ESPN’s FPI is siding with South Carolina in Saturday’s SEC opener against Mississippi State, giving the Gamecocks a 64.5% chance to protect home field in Columbia and move to 3-0.
That lines up with the betting board, where South Carolina is a 4-point favorite. But the bigger draw here is the matchup under center, because this one has the feel of a quarterback showcase wrapped inside an early-season conference game.
Mississippi State brings Kamario Baylor into Williams-Brice Stadium after a fast start of its own, and South Carolina counters with LaNorris Sellers in a meeting of two teams trying to build real momentum out of their opening two wins. Baylor has been especially productive, throwing for 581 yards with 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while also running for 145 yards and another score.
His QBR sits at 88.6, but that number will get tested quickly against a South Carolina team that has answered with plenty of firepower of its own. Sellers has passed for 366 yards through two games, with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, and he has added another layer to the Gamecocks’ offense on the ground with 120 rushing yards on just 9 carries and 1 touchdown.
Both teams enter at 2-0, and both will be playing their SEC opener when they meet at 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network. By the time the dust settles early Saturday night, one of these teams will be 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the league.
For now, ESPN’s FPI says the edge belongs to the home team, but the real spotlight belongs to Baylor and Sellers, two dynamic quarterbacks who could turn this into one of the more entertaining early-season SEC games on the slate. South Carolina and Mississippi State are each trying to push themselves into the conversation for 2026, and this one gives both a chance to make a statement right away.
In Other News...
Kamario Taylor Explains The Game Day Message Bulldogs Fans Keep Seeing
For Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor, the eye black has become part of the look on game day, but the message underneath it carries a lot more meaning than a simple routine. Taylor writes 283 Baby under his eyes every time he takes the field, using the numbers as a nod to his hometown roots in Baptist Hill Community in Macon, Mississippi.
Taylor explained that the sequence is tied to the letters B, H and C, a shorthand for Baptist Hill Community that keeps his background close even as he settles into his role with the Bulldogs. A sophomore who grew up in Macon and starred at Noxubee County High School before arriving in Starkville as a four-star recruit, Taylor has turned a small detail into a personal tribute that Bulldogs fans keep noticing. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Faces Its First Real SEC Test At South Carolina
Mississippi States first SEC road test of the season is set for Sept. 19, when the Bulldogs head to Williams-Brice Stadium to open league play against South Carolina. The matchup will kick off at 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network, with Matt Schumacker and Aaron Murray on the call, giving a 2-0 team fresh off a win over Minnesota its first real chance to see where it stands inside the conference.
It is the kind of early gauge that can say plenty about a team before the grind of the SEC fully takes hold. Mississippi State has handled its first two games, but Columbia is a different kind of proving ground, and this one should offer a clearer read on how the Bulldogs match up when the stakes and the spotlight both rise a step. [Read more 🡒]