Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. Furman

South Carolina football hosts Furman in its home opener Saturday night in a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium, the Gamecocks’ first game in Columbia since last year’s blowout of Tennessee.

South Carolina (0-1) vs. Furman (1-0)

When: Sept. 9, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Columbia, S.C. – Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Broadcast: SEC Network+ and ESPN+ (John Schriffen, Rocky Boiman, Dawn Davenport)
Local Radio: Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Chet Tucker)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 138 or 206
Odds: N/A
Weather: 73°, Chance of rain 53%, Winds SE 3 mph

Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Depth Chart | Commit List

South Carolina vs. Furman Preview Content

• Five things to know before South Carolina hosts Furman
• Carolina Confidential – Final thoughts on South Carolina vs. Furman
• Breaking down the keys: USC/Furman
• South Carolina MBB expected to host some of state’s best this weekend
• Five burning questions: South Carolina vs. Furman
• Visitors expected for first South Carolina home game of 2023
• South Carolina expecting two five-stars for home opener
• Former Gamecock OL Garrett Anderson joining GC Live Postgame Show
• Staff picks: Furman-South Carolina, Matchups from a fun Week 2
• Gamecock Analytics Corner: Metrics to Track amidst UNC Fallout
• Jordan Strachan shares tough reality of dealing with injuries, making his return
• Bigtime tackle adjusts visit schedule, remains interested in Gamecocks
• Final South Carolina injury report before Furman
• Insider Report: Previewing the Furman contest
• Jalon Kilgore looked ‘right at home’ in South Carolina debut
• Five South Carolina players to watch against Furman
• Pete Lembo explains how he handles injuries with coaching special teams
• Gamecocks’ home opener against Furman sold out
• Quick Slants with Uva: Week 2 keys vs Furman

Click here for a complete list of Gameday FAQ from GamecocksOnline

How to watch today’s game

SEC Network Plus and ESPN Plus will stream all of Saturday night’s action.

Viewers with a satellite, cable, or live TV streaming package that already includes the SEC Network, will not need to have an ESPN Plus subscription to watch the game.

Those Viewers can watch the game Saturday without any additional charges by simply logging in to the ESPN app on their streaming device, smart TV, or web browser with the username and password from their provider.

The SEC Network (and thus the SEC Network Plus) is available on most major live TV providers including DIRECTV, DISH Network, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Verizon Fios, Xfinity TV, YouTube TV and more.

Spectrum customers, however, will be impacted by the ongoing negotiations between Charter (Spectrum) and Disney (ESPN) and will not be able to watch the game on SEC Network Plus (unless the situation is resolved by Saturday night).

Those customers will be able to watch the matchup by subscribing to ESPN Plus or by switching to a live TV provider that does have ESPN’s channels.

The ESPN App is available on Android, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV, Kindle Fire, Android TV, PS4, PS5, XBox and Oculus — and on Watch ESPN on a browser. But again users will need to log in with a subscription service that has SEC Network or subscribe to ESPN Plus to watch.

GC LIVE: Gamecocks vs. Furman Preview

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Quick notes from South Carolina Athletics  

IT’S HISTORY: 2023 marks the 130th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 117th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 629-607-44, a .509 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks have posted a 163-125 record, a .566 winning clip.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: South Carolina opened the 2023 season with a 31-17 setback against No. 21/20 North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, held in Charlotte, N.C. last Saturday night. The Gamecocks held a 14-10 lead late in the second period, but the Tar Heels responded with 21-consecutive points to open up a 31-14 advantage in securing the win. The Gamecocks got strong performances from quarterback Spencer Rattler, who completed 30-of-39 passes for 353 yards with no interceptions, but was sacked nine times. Wide receiver Xavier Legette had a career-best performance, collecting nine passes for 178 yards, the most by a receiver in Week 1 in the FBS. Drake Maye, the North Carolina quarterback and Heisman candidate, completed 24-of-32 passes for 269 yards and two scores, but was also intercepted twice.

CAROLINA VS. FURMAN: This is the 50th gridiron meeting between South Carolina and Furman in a series that dates back to 1892. The Gamecocks hold a 28-20-1 lead in the series, including a 15-8-1 advantage in Columbia. The teams have met just twice since 1982, with South Carolina posting a 38-19 win in 2010 and a 41-10 victory in 2014. The Gamecocks have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the two Palmetto State schools dating back to 1950 with all but one of the wins coming by double-digits. Furman’s only win in the series since 1949 came in 1982 (28-23).

FURMAN IS FORMIDABLE: Furman entered the 2023 season ranked sixth in the country in the Coaches’ FCS poll. It marked the Paladins’ highest preseason ranking since 2006.

FURMAN’S FAST START: Travis Blackshear returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown on the fifth play from scrimmage and Dan Scianna had a 67-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter to help Furman beat Tennessee Tech 45-10 in the season opener for both teams. The Paladins defense — which led the FCS in takeaways (29) and interceptions (18) last season — forced six Tennessee Tech turnovers (four interceptions and two fumble recoveries).

YOU HAVE TO SCORE TO WIN: Carolina has won 28 of the 35 games in which they have scored against the Paladins. Furman has pitched a shutout 14 times in the series, going 13-0-1 in those games which all came between 1892 and 1941.

REMEMBERING THE FIRST TIME: Furman defeated the South Carolina College Jaguars on Dec. 24, 1892, by a 44-0 score in the first football game ever played by the state’s flagship school. Professor A.T. Smythe volunteered to oversee 11 of our “fastest and heaviest” young men (the team averaged nearly 160 pounds) for South Carolina, but they were no match for the Mountaineers, who put their four years of football experience to good use on that Christmas Eve day in Charleston.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: The Gamecocks rolled to a 41-10 win over FCS in-state rival Furman on Oct. 18, 2014, in Columbia. The Gamecocks rolled up 548 yards of offense, 267 on the ground and 281 through the air, in posting the victory. Mike Davis (111) and David Williams (110) each went over the 100-yard rushing mark, while Shon Carson added 85 on the ground on just seven carries. Dylan Thompson completed 14-of-22 passes for 262 yards and two scores. The Carolina defense forced three turnovers and limited the Paladins to just 91 yards through the air.

IN-STATE FCS FOES: Since the regular season was expanded to 12 games in 2006, Carolina has hosted an in-state FCS opponent 13 times. They are 12-1 in those games, with wins coming against Wofford (2006, 2008, 2012, 2017), South Carolina State (2007, 2009, 2022), Furman (2010, 2014), Citadel (2011), Coastal Carolina (2013) and Charleston Southern (2019). The only loss during that stretch came against The Citadel in 2015.

WE KNEW YOU WHEN: University of South Carolina wide receivers coach Justin Stepp starred at Pelion (S.C.) High, before becoming a standout wide receiver and punt returner at Furman from 2003-06. He earned All-SoCon recognition as a junior and senior and finished his playing career with 118 catches for 1,568 yards and 10 touchdowns.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: The Gamecocks are 40-14 in their last 54 non-conference games, a .741 winning percentage, with seven of the 14 losses in that stretch coming against Clemson. The Gamecocks went 4-1 against non-conference foes in 2022, posting wins over Georgia State, Charlotte, South Carolina State and Clemson and losing to Notre Dame in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Gamecocks lost a non-conference game against North Carolina last week and still have non-conference games against Jacksonville State (Nov. 4) and Clemson (Nov. 25) on the 2023 slate. Both of those contests will be played at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE: Carolina has won 36 of its last 42 home games against non-conference foes. The Gamecocks had won a school-record 22-straight home games against non-conference teams before dropping the final two games of the 2015 regular season to The Citadel and Clemson. The Gamecocks were 3-0 in home non-conference games in 2022, posting wins over Georgia State, Charlotte, and South Carolina State.

THE POWER OF FIVE: Since the turn of the century, the Gamecocks have a 52-4 mark against teams not currently in a Power-5 conference. The only four losses in that stretch came to UConn in the 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl, to The Citadel in 2015, to USF in the 2016 Birmingham Bowl and to Appalachian State in 2019. It should be noted that UConn was in the Big East, which was a BCS automatic qualifier during the 2009 season.

Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster

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