It is projected to rain in Columbia on Saturday and no one cares. Short of a tsunami ripping through Five Points, nothing will dampen the energy in the morning.
“College GameDay” will be set up in Gamecock Park. Students will be up before dawn, scarfing down bacon, egg and cheese biscuits as they touch up their signs. For three hours, the eyes of the college football world will be on Columbia, South Carolina. On Shane Beamer’s program. And on Dawn Staley, who seems made to be a guest picker.
Then 2-0 South Carolina will kick off against No. 16 LSU. The night will either be filled with pandemonium or early bedtimes. The Gamecocks will determine that.
Here are some thoughts:
1. These are the elevate-your-program games
At some point, coaches have to make a jump. Leap from bad to decent. Decent to average. Average to good. Good to really good. Really good to competing for titles.
Making jumps, though, is hard.
Steve Spurrier had South Carolina incredibly consistent over his first five seasons at South Carolina. The Gamecocks won seven games three times, six games once and eight games once. It wasn’t until 2010 that he elevated the program to really good.
With “College GameDay” in town , the Gamecocks knocked off Alabama on a magical October afternoon in Columbia. That game spring-boarded South Carolina’s program. It won 11 games for the first time ever — then did it two more times.
Obviously, beating No. 1 Alabama is a bigger deal than knocking off No. 16 LSU. But the point remains: To raise your program, you have to start winning games you’re not supposed to.
The Gamecocks seemingly elevated with the back-to-back wins over Tennessee and Clemson in 2022, but then quickly dropped back down with a 5-7 season last year.
Perhaps Saturday is the day Beamer’s program takes a leap. Maybe it’ll be in October against Ole Miss. Or, maybe, it doesn’t come.
2. Kennard and Stewart have their work cut out
A few months ago, The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler ranked his top offensive tackles for the 2025 Draft.
No. 1 was Will Campbell ... from LSU.
No. 2 was Emery Jones Jr. ... from LSU.
South Carolina demolished Kentucky last week because of its pass rush, a bunch that outmaneuvered, overpowered and out-willed the Wildcats’ offensive line. The two guys getting the most praise — for good reason — are Kyle Kennard — who leads South Carolina with 3.5 sacks — and Dylan Stewart, who might be the best true freshman in America. They’re freaks.
If there is any reason to still be skeptical of the Gamecocks’ pass rushers, though, it’s the competition. They’ve faced Old Dominion — which allowed more sacks than any other FBS team last year — and a Kentucky squad that had a banged-up offensive line.
If South Carolina’s front dominates Saturday, the only question will be how much money does Stewart need to stay in Columbia?
How good is LSU’s offensive line?
“Arguably the best offensive line in the country,” said Beamer. “The two tackles are unbelievable.”
Especially Campbell. In over 1,700 career snaps, Beamer noted, he’s given up just three sacks — and two were by NFL draft picks Will Anderson Jr. and Jared Verse.
Perhaps Kennard or Stewart will add their names to that list Saturday.
3. Is starting all these true freshmen a good thing?
It is hard to watch Stewart wreak havoc in SEC games or left tackle Josiah Thompson hold his own for two weeks and think that it’s a bad thing.
But this week, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains was talking about the solid play of true freshman wide receiver Mazeo Bennett and offered unique perspective.
“I wish we weren’t playing this many freshmen,” Loggains said.
And it makes sense. It’s nice that Bennett and true freshman tight end Michael Smith have earned their way into playing time, but relying on that much youth raises questions.
Why did recruiting take a sudden uptick?
Are veterans not developing?
Is it actually a good thing, a sign that South Carolina will be even better in four years?
Time will tell.
4. A tale of two passing offenses
We know that South Carolina and quarterback LaNorris Sellers have struggled to get the Gamecocks’ passing offense going. This week, with LSU and junior QB Garrett Nussmeier coming to town, you see how bad it’s really been.
The Gamecocks have thrown for just 280 yards this season (12th-worst mark in the country). Nussmeier threw for more than that in each game this season, already with 610 passing yards on the year.
Now that is not the end-all be-all — LSU is 1-1 while South Carolina is 2-0 — but it seems tough to conceive that the Gamecocks could win Saturday if the Tigers throw for twice as many yards.
5. Recruits galore
During his Tuesday news conference, Beamer was trying to explain the hype around his program following the Kentucky win and the “College GameDay” announcement.
“We’re having to turn people away,” he said. “We’ve got so many recruits who wanna come to this game.”
Beamer wasn’t lying. There’s going to be a boatload of prospects in the stands at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.
Some of the notable names who will be at the game:
PREDICTION: LSU 31, South Carolina 27
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