South Carolina is headed to Norman with a little momentum and a chance to keep climbing.
Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks will meet Brent Venables and Oklahoma on Saturday in an SEC matchup that kicks off at 4:15 and will air on SEC Network. South Carolina comes in at 4-3 overall and 2-3 in league play after knocking off then-No. 11 Tennessee last week, while Oklahoma is coming off a road win over Mississippi State.
The series is still tiny by college football standards. These teams have only played twice before, with South Carolina winning on the road in 2024 and Oklahoma answering with a win in Columbia last year.
The Gamecocks are also taking the underdog label into this one. Oklahoma opened as a 5.5-point favorite, according to the VegasInsider consensus, and the line has shifted a bit since then.
Major sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings now have the Sooners favored by 4.5 points. South Carolina is 3-4 against the spread this season, and ESPN Analytics gives the Gamecocks a 36.1% chance to win.
South Carolina’s availability situation is worth watching, too. The Gamecocks had seven players on the official SEC injury report released Wednesday night.
WR Jayden Sellers, edge rusher Kobby Sakyi-Prah, OL Josian Thompson, OL Dayne Arnett and OL Seth Smith are all out, and Sellers and Thompson are both done for the year. DB Quay’sheed Scott and RB Jawarn Howell are listed as doubtful.
Scott has missed the last two games, while Howell was out last week against Tennessee. The SEC injury report will be updated on Thursday, Friday and 90 minutes before kickoff on Saturday.
Weather could make things feel even more like a grind in Norman. Accuweather’s 10-day forecast calls for temperatures that won’t get above 64 degrees and will fall into the mid-50s, along with thick cloud cover and a touch of rain. There’s a 55% chance of rain all day Saturday in the Norman area.
A win would mean plenty for South Carolina beyond the scoreboard. It would give the Gamecocks three straight victories, and they haven’t won three consecutive SEC games since they finished the 2024 season with four straight league wins.
That six-game winning streak to close out 2024 was also the last time South Carolina won three in a row overall. A victory Saturday would also push USC’s SEC record back to .500.
The offense still has one obvious strength: the ground game. South Carolina remains the No. 1 rushing offense in the SEC at 218 yards per game, but the last few weeks have shown some cracks.
LaNorris Sellers has carried a huge load, accounting for 313 of the Gamecocks’ 480 rushing yards over the last three games. That production has been valuable, but South Carolina needs more help from its running backs so the burden doesn’t keep landing so heavily on Sellers.
There’s also a national-rankings angle in play. After beating Tennessee, South Carolina received votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Gamecocks got 12 votes from the coaches and eight from the media. A win over Oklahoma could be enough to push USC into the national rankings for the first time since September 2025.
South Carolina’s special teams may have found a new weapon in Malik Orsan. The sophomore delivered the game-winner against Tennessee last week, hitting a 48-yard field goal as time expired in a 27-24 victory. Orsan, a Southeast Missouri State transfer, was not viewed as the clear top option in the kicking battle this offseason, but he’s gone 10 for 12 on field goals and 22 for 22 on extra points this year.
Another Gamecock to keep an eye on is Nolan Hay. The fifth-year offensive lineman was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week on Tuesday by the Football Writers Association of America.
Hay has been one of South Carolina’s best linemen this season and has spent time at guard and center because of Carter Miller’s injury. His Pro Football Focus blocking grade is among the best on the team.
For Oklahoma, John Mateer remains the centerpiece. The quarterback has thrown for 1,591 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he’s also been picked off seven times. He brings a strong arm and some run-game value, though turnover issues have been a theme this season.
The Sooners’ top target has been Isaiah Sategna III. The fifth-year student was an All-SEC player last season after posting 965 receiving yards, and he leads Oklahoma this year with 41 catches for 578 yards.
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