Pair of Gamecocks earn SEC honors
Big wins deserve big honors, and a pair of South Carolina Gamecocks earned league player of the week honors Monday afternoon.
Gamecocks’ Darius Rush was the SEC defensive player of the week while Xavier Legette was the special teams player of the week.
From South Carolina media relations
Darius Rush and Xavier Legette have been recognized by the Southeastern Conference for their performances in Saturday’s South Carolina’s 30-24 win over Texas A&M, the conference office announced today.
Rush has been selected as the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week. A 6-2, 200-pound redshirt senior from Kingstree, S.C., Rush logged a game-high eight tackles, including six solo stops in the victory. He intercepted a pass in the first quarter and returned it 59 yards, setting up a Gamecock field goal and a 10-point lead early in the contest. He was also credited with a forced fumble and a pass break up in the contest.
Legette was selected as the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week. The 6-3, 220-pound senior from Mullins, S.C., set the tone for the game by returning the opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown, giving the Gamecocks a lead they would not relinquish. His kick return for a touchdown was the first for a Gamecock since Deebo Samuel went 90 yards with the opening kick at Ole Miss in 2018 and tied for the second-longest kick return in school history. Legette was also credited with a key tackle on kickoff coverage late in the fourth quarter, forcing Texas A&M to start a drive from their own 12-yard line with just 3 minutes remaining.
Rush, Legette and the Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2 SEC) will host the Missouri Tigers (3-4, 1-3 SEC) in an SEC Eastern Division battle for the Mayor’s Cup on Saturday, Oct. 29. Game time is set for 4 pm ET and the game will be televised by SEC Network.
Gamecocks open as favorites over Missouri
By Wes Mitchell
Less than 24 hours after the Gamecocks’ 30-24 victory over Texas A&M, South Carolina football opened as a 5-point favorite over Missouri when Circa Sports released its lines on Sunday afternoon.
The Homecoming matchup opened with an over/under of 48.5 points.
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South Carolina (5-2, 2-2) will be looking to get bowl eligible and to win its fifth straight game while simultaneously ending a three-game skid to the Tigers.
The Gamecocks raced to a 17-0 lead and then held on to beat the Aggies for the first time in school history in front of a capacity crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium last night.
Missouri (3-4, 1-3 SEC) won its first SEC game of the season on Saturday, defeating Vanderbilt 17-14 in Columbia, Mo.
The two teams are set for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium this upcoming Saturday with SEC Network carrying the SEC East matchup.