College GameDay analysts pick South Carolina-North Carolina game
The picks are in for the big South Carolina opener this week.
The Gamecocks and their opener against North Carolina got the primetime treatment during College GameDay and the prognosticators are split on how Saturday’s game will go.
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Here’s how those picks shook out.
Lee Corso: North Carolina
Kirk Herbstreit: South Carolina
Desmond Howard: North Carolina
Pat McAffee: North Carolina
Stanford Steve: South Carolina
South Carolina superfan and Saturday’s guest picker Darius Rucker–unsurprisingly–picked his Gamecocks.
“Spencer Rattler will be at the Heisman Trophy presentation at the end of the season. Shane Beamer is going to win coach of the year,” Rucker said. “And the Gamecocks are starting it tonight. We’re going blow–Gamecocks by 90.”
This is arguably the most intriguing matchup of the first full Saturday of college football and a top-five game over the course of the entire weekend.
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South Carolina wrapped its third and final practice before game day on Thursday and walked through on Friday before going up to Charlotte and playing Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ABC).
“You think about Mack Brown and Drake Maye and the firepower they have. I thought North Carolina with Drake Maye could be an easy pick,” Herbstreit said. “But then I came out and listened to this crowd. I think the home crowd is going to favor South Carolina. I’m going to go with the Cocks. South Carolina.”
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Saturday will be the sixth time these two programs have squared off since 2007. The Gamecocks are 4-1 in the five previous ones. The lone loss was a 24-20 loss to start the 2019 season.
They won the last matchup–the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl–38-21 to cap Beamer’s first year in Columbia.
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This is also the sixth time South Carolina’s played in Bank of America Stadium since 2015. The Gamecocks are 3-2 in those games while being 2-1 in regular-season games.
South Carolina gets banged-up receivers Juice Wells and Nyck Harbor back for this game but will be without a trio of players.
Shane Beamer said potential starter at EDGE JT Geer will miss Saturday’s game along with rotational pieces Bam Martin-Scott and Connor Cox.
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“We are in fantastic shape. Three guys won’t play: JT Geer, Connor Cox will not play and Bam Scott won’t be able to play. We should have those guys back next week,” Beamer said Thursday on his call-in show. “I know everyone is waiting to hear what I have to say about Juice Wells and Nyckoles Harbor. They are full go and ready to play.”
