South Carolina’s 2026 season opener no longer has the shine it once did, but the Gamecocks are still paying a pretty price to fill the date.
Kent State will come to Williams-Brice Stadium as South Carolina’s first opponent, and the Gamecocks agreed to send the Golden Flashes $1.3 million for the trip. That matchup replaced what was supposed to be a marquee opener against Miami before the SEC and ACC both moved to nine-game conference schedules and the home-and-home series was scrapped.
South Carolina will also finish its nonconference “buy game” slate a week later against Towson.
Kent State, meanwhile, is lining up a busy stretch of its own. In addition to the trip to Columbia, the Golden Flashes will play two more “buy games” this season, taking $1.9 million to visit Ohio State on Sept. 19 and $1.2 million to play at South Florida in October.
The Golden Flashes enter the year after a 5-7 finish overall and a 4-4 mark in MAC play, which put them in the middle of the conference pack. There’s at least stability on the sideline and under center: Kent State brings back its head coach, both coordinators and starting quarterback Dru DeShields.
South Carolina and Kent State have met only once before, back in 1995, when the Gamecocks rolled to a 77-14 win behind a combined six passing touchdowns from quarterbacks Steve Taneyhill and Anthony Wright.
The contract between the schools, signed in December 2025, lays out the payment terms in detail. South Carolina was required to send Kent State $300,000 on or before Jan. 31, 2026, followed by another $1 million on or before Jan. 31, 2027.
The Gamecocks will also provide Kent State with 600 complimentary tickets. On top of that, USC will hand over 4,000 additional tickets for the Golden Flashes to sell, with any unsold tickets due back by Aug.
- Kent State must then remit to South Carolina the full ticket price of every ticket sold.
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For a South Carolina audience, the intrigue is obvious because any debate over Mannings ceiling inevitably circles back to the games and defenses he will face in the SEC. His college rsum is still being sorted through, and the comparison game has only intensified as evaluators weigh what he has shown so far against what an NFL team might demand from a future franchise passer. [Read more 🡒]