Live updates/game thread: South Carolina State

In a bit of unusual scheduling, South Carolina is kicking off on a Thursday night.

The Gamecocks take on SC State tonight at 7 p.m. with the game televised on the SEC Network.

GamecockCentral is on hand for the game, and providing updates.

Follow along with our live updates and game thread here.

South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC) vs. SC State (1-2, 0-0 MEAC)

When: Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 – 7 PM ET

Where: Columbia, S.C. – Williams-Brice Stadium (76,000)

Broadcast: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Alyssa Lang)

Local Radio: Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Jamar Nesbit)

Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM 106 or 192

Odds: USC -39.5 (O/U 55.5)

Weather: 68°, mostly cloudy, windy, 20% chance of rain

South Carolina Injury report: DB Darius Rush (out), OL Dylan Wonnum, LB Mo Kaba (out for season), EDGE Jordan Strachan (out for season).

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How to watch today’s game

Today’s game is on SEC Network, which is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite, and streaming provider.

Use the SEC Network Channel Finder to find the specific channel for your provider.

The game is available on the ESPN app, but you will need to log in with a username and password from a live TV provider and subscription package that has ESPNU.

The ESPN App is available on Android, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV, Kindle Fire, Android TV, PS4, XBox and Oculus.

Quick notes from South Carolina Athletics  

This is the third gridiron meeting between these two schools that are separated by just 42 miles. South Carolina has won both of the previous two matchups by scores of 38-3 in 2007 and 38-14 in 2009. Steve Spurrier coached Carolina to both of those victories, while Buddy Pough was, and is still, the head coach at South Carolina State.

THE BULLDOGS HEAD COACH: Oliver “Buddy” Pough is in his 22nd year guiding the fortunes of Bulldog football. He owns a mark of 144-82 since taking over the reins. Prior to his arrival in Orangeburg, Pough spent five seasons (1997-2001) as an assistant at South Carolina, the first two under Brad Scott and the last three under Lou Holtz.

THE FIRST TIME THEY MET: In the historic first meeting ever on the gridiron between the two Palmetto State universities, South Carolina posted a convincing 38-3 win over South Carolina State on Sept. 15, 2007. The Bulldogs parlayed an early interception into a field goal and a quick 3-0 lead, but Carolina bounced back with 17 first-quarter points and, despite five first-half turnovers (and six for the game), never looked back as they rolled up 408 total yards to SCSU’s 264. Cory Boyd (132 yards on 11 carries) and Mike Davis (102 on 16) both rushed for over 100 yards. Jasper Brinkley, Nathan Pepper and Captain Munnerlyn all had interceptions, with Pepper returning his for a score.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Stephen Garcia threw two touchdowns to Moe Brown and ran for another as the Gamecocks overcame a slow start to defeat South Carolina State, 38-14 on Oct. 3, 2009. South Carolina held just a 10-7 lead at the intermission, then scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game away. Eric Norwood had a blocked field goal and an interception to lead the Carolina defense. Right before kickoff, Williams-Brice Stadium experienced a power outage that hampered ESPN Classic’s planned broadcast and knocked out the video board midway through the second period.

OLD FRIEND ALERT: South Carolina State’s offensive line coach is Na’Shan Goddard. Goddard lettered at South Carolina from 2002-05 under Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier, earning Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-America honors in 2002. Despite being an undrafted free agent, Goddard played professionally for a number of franchises, including the New York Giants, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints in the NFL.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: The Gamecocks are 38-12 in their last 50 non-conference games, a .760 winning percentage, with seven of the 12 losses in that stretch coming against Clemson. The Gamecocks went 4-1 against non-conference foes in 2021, posting wins over Eastern Illinois, East Carolina, Troy and North Carolina and losing to Clemson. They are 2-0 this season after wins over Georgia State and Charlotte.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE: Carolina has won 35 of its last 41 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 2-1 in home non-conference games in 2021, defeating Eastern Illinois and Troy and falling to Clemson. They are 2-0 this season after wins over Georgia State and Charlotte.

THE POWER OF FIVE: Since the turn of the century, the Gamecocks have a 51-4 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.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: South Carolina turned in its top offensive game of the season as the Gamecocks’ cruised to a 56-20 win over Charlotte in front of a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium last Saturday night, the third sellout in as many home games this season. The Gamecocks scored on each of their first eight possessions and nine of 11 overall to even their record at 2-2.

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