our boys beat Georgia or Florida. But the games that usually make or break USC football seasons are games like Saturday’s, where South Carolina surprisingly dismantled an average Arkansas team even though the Razorbacks entered Columbia as 3.5-point favorites. Think back to that trilogy of 11-win seasons not so long ago: The Gamecocks rarely dominated anyone during those years, but they almost always took care of “Could Go Either Way” games in business-like fashion.

On Saturday, they did exactly what you’d hope to see a better-than-average Southeastern Conference team do – take firm and unshakeable command at home against a middle-of-the-road SEC foe, bully their opponent into submission and slowly strangle away their will to live.

And to do it, they employed a defense that did something you seldom see a South Carolina defense do against the Arkansas Razorbacks: They stopped the run and kept stopping it.

Since the Hogs and ‘Cocks joined the SEC in 1992, Arkansas has always seemed to possess a bruising, physical rushing attack that gives USC fits and causes me to break out in an itchy rash upon watching it. You usually know what you’re getting out of the boys from the Ozarks: Gigantic, mythological offensive linemen and swift, redwood-thick running backs who never, ever seem to fall down. I still have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from visions of Madre Hill running wild in Williams-Brice in the ‘90s. And don’t even get me started on Darren McFadden setting an Arkansas record by rushing for a ludicrous 321 yards against Carolina in 2007 (it seemed like 321 miles) – not unless you want me to pour a pot of scalding coffee on my head and start babbling incoherently.

When I considered that the Razorbacks have emphasized the running game more than ever since Bret Bielema arrived in Fayetteville, and that USC has rarely been dominating in the defensive trenches in recent decades, it just didn’t feel to me like a day that would end with the Gamecock defense repeatedly storming the Arkansas backfield and taking ownership of it again and again.

But that’s exactly what happened.

And whether I expected it or not, South Carolina is now 4-2 at the halfway point and headed to Knoxville.

The upcoming game is on the road, and Neyland Stadium has been a House of Horrors for the Gamecocks for much of the last 25 years.

Still, these aren’t Peyton Manning’s Vols (or even Josh Dobbs’ Vols).

This is a “Could Go Either Way” game.

This is the very definition of a “Could Go Either Way” game.

And if you want to watch South Carolina playing in a bowl game and selling recruits on a bright future this winter, you know all too well what that means.

Win.

Win.

The Deebo Samuel Large Pepperoni Pizza Game Balls of the Week

As we continue to cross our fingers for a Deebo Samuel return in 2017, let’s pass out some Samuels to the following worthy winners:

Completely Shutting Down the Arkansas Running Attack in a Manner That Was Emphatic, Thorough and, Frankly, Shocking – When South Carolina has been less than mediocre at football the last few decades, the most common complaints you hear about the program are ones like this: We just aren’t a physical SEC football team, we can’t stop the run or establish our own running game, and we get destroyed on both sides of the lines of scrimmage but other than that, things are amazing. I’ll admit, those were thoughts I’ve had at various times in 2017. And almost every year since I was born. Sitting down to watch the game, I most definitely allowed myself to wonder whether this would be another one of those lost October Saturdays at Williams-Brice, where we watch opponents grind out 8-yard runs on toss sweeps, then do it again…and again. It wasn’t. The Razorbacks entered the game averaging more than 200 yards rushing and could only muster around 100 in this contest – and it didn’t seem like they got that many. South Carolina’s defense virtually built itself an entire condominium complex in the Arky backfield and resided there for four quarters. I gotta tell you…I was not expecting that.

Actually Unearthing a Running Game of Our Own for the First Time in 2017 – SC running back Rico Dowdle looked like 2016 Rico Dowdle for much of the game, delivering punishing runs and carrying fools on his back for positive yardage again and again. South Carolina has lacked that kind of brutal efficiency in the running game for much of the current season, causing me to stare longingly at my autographed Marcus Lattimore football far more than any sane adult needs to be doing on a regular basis. Late in the ballgame, the Gamecocks did what winners do by bleeding the clock and running with so much reckless abandon that I wanted to chug 16 energy drinks and run laps around my neighborhood while listening to a compilation of early ‘90s gangsta rap.

Skai Moore – Another interception for the fifth-year-senior? He’s one of the all-time “I’m just going to go find the football” guys in the history of “I’m just going to go find the football” guys. This one was a pick-six that essentially slammed the door in the grills of the Razorbacks and made them start glancing around at each other with those priceless “OK, We’re Not Winning Here Today, Are We?” faces. While we’re here, let’s honor…

Pick-Sixes – I like the phrase “pick-six.” It feels good coming off the tongue. It feels spectacular to watch your guys create one, much less the two South Carolina inflicted on Saturday. When opposing quarterbacks are scoring points for the Gamecocks and doing it repeatedly, I’m extremely satisfied about life.

Finally Delivering the Kind of Methodical and Violent Defensive Performance You Knew a Will Muschamp-Led Program Would Eventually Deliver – That’s about as well as I’ve seen South Carolina play on defense in a non-Vanderbilt SEC game in quite some time. The final score actually doesn’t do justice to just how much they had the Razorback offense on lockdown. When you play well on defense, you always have a chance. Always.

Williams-Brice Stadium Veering Towards Electric Avenue – Last week, I stated with authority that the W-B would be lacking in adrenaline, energy, electricity and anything resembling signs of life for this game. That’s not what happened. As always, Gamecock fans amaze me. Also, for the most part, I have no idea what I’m talking about.

Deflated Balls

Perfection remains elusive, and honesty compels us to toss a few Deflated Balls in the vicinity of the following:

This Whole Field Goal Kicking Thing Becoming a Straight-up Five-Alarm Fire – I’m struggling to understand why South Carolina would attempt any field goal of longer than 35 yards or so in 2017, unless they’re facing fourth-and-90 or need a field goal to win as time expires. What else do we need to see to come to terms with the reality that it’s just not happening on kicks of 40 yards and longer this year? Even though the final score rendered those shanks meaningless, I think it’s time for four-down territory any time the USC offense wanders between the opponent’s 20-to-40 yard-lines. Field goal attempts are just not going to happen from that distance. Not going to happen. Time to move on.

Me for Blurting “It’s Over for Arkansas Today” With Quite a Bit of Time Left in the Second Half – My wife threatened to ban me from the house once I started openly taunting Arkansas’ players as the Gamecocks built a 25-point lead. I’ve watched enough football to know better than this. Celebrate when the clock hits triple-zeros and not a moment sooner, especially when the Gamecocks are involved. That was amateur hour.

Georgia Already Winning the 2017 National Championship in College Football Even Though They’ve Only Played Half of Their Regular Season Schedule – Not sure if you realized this, but no program in the history of college football has ever started 6-0 before UGA accomplished it this year. Also, did you know Georgia has already won the national championship this year? Well, they have. Get with the program, because it’s already happened. At least according to their fans here in the Peach State, who’ve already decided after a season-and-a-half that Kirby Smart is Vince Lombardi’s Daddy, will solve world hunger, eliminate human sadness and sire magical unicorns in his spare time. Listen, the Dawgs have been mighty impressive so far. Mighty impressive. But maybe we should just let this thing play out or something?

I’m not sure I expected to be here after this Arkansas game.

I’m not sure where I expected to be, but I don’t think it was here.

And that’s looking at an upcoming game against Tennessee and knowing this could represent the future of this program. You’re entering the seventh game of the season and you have an opportunity.

You can make a real statement.

You can transform the 2017 season into a sturdy foundation for the years ahead.

You can let every elite player around the South know that you’re here to be reckoned with in the future.

Maybe you will and maybe you won’t. It could go either way.

But you have an opportunity. Thanks to Saturday, you have an opportunity.

Seize it.