Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. No. 16 LSU

“ESPN College GameDay” is headed to Columbia ahead of another SEC matchup for South Carolina. The undefeated Gamecocks have a tough challenge ahead as they take on No. 16 LSU, their first ranked opponent of the 2024 season.

No. 16 LSU (1-1, 0-0 SEC) @ South Carolina (2-0, 1-0 SEC)

When: Sept. 14, 2024 – Noon ET
Where: Columbia, S.C. – Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Broadcast: ABC Network (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe)

National Radio: ESPN (Mike Couzens, Max Starks, Mike Peasley)

Local Radio: Gamecock Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Chet Tucker)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM Channel 374
Odds: LSU +7 
Weather: 81°, Cloudy and possible rain

ALSO SEE: Tuesday Update: Gamecocks hosting impressive group of prospects

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

South Carolina vs. LSU Preview Content

• ‘I assume there is going to be quite a scene’: Pat McAfee on ‘College GameDay’ coming to Columbia
• What Shane Beamer said in Tuesday’s press conference previewing LSU
• Three early things to know about LSU
• Five weekly thoughts: Stewart and Clowney, wrapping Kentucky, previewing LSU
• LaNorris Sellers’ pocket presence steadily improving for South Carolina offense
• Everything LSU head coach Brian Kelly said previewing matchup with South Carolina
• Star power: South Carolina football vs. LSU
• Everything LaNorris Sellers said about College GameDay, LSU
• Redshirt Tracker: Two more true freshmen play
• The Verdict: The moment isn’t too big, because it’s not a big moment
• What Dowell Loggains and Clayton White said previewing LSU
• South Carolina analytics breakdown: Three metrics for Week 3

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How to watch today’s game

The ABC Network will be carrying live coverage of Saturday’s big game from Williams Brice Stadium with kickoff scheduled for noon.

The ABC Network is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite, and streaming provider.

GC Live: Can the Gamecocks keep it rolling? Plus, looking ahead to LSU!

Quick Notes from South Carolina Athletics

QUICKLY: The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC) return to Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) on Saturday, Sept. 14, to open the home portion of their 2024 SEC schedule when they host the LSU Tigers (1-1, 0-0 SEC). Game time is set for high noon in Columbia. LSU enters the contest ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll and 17th in the coaches’ poll, while South Carolina is receiving votes in both polls.

OVER THE AIRWAVES: For the second week in a row, the Gamecocks will have a national television audience watching on ABC. Chris Fowler will handle the play-by-play with Kirk Herbstreit providing the color commentary. Holly Rowe will work the sidelines. ESPN Radio will have a national broadcast with Mike Couzens and Max Starks in the booth and Mike Peasley on the sidelines. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season). Chet Tucker returns for his second year as the sideline reporter.

COMING TO OUR CITY: ESPN’S College GameDay returns to Columbia for the eighth time and for the first time since 2014. For the first time they will be located in Gamecock Park after making its four broadcasts from the State Fairgrounds and the last three from the historic Horseshoe in the middle of the University’s campus. The Gamecocks are 3-4 when the traveling show is in town. Here are the dates and results:

Nov. 10, 2001 vs Florida (L, 17-54) Sept. 11, 2004 vs Georgia (L, 16-20) Sept. 1, 2005 vs UCF (W, 24-15)
Oct. 28, 2006 vs Tennessee (L, 24-31)

Oct. 9, 2010 vs Alabama (W, 35-21) Oct. 6, 2012 vs Georgia (W, 35-7) Sept. 27, 2014 vs Missouri (L, 20-21)

LET ME REINTRODUCE MYSELF: The South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a 2-0 start this season and posted the first win in the newly formed 16-team Southeastern Conference to take sole possession of first place in the league’s standings. The Gamecocks have opened the 2024 season with back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2021 season when they defeated Eastern Illinois at home and went on the road to win at East Carolina. The Gamecocks also opened the 2024 SEC slate 1-0 for the first time since 2017 when they won at Missouri. Prior to last week’s win at Kentucky, they had lost their last six SEC openers to Georgia (2018, 2021 and 2023), Alabama (2019), Tennessee (2020) and Arkansas (2022).

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TOUGH SLATE: South Carolina has one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2024, as seven of its 12 regular-season opponents were ranked in the nation’s preseason top-20. The Gamecocks’ 2024 slate includes contests against preseason top-20 teams Alabama (5/5), Ole Miss (6/6), Missouri (11/11), LSU (13/12), Clemson (14/14), Oklahoma (16/16) and Texas A&M (20/20).

A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks year four of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th-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 636-613-44, a .509 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 170-131 record, a .565 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 22-18, a .550 winning percentage, including wins in five of their last six games.

THE SERIES: This is the 23rd all-time meeting be- tween South Carolina and LSU, with the Tigers holding a commanding 19-2-1 advantage in the series. The Bayou Bengals own a 13-1 mark when the game is played in Baton Rouge, hold a 5-1-1 lead in games played in Columbia, and won the only neutral site contest, taking the 1987 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. LSU has won the last seven meetings, including a 52-24 win at Tiger Stadium in 2020, the last time the schools played. South Carolina’s last win came by an 18-17 margin in Death Valley on Oct. 1, 1994. The Gamecocks only home win over the Tigers was back in 1930 at Melton Field in the first meeting between the two schools, a 7-6 victory.

AS SEC OPPONENTS: South Carolina and LSU have met nine times on the gridiron as SEC rivals, with six of those nine games contested in Louisiana. LSU holds a 7-1-1 advantage in the series since Carolina joined the SEC in 1992.

GOOD TO BE HOME: Each of the last three meetings between the Gamecocks and Tigers (2012, 2015 and 2020) have been in Baton Rouge with LSU’s last trip to Columbia coming in the 2008 season. The 2015 game was originally scheduled for Columbia but was moved the week of the game due to massive flooding in the Midlands. That 2015 game is also notable in that it would be Steve Spurrier’s last game as the Carolina head coach.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: LSU scored in all three phases of the game, including a 45-yard interception return and a 95-yard kickoff return, en route to a 52-24 win over South Carolina on Oct. 24, 2020 in Death Valley. The Gamecocks had 403 yards of offense on just 51 plays, an average of 7.9-yards per play, but were unable to slow down the Tigers. Kevin Harris had a big day, rushing a dozen times for 126 yards and two scores. Keveon Mullins had his best day as a Gamecock, catching two passes for 101 yards. Ernest Jones logged a career-high 19 tackles in the loss.

CAROLINA’S LAST WIN OVER LSU: South Carolina went into the Bayou on Oct. 1, 1994 and escaped with an 18-17 win. The Gamecocks trailed the entire contest until Stanley Pritchett plunged in from the one-yard line with 12:52 remaining in the game for the deciding points. Pritchett finished the day with 18 carries for 90 yards. LSU held a 14- 12 lead at the intermission in front of 63,281 rain- soaked fans and built the lead to 17-12 entering the final stanza. Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill was 23-for-30 for 157 yards and a touchdown, as the Gamecocks rolled up 262 yards of offense compared to 209 for LSU. It was just the Gamecocks’ second win over LSU in school history, the first coming in the first meeting between the two schools, a 7-6 win on Oct. 11, 1930 in Columbia.

IT’S BEEN 94 YEARS: The Bengal Tigers of LSU, led by Joe Almokary, came to Melton Field on the University of South Carolina campus on Oct. 11, 1930. LSU entered the game averaging 77 points per game after outscoring their three opponents 232-0. According to “The First 100 Years” written by John Chandler Griffin, the big break came when the LSU punter, standing on the goal line, shanked his kick and put the ball out of bounds on the 23-yard line. Miles Blount immediately burst off right tackle, shook loose from two defenders and raced in for the TD. LSU scored later in the half, but the great Almokary delighted Gamecock fans by missing the extra point. The Carolina defense, anchored by captain Bob Gressette, came through brilliantly in the second half and the game ended with USC on top, 7-6. It’s the only time South Carolina has defeated LSU in Columbia.

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