South Carolina and Oklahoma enter Week 9 with the same record and the same goal: clawing their way back toward the AP top 25. The Sooners are favored at home, but the matchup sets up as a real test of whether Oklahoma’s defense can keep carrying an offense that has struggled to put teams away.
South Carolina comes in at 4-3 after back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, Florida and Tennessee. That stretch helped the Gamecocks get back over .500 in 2026 after a rough opening run through conference play against Mississippi State, Alabama and Kentucky. The offense has turned a corner, too, sitting No. 17 in adjusted EPA/Play.
A big reason for that rebound has been LaNorris Sellers, who remains one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks around. He wasn’t at his sharpest as a passer against Tennessee, finishing with 210 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, but he more than made up for it with his legs. Sellers ran 18 times for 96 yards and two scores, and he’s now up to 507 rushing yards on the season while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
That rushing ability is what makes him such a difficult problem for a defense to solve. It also gives South Carolina a real shot here, even against a Sooners unit that has been one of the best in the country. Oklahoma ranks No. 2 in adjusted EPA/Play and success rate on defense, and it’s also in the top five in EPA/Pass and EPA/Rush.
The challenge for Oklahoma is on the other side of the ball. The Sooners have some quality wins, including the upset of Texas in the Red River Rivalry, but they’ve also had trouble with top SEC competition such as Georgia and Kentucky.
John Mateer and the Oklahoma offense have not produced enough to enter the College Football Playoff conversation, and the numbers are blunt: the Sooners rank 121st in offensive success rate. They’ve also scored fewer than 30 points in six straight games, including every game against an SEC opponent.
That contrast is what makes this game so interesting. South Carolina’s defense has been shaky, sitting 119th in success rate in 2026, but Oklahoma’s offense hasn’t exactly been built to punish anyone. The Sooners are 128th in EPA/Rush and 83rd in EPA/Pass offensively, which leaves them with a worse success rate than even the Gamecocks’ defense.
There’s a path for South Carolina to win outright if Sellers gets loose on the ground, and it’s fair to wonder whether Oklahoma has seen a quarterback quite like him this season. The Sooners have handled some SEC offenses, but this is a different kind of challenge.
The pick is South Carolina with the points, since Oklahoma’s offense hasn’t shown it can consistently separate from a Power Four opponent.
In Other News...
South Carolinas Tennessee Breakthrough Now Carries One Huge Pressure
South Carolinas win over No. 11 Tennessee gave Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks a signature moment, but in the SEC, a breakthrough like that can quickly become a trap. Around the league, several teams have taken down ranked opponents only to stumble in the very next game, and that is the kind of swing Beamer knows can erase momentum fast. For a program trying to build something real, a victory that once felt like a turning point cant become the high point.
Now the challenge shifts to Oklahoma, where South Carolina has to prove the Tennessee result was a step forward and not just another example of the leagues so-called SEC Flu. Beamer has already acknowledged that danger, but his message is simple enough: enjoy the win, then move on. In a conference where every week seems to punish anyone who gets comfortable, the Gamecocks biggest test may be how well they handle the noise after their biggest recent breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Just Got Another Reason To Celebrate That Tennessee Win
South Carolinas win over Tennessee already stood out as one of the programs most important early-season results, and now it has another layer of recognition attached to it. Nolan Hay, the fifth-year offensive lineman who started at center in the 27-24 victory over the No. 11 Volunteers, was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.
Hays work up front helped the Gamecocks put together 344 total yards and average 5.5 yards per play against one of the nations better defenses, the kind of efficiency that made the upset possible. It also marked the second time a South Carolina player has picked up the weekly honor, a small but meaningful sign that the performance in Knoxville resonated well beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Dawn Staley Finally Addressed The Geno Handshake Drama
Dawn Staley has had time to unpack the postgame handshake moment with Geno Auriemma from South Carolinas win in the 2026 Womens Final Four, and her comments put the episode in a different light than the one it briefly took on in the aftermath. Staley said she did not realize Auriemma was expecting a second pregame handshake, and she made clear the awkward exchange was about more than a single missed greeting.
The larger backdrop, of course, is the rivalry itself and South Carolinas recent run of success against UConn, which has only sharpened the edge between two of the sports most accomplished coaches. Staley also emphasized her respect for Auriemma, but her reflections suggested there were deeper tensions sitting underneath the public moment, which is what made the whole scene resonate well beyond one game. [Read more 🡒]