DALLAS, Texas - Nolan Hay’s work in the middle gave South Carolina a lift on Saturday, and the recognition followed on Tuesday.
The fifth-year offensive lineman was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America after helping the Gamecocks edge No. 11/11 Tennessee, 27-24, for their second straight top-25 win. Hay started at center for the second game in a row and dealt with one of the nation’s best defensive fronts while South Carolina put together 344 total yards of offense.
The Gamecocks finished with 210 passing yards and 134 rushing yards, and they averaged 5.5 yards per play, a season-best against Tennessee’s defense. South Carolina also found the end zone on multiple rushing scores from quarterback LaNorris Sellers, just the second time the Volunteers had allowed multiple rushing touchdowns in a game this season. Tennessee had entered the matchup giving up only 14.7 points per game, which ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 11 nationally, but South Carolina scored 27 - the most the Vols had surrendered all year.
Hay was on the field for 69 snaps and graded out at 91, the highest mark among the Gamecocks’ offensive linemen who played at least 50 snaps.
He is the second South Carolina player to receive the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week honor and the first since guard Torricelli Simpkins III on Nov. 2, 2024. Each weekly winner is added to the award’s watch list.
The FWAA is in its fourth season of handing out the weekly Outland honor as part of the NCFAA’s 12 national awards. The 2026 Outland Trophy winner will be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN on Dec. 11, with the formal presentation set for the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner in Omaha, Neb., on Jan. 27, 2027.
The selection process moves quickly from there. The FWAA will name semifinalists on Nov. 18, narrow that group to three finalists on Nov. 24, and then choose the winner from those finalists. The award goes to interior linemen on offense or defense only.
Saturday’s win also carried added weight in the context of Shane Beamer’s tenure. It was the third time under Beamer that South Carolina has posted back-to-back top-25 victories, and the first since 2024. Beamer now has nine top-25 wins in his first 70 games, tying the program record held by College Football Hall of Famer and former head coach Steve Spurrier.
Since 1962, South Carolina has recorded consecutive AP Top-20 wins five times overall, and only three of those came in the regular season. Two of those regular-season stretches have come under Beamer, in 2024 and 2026.
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 🡒]
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 🡒]
Gamecocks Around The NFL Delivered Some Big Week 6 Moments
Week 6 brought a familiar sort of NFL snapshot for South Carolina fans, with former Gamecocks making their presence felt across the league on Oct. 25. Players spread across teams from Arizona and Green Bay to Houston, Pittsburgh and Seattle turned in the kind of all-over-the-map production that has become a weekly reminder of how widely the programs alumni are scattered once they leave Columbia.
The list of contributors also stretched through New York, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Detroit, with former Gamecocks stacking up tackles, catches, yards and touchdowns in their respective roles. For South Carolina, it was the kind of weekend that reinforces the programs reach at the pro level, even if the full league-wide impact of several of those performances will keep drawing attention well beyond one Sunday. [Read more 🡒]