COLUMBIA — South Carolina football is in the national spotlight this week.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” is in Columbia for South Carolina vs No. 17 LSU and coach Shane Beamer, along with the Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC), have been part of many conversations surrounding college football in Week 3.
Ahead of Saturday’s game (12:12 p.m. ET, ABC), ESPN reporter Rece Davis, the host of “College GameDay” spoke to media on Friday morning.
Here’s what Davis said about South Carolina heading into the game against the Tigers (1-1)
“I think the first thing is they have to be productive on offense,” Davis said when asked what the Gamecocks have to do to pull off the upset. “I think when you have the caliber of quarterback that LSU does … you’re going to have to put up some points … also continuing to create turnovers and not give anyway.”
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw six touchdowns last week in the 44-21 win over Nicholls. Against Kentucky, LaNorris Sellers, in his first year as starter for South Carolina, threw two touchdowns, his first two passing TDs of the season.
“I thought as the game went on, he got better and better,” Davis said. “Obviously he’s a talented young guy, he just needs experience, it’s human for him to be feeling this way a little bit early on in the season. He could get better and better as he goes along and it certainly helps if the defense plays as well as it has to give him a little margin for error.”
South Carolina’s defense sacked Wildcats quarterback Brock Vandagriff four times, and he finished with just three completions for 30 total yards.
A large part of what makes the Gamecocks’ defense so strong are edge rushers Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart.
“You got a young one and a veteran one on each side, both of them have been beating at the quarterback and I think Stewart is a rising star in this game, he’s going to be a guy that continues to grow,” Davis said.
Stewart is a freshman, Kennard is a fifth-year transfer from Georgia Tech.
“You want to start with the level of intensity and level of ability that (Stewart) has,” Davis said. “He sounds like a great young man that soaks it all up, easy to coach, and the future is bright for him. Having a guard like Kennard on the other side, who has been through some things, who has played a lot of ball, the opportunity for those two to work together has worked out really well so far.”
The duo has combined for six sacks, and have four solo tackles each.
The last time “College GameDay” came to South Carolina was in 2014 for the Gamecocks game against Missouri. In his fourth year as coach, it will be the first time Beamer’s squad is featured on the show.
“Shane is a dynamic guy,” Davis said. “He is easy to root for, easy to like, certainly knows ball inside and out, has worked with great people, and he’s proven he’s able to get talent to come to South Carolina.”
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley will serve as guest picker for the game, and Davis said he’s super excited.
“I’ve been an admirer of hers as a coach and as a player for a very long time so we’re really excited to have her out there. She’ll be great.”
BEAMER AND STALEY: Count South Carolina’s Shane Beamer as admirer of Dawn Staley, guest picker on ‘College GameDay’
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 13:00:00
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