South Carolina’s season opener looked like the kind of afternoon Shane Beamer could only hope for: a lopsided win, a pile of yards, and an offense that answered a summer full of questions with force.
The Gamecocks rolled past Kent State on Saturday, and the only real hitch was one nobody could scheme around. The heat made the finish feel even more lopsided, with the crowd thinning out as South Carolina kept piling on.
The offense did most of the damage. The Gamecocks put up 645 yards, the best total of the Beamer era, and scored 57 points, which trails only the 63 they hung on Tennessee during the best week in program history. Beamer said the ground game set the tone.
“We ran physical today. We ran downhill.
We broke tackles. And then I thought we did a good job of making people miss, which we’ve been challenging them to do a better job of that,” Beamer said.
“So it was good to see those guys make some people miss and run the ball effectively today and be able to play a lot of guys.”
Jabree Coleman led the rushing charge, though the bigger takeaway was how little South Carolina needed from LaNorris Sellers on the ground. He ran twice for 1 yard, a sign that the Gamecocks were able to let him operate without leaning on his legs.
The day got off to a strange start when Matt Fuller, who opened at running back, had to leave after the third play of the second drive. He returned and finished the job, scoring the game’s first touchdown. Beamer said he didn’t know Fuller had gotten sick.
“I didn’t know that,” USC coach Shane Beamer said. “Probably just nerves and anxiety and all that.”
Fuller’s burst helped wake up the offense after an uneasy opening stretch. South Carolina got two first downs on its first four plays, then things briefly got messy: Nolan Hay jumped early, Fuller took a hit from an unblocked linebacker, Sellers threw incomplete, and Sellers was sacked. But Fuller ripped off a 42-yard run on the next drive, and after that the Gamecocks’ offense opened up.
“We did a great job at executing. The O-line, I want to thank the O-line first,” said receiver Donovan Murph, who caught two touchdowns. “Because without them, none of that would have been possible.”
The offensive line gave Sellers a clean pocket and moved Kent State around all afternoon, turning the game into a runaway.
South Carolina’s defense was just as suffocating. Clayton White’s group opened in a 3-3-5 look, one of the wrinkles he keeps available alongside the base 4-2-5, and the Gamecocks rotated heavily because of the heat and to get a look at different players.
Kent State never crossed midfield, finished with fewer than 200 yards, and managed just 100 rushing yards. South Carolina will carry a season shutout into its second game.
White won’t claim much for himself, but the results were impossible to miss.
In Other News...
South Carolina Fans Will Notice A Different Williams-Brice Atmosphere Saturday
Williams-Brice Stadium will look and feel a little different Saturday when South Carolina hosts Towson for its annual Salute the Troops game. The Gamecocks are leaning into a full day of pageantry, with military honors, auctions, merchandise sales and other fan-focused activities part of the game-day mix, while also working to smooth out some of the experience issues that showed up last time fans filled the building.
Around the game itself, the school has lined up extra events meant to stretch the atmosphere well beyond kickoff, including stadium tours and pep rallies. For South Carolina, it is a chance to make the setting feel more polished and more festive at once, with the tributes to service members at the center and the fan experience under a closer spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Beamer Just Sent A Clear Message About South Carolina Leadership
Shane Beamer shook up a familiar tradition by naming six team captains just about 48 hours before South Carolina opens the 2025 season, giving the clubhouse, as much as the locker room, an early read on who the players trust most. The group, chosen by vote, includes quarterback LaNorris Sellers, tight end Brady Hunt, linebackers Fred Johnson and Shawn Murphy, and defensive backs Gerald Kilgore and Peyton Williams, a cross-section of the roster that suggests Beamer wanted leadership spread across the offense and defense.
The timing was no accident. Beamer said the move was designed to address leadership concerns from last season, and the decision also gives the Gamecocks a chance to let those voices set the tone before the first snap matters. The captaincy votes will be revisited after the season, but for now South Carolina has made its priorities plain: establish accountability early, lean on player buy-in and see whether this group can steady the team from the start. [Read more 🡒]
Gamecocks Still Have One O-Line Decision Looming As Peak Nears Return
Jacarrius Peaks arrival was supposed to give South Carolina another experienced option up front, but the N.C. State transfer has spent the opening stretch working back from a knee injury suffered soon after he joined the program. He did not play in the season opener, leaving the Gamecocks to lean on freshman Darius Gray and transfer Dayne Arnett at tackle while the staff managed the line without one of its anticipated additions.
Shane Beamer said Peaks return is expected soon, and once he is healthy, the coaches will sort out where he fits. That creates one more live decision for an offensive line that has already had to adjust on the fly, with the Gamecocks now waiting to see whether Peak slides into a starting job or gives them needed depth as they head deeper into the season. [Read more 🡒]