South Carolina hopes to get off to fast start in first meeting with Sun Belt’s Old Dominion

Old Dominion at South Carolina, Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

BetMGM College Football Odds: South Carolina by 21 points.

Series record: First meeting.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

South Carolina needs to get off to a fast start because its Southeastern Conference schedule the next few weeks is brutal. After playing ODU, the Gamecocks play Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma in five of its next six games. Old Dominion played in a Division-I record 11 one-score games last season, going 6-5 in those contests. The Monarchs will need to keep this close early if they hope to have a chance to defeat an SEC team.

KEY MATCHUP

South Carolina’s offensive line against Old Dominion linebacker Jason Henderson. The Gamecocks struggled on the line due to injuries and poor play in its 5-7 season last year. Henderson, who led the country in tackles the past two years, will surely expose any mistakes in trying to rattle the Gamecocks, who have several new starters among their skill positions on offense.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Old Dominion: WR Isiah Paige led the Monarchs last season with 43 catches for 445 yards and two touchdowns. Paige will need to have a big game for Old Dominion to succeed.

South Carolina: QB LaNorris Sellers is a sophomore who played late games behind starter, current New Orleans Saints passer, Spencer Rattler. Sellers, at 6-foot-3, earned the job coming out of spring and held on to the position despite a push from ex-Auburn starter Robby Ashford.

FACTS & FIGURES

South Carolina went 5-7 last season, the first time in coach Shane Beamer’s three-year tenure it failed to make the postseason. ... Old Dominion of the Sun Belt Conference went 6-6 in the regular season and played in a bowl game, losing to Western Kentucky 38-35 in the Famous Toastery Bowl in Charlotte, for the second time in three seasons. ... The Gamecocks are 19-3 in games against current Sun Belt football teams. They last played conference member Georgia State 35-14 to open the 2022 season. ... Henderson is 142 tackles away — he made 170 stops last year — from breaking the FBS mark held by Troy’s Carlton Martial. ... Besides losing Rattler at quarterback, the Gamecocks are minus leading playmaking receiver Xavier Legette, who led the team with 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns. Legette was picked in the first round by the Carolina Panthers.

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