South Carolina players 'earned the right' to play in big game Saturday
Most games, especially those at night, at Williams-Brice tend to carry weight. But South Carolina’s game Saturday night certainly seems to be carrying a good amount of it.
A win would mean the Gamecocks’ first four-game win streak since 2013. But it would also further their case for a potential top-25 ranking and be the first against the Aggies in program history.
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“That’s a game we need to win at some point,” Shane Beamer said Tuesday. “Give A&M credit but that has nothing to do with the 2022 game. There are guys who are going to be playing Saturday night who have never played Texas A&M…Any time you have the opportunity to do something you’ve never done, that’s motivation.”
South Carolina is winless in eight tries against Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC. One score has decided three of those games. The last three losses, though, have been blowouts.
But the Gamecocks this year have their best chance in a while to beat Texas A&M. ESPN’s FPI gives them a 46.3 percent chance to come away with a home win.
And if they do it, it could be in front of a raucous crowd. And tack on to it a healthy amount of recruits in the stands. South Carolina is a perfect 4-0 in night games this season. The wins are over Georgia State, Charlotte, South Carolina State and on the road at Kentucky.
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“It’s going to be an awesome environment in the stadium, the fair across the street, a night game in Columbia, an SEC night game as well,” Beamer said. “As you can imagine, we’ll have a ton of recruits who will be here at this game, which we’re excited to visit with. I know tickets are in high demand.”
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South Carolina hasn’t officially announced the game as a sell-out yet. Although it wouldn’t be shocking if Saturday’s game turned into the fourth sellout in five home games this season.
Beamer even went on to joke even he’s having a hard time finding extra tickets for family and friends this week.
“It’s a hot ticket, which it should be,” he said. “Our guys have earned the right to have a big game like this. We need to have a great week of practice to be able to play well Saturday night against a really good team.”
The Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 SEC) are coming off a bye week. During it, the coaching staff was able to get on the road recruiting Thursday and Friday.
The returns, entering an important recruiting stretch this weekend, were positive.
“It was great to be on the road recruiting,” Beamer said. “There’s a lot of energy and excitement about South Carolina football right now. A lot of us in South Carolina and multiple states as well over those two days. Saw a lot of great prospects committed to us or hopefully will be committed to us soon.”
Kickoff against Texas A&M is set for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
