Shane Beamer issues challenge to South Carolina fans ahead of Georgia matchup

The challenge — playing Georgia in football — facing South Carolina and head coach Shane Beamer on the field on Saturday might be too much to overcome, but that doesn’t mean the head man in Columbia didn’t throw down the gauntlet for the Gamecock faithful.

Even though the game is set for a noon kickoff on ESPN and there was a desire to have it be a night game, Beamer wants Williams-Brice Stadium to be packed on Saturday. Not only will it possibly help on the field, Beamer is confident it will be a tool in recruiting.

“So we need to make sure that’s an asset for us,” Beamer said of the crowd. “Arkansas was a great environment last Saturday at 11 a.m. central. So sure as hell we can make a noon start really, really intense and awesome out there on Saturday afternoon, which is what it needs to be, as well. And if you follow recruiting at all here at Carolina, you know how important this weekend is from a recruiting standpoint and the fantastic young men that we’re going to have on campus.”

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As for anybody complaining about the lack of time to tailgate, Beamer has little sympathy.

“I know there’s a lot of people that wanted this to be a night game,” Beamer said. “Frankly, no one cares. It’s a noon game. So we set the standard for what Williams-Brice Stadium should be like, against Georgia State. So we’re not going to all of a sudden be less than that on Saturday at noon because we’re disappointed it’s not a night game.

“Got a great opportunity for our fanbase to show the entire country, on national television, what Williams-Brice Stadium on a game day at South Carolina is like. And it should be, to me, even better than what it was for the Georgia State game. So if you need more time to tailgate, need more time to get ready, wake up earlier. So you can start preparing at 6 a.m., 5 a.m., 7 a.m., whatever time the lot’s open over there. But we need that place to be absolutely rocking on Saturday at 12 noon.

“ESPN’s, I think, going to push back the start of the game a few minutes, because I think they want to showcase 2001, and what our pregame atmosphere is like, so that’ll be a great opportunity from a recruiting standpoint to show people, as well.”

As for the opponent, South Carolina is probably right to hope that the crowd can make an impact. If on-the-field results are any benchmark, the Bulldogs should win fairly easily on Saturday. But with most Georgia players making their first trip to Williams-Brice with the potential for a raucous crowd, Beamer isn’t ready to forego that hope just yet.

“And the opponent. This will be the first time that Georgia has played an away — a true away game this year, as well. And we need to make it really, really difficult and uncomfortable for them when they’re out there,” Beamer said. “Unless somebody on Georgia’s current team was here in 2018, they haven’t faced a packed Williams-Brice. Because they were over here last in 2020 during the Covid year.”