South Carolina gets its second crack at the season on Saturday night, and this one comes with a very different look than last week’s opener. The Gamecocks will be at home in Williams-Brice Stadium for their first night game of the year, hosting Towson in a matchup that kicks off at 7:00 p.m.
Shane Beamer’s team rolls in after a 57-0 win over Kent State, while Towson arrives 0-2 under coach Pete Shinnick after losses to Maine and Navy. It’s the first meeting between the schools.
The game will be available only on SEC Network Plus through the ESPN app. Richard Cross and Charlie Strong will be on the broadcast call, with Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs and Chet Tucker on the local radio side. SiriusXM will carry it on Channel 137 or 248, and 964 on the app.
South Carolina enters as a massive favorite again. FanDuel lists the Gamecocks as 43.5-point favorites, and ESPN Analytics gives USC a 99% chance to win. South Carolina is also 1-0 against the spread so far this season.
The injury picture remains worth watching, even if Week 1 came and went without any new issues despite the brutal heat in Columbia. Beamer said Tuesday that edge rusher Dylan Stewart and offensive lineman Jacarrius Peak are both “extremely doubtful” for this week, though each is practicing in full pads and with contact.
“They are getting closer and closer,” Beamer said. “So it’s a tough day for all the conspiracy theorists that thought we were hiding something and that they weren’t going to play this season across the country. ... Optimistic what that injury report is going to say next week when we have to release it before our first SEC game.”
Weather should be a little kinder to everybody inside the stadium this time around. AccuWeather projects a high of 87 and a low of 71 in Columbia, with a “real feel” around 95 during the day. By kickoff, the temperature should be in the low 80s, though it may still feel warmer until later in the evening.
One of the more interesting things to watch Saturday is South Carolina’s kicking situation. That’s not exactly the headline anyone expected, but the Gamecocks are still sorting out the spot.
Last week, Max Kelley and Malik Orsan handled PATs and kickoffs, but neither tried a field goal. If USC gets a comfortable lead, don’t be surprised if the staff uses the chance to see field goals from Kelley, Orsan, Upton Bellenfant or Ethan Sanchez, who was added to the roster two days before the Towson game.
Punt returns are another area Beamer wants cleaned up. Vicari Swain returned three punts for 30 yards against Kent State, but Beamer said South Carolina didn’t do enough to hold up the gunners, which kept Swain from getting a real chance to explode.
That matters because the last time USC played an FCS opponent, Swain returned two punts for touchdowns. The Gamecocks will be hoping for a better setup this week.
Then there’s the obvious question: can South Carolina look as dominant again? The opener was historic.
USC piled up 645 total yards, ran for 278 yards and pitched its first shutout since Beamer’s first game in charge in 2021. Towson is the kind of opponent that would normally invite another lopsided result, but Saturday will have to settle that on the field.
A few players stand out on both sides. For South Carolina, sophomore wide receiver Donovan Murph was one of the stars of Week 1, earning Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors from the staff after catching four passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
He already has more touchdowns than he scored as a freshman. On defense, Illinois transfer Tomiwa Durojaiye was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week after posting three tackles.
His Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 81.6 led the team, and his overall defense grade of 77.7 ranked sixth on the roster in Week 1.
Towson’s offense runs through sophomore quarterback Andrew Indorf, who was the CAA Co-Rookie of the Year last season after throwing for 2,344 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also finished 15th nationally in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, which goes to the top FCS freshman.
Through two games this season, Indorf is 28 for 39 passing for 475 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers also lean on sophomore running back Kemarrion Battles, who was their second-leading rusher last season with 374 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman in 2025.
Battles has 26 carries for 114 yards through two games this year.
South Carolina and Towson have never played before, so Saturday will open a new series under the lights in Columbia.
In Other News...
South Carolina May Have Found A Backfield Weapon Fans Werent Expecting
South Carolinas backfield got an unexpected spark in its Week 1 win over Kent State, and it came from a player who had yet to take an offensive snap in a Gamecocks uniform. Jabree Coleman, the Penn State transfer who redshirted last season, made his collegiate offensive debut look easy, piling up 77 yards on just four carries while finding the end zone twice in a game where the ground attack set the tone.
Coleman said the moment was everything he had hoped for, and he was quick to point to the offensive line for making the night possible. It also fit neatly into a dominant team performance on the ground, with South Carolinas running backs combining for 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns, a reminder that the Gamecocks may already have more depth in the backfield than many expected. [Read more 🡒]
Gamecocks Pass Rush Finally Gets A Very Different Week 2 Test
Kent States passing game last week offered a very different kind of challenge for a pass rush, with Dru DeShields getting the ball out in 2.4 seconds on 23 dropbacks. The Golden Flashes kept things compact, leaning on short passes with an average depth of target of 2.5 yards and only four throws that traveled more than nine yards downfield, the sort of script that can take a defenses sacks out of the equation.
Towson should ask more questions of South Carolina in Week 2, though, because Andrew Indorf has been willing to push the ball deeper and his profile comes with a much higher average depth of target. For a Gamecocks front trying to build on its early work, that creates a different kind of test: less about beating a rapid-fire release and more about staying disciplined when the ball starts traveling farther downfield. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Has One Last Chance To Fix A Worry Before SEC Play
South Carolina gets one more nonconference tuneup against Towson before the real grind of Southeastern Conference play begins, and Shane Beamer is treating it like a final checkpoint rather than a breather. The Gamecocks came off a strong win over Kent State, but Beamer still pointed to a few areas that need cleaning up, even as the staff prepares for a Towson team that should bring a spirited defensive approach into the spotlight.
Pete Shinnicks group also knows what kind of stage this is, with a night game in an SEC atmosphere offering a different kind of test for the Tigers. Towson is looking to use the matchup to keep growing, while South Carolina is trying to make sure it leaves Saturday with fewer questions than it brought in. [Read more 🡒]