A night to forget for just about everyone wearing garnet and black. South Carolina Gamecocks’ 31-7 loss to Vanderbilt left fans streaming out of Williams-Brice Stadium frustrated, while current head coach Shane Beamer had little to smile about. The Gamecocks looked flat, the offense sputtered, and the defense couldn’t get timely stops. Most of the crowd went home stewing over what they had just watched. Yet, tucked among the unhappy faces, one former South Carolina man may have left Columbia grinning—not because of Beamer’s struggles.
That man was Will Muschamp, the former South Carolina head coach. Muschamp, who was fired midway through the 2020 season and collected a cool $13 million buyout on his way out the door, returned to the capital city Saturday night. But he wasn’t there on official business—he was in attendance to support his son, Whit Muschamp, who is currently a backup quarterback for Vanderbilt. After the Dores’ victory, Muschamp posted a family picture with his wife and Whit, captioned with a playful “Dawgs and Dores!!” The post carried extra sting for South Carolina fans, who still remember his 28-30 record before he was let go.
Whit, for his part, hasn’t seen the field yet at Vandy, not as a freshman and not so far in Year 2. With Diego Pavia firmly in control of the Commodores’ offense, his time will have to wait. But Saturday night wasn’t about playing time—it was about soaking up the atmosphere of an SEC road win, and Whit had the best seat in the house from the sidelines. For a player still developing and waiting for his moment, nights like this are invaluable.
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There’s also a poetic twist in all of it. Whit played his high school ball at the Baylor School in Tennessee, where his head coach was Erik Kimrey, another former South Carolina QB and, interestingly enough, Shane Beamer’s first tight ends coach when he took over the Gamecocks. Kimrey left Columbia in 2022 to take that Baylor job, setting the stage for Whit’s development before joining Vanderbilt. The small-world connections in college football never fail to deliver.
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Meanwhile, Will Muschamp’s presence loomed as a reminder of the complicated history between South Carolina and its coaching carousel. His firing in 2020, after a disappointing 2-5 start, closed out a tenure marked by flashes of potential but too many frustrating Saturdays.
What’s so ‘Dawg’ about the Muschamps?
The “Dawgs and Dores!!” caption from Will Muschamp suddenly makes a lot more sense when you zoom out. His younger son, Whit, was on the sidelines celebrating Vanderbilt’s 31-7 win over South Carolina, while his older son, Jackson Muschamp, was a quarterback on the Georgia Bulldog’s roster in 2023.
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