South Carolina’s SEC opener arrives with the Gamecocks riding a 2-0 start and carrying a sharp early-season edge into Saturday’s matchup with Mississippi State at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The Gamecocks host the Bulldogs at 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network, and South Carolina is listed as a 5.5-point favorite. It’s also a meeting of two quarterbacks who can hurt defenses with both their arms and legs: South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor.
South Carolina has handled its first two opponents with ease, rolling past Kent State and then beating Towson 45-9 in a game delayed more than an hour by weather. That 102-point burst through two games is the program’s best scoring start to a season since 1980, when the Gamecocks put up 110 in their first two contests.
Offensively, the early returns under new coordinator Kendal Briles have been strong. South Carolina’s ground game has been especially imposing, averaging 341.5 rushing yards per game - a number topped only by Army and Navy. Against Towson, Sellers and running back Matt Fuller both cleared 100 rushing yards, another sign that the Gamecocks have more than one way to stress a defense.
The defense has been just as dominant so far. South Carolina is tied for first nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 4.5 points per game. Saturday should provide a more revealing measuring stick for both sides of the ball, especially with Mississippi State coming in unbeaten.
The Bulldogs are 2-0 as well and arrive off a 38-13 road win at Minnesota. Mississippi State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions in that game, and it marked the program’s first regular-season meeting with a Big Ten team since 1980.
Jeff Lebby, now in his third season as Mississippi State’s coach, is still trying to push the Bulldogs toward a breakthrough after they last finished with a winning record in 2022. His background fits the identity he has built there - a fast-paced, no-huddle “veer-and-shoot” spread offense.
Taylor has been the early centerpiece of that attack. The former four-star prospect threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 86 yards against Minnesota.
Through two games, he has produced 726 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns. CBS Sports analyst Charles Davis drew a high-end comparison for the 6-foot-4 quarterback, mentioning Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Michael Vick.
South Carolina’s offense has its own emerging weapons. Fuller won the starting job at running back and has become part of a deeper group that includes Texas transfer Christian Clark and Penn State transfer Jabree Coleman. Fuller came off a career-high 125 rushing yards against Towson and led the Gamecocks’ running backs with 26 snaps.
Vicari Swain gave South Carolina another jolt in the return game, taking two punts back for touchdowns against Towson. He now owns five punt return touchdowns in his career, which broke the record previously held by Dickie Harris. Swain also blocked an extra point, and Shane Beamer said he has been lobbying to get some offensive snaps as well.
Mississippi State has its own standout on the back end in Kelley Jones, a potential first-round pick who chose to return for another season. ESPN’s Jordan Reid projected him as high as No. 22 in his latest 2027 mock draft.
Jones allowed only seven catches last season and added 11 pass breakups. In the first two games this year, he has two tackles and one pass breakup.
Beamer’s connection to Saturday’s opponent runs deeper than the current matchup. The South Carolina coach, now in his sixth season, spent three years as an assistant at Mississippi State from 2004-06 and met his future wife, Emily, while working there.
South Carolina leads the all-time series 10-7 and won the last meeting, 37-30 in 2023.
In Other News...
South Carolina Faces One Big Availability Question Entering SEC Play
With SEC play looming, Shane Beamer spent part of the week sorting through a familiar early-season reality: getting injured players back on the field in time for the games that matter most. Offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak and defensive end Dylan Stewart are both trending in the right direction, Beamer said, a welcome sign for a South Carolina team that has had to monitor several moving parts as it turns the page from the opener and into league competition.
The injury list is not limited to those two, either, with Carter Miller, DJ Black, Maurice Brown II and AJ Holloway also dealing with issues. Beamer also cleared up one other point of curiosity from the opener, saying kicker Ethan Sanchez did not play because of a coaching decision and that there are no eligibility concerns surrounding him. For a team trying to get settled before conference play, the hope is simply to get more bodies available and avoid any lingering questions turning into longer-term ones. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Passing Game Has A Bigger Issue Than One Sideline Spat
South Carolinas win over Towson came with a brief sideline flash point when quarterback LaNorris Sellers and receiver Mazeo Bennett got into an animated disagreement over a route. Shane Beamer said afterward the two simply saw the play differently, and the issue has already been smoothed over as the Gamecocks move on from the moment.
The bigger concern is what the exchange revealed about a passing game that still needs work before SEC play begins. Sellers finished 10 of 23 for 96 yards, and while the result was never in doubt against Towson, South Carolina knows the margin for error shrinks fast once the league schedule arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Beamers Biggest Concern After South Carolinas Sloppy Win
Shane Beamer had plenty to sort through after South Carolinas uneven win over Towson, and the head coach did not try to sugarcoat how the afternoon unfolded. He liked the way his team answered in the second half, but the first half left him with the kind of concerns that tend to linger after a game like this: miscues, the wet conditions, dropped passes and a performance that never quite found rhythm when it should have.
Beamer also touched on a few of the individual decisions and roster notes that shaped the day, including the depth he sees in the running back room and the status of players such as Vicari. He also explained why Ethan Sanchez never got into the kicking game, a choice that fit into a broader picture of South Carolina trying to clean up details while still coming away with a win. [Read more 🡒]