After a two-hour and 23-minute weather delay, South Carolina finally kicked off its home opener late Saturday night. The game itself was just as sloppy as the storm that postponed it, but by the time things wrapped up well after midnight, the Gamecocks had secured a 38-10 win over in-state foe S.C. State.
It wasn’t the marquee matchup on South Carolina’s schedule, but there were still plenty of takeaways from the long night inside Williams-Brice Stadium.
Dawn Staley Joins the Hype
During the extended delay, head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley brought her trademark energy to the stands. Cheering with the student section — alongside players Tessa Johnson, Raven Johnson, and Ta’Niya Latson — Staley even lost her voice in the process. She also joined ESPN’s Ashley Stroehlein for a quick on-air interview, where both made sure to shout out the South Carolina faithful for keeping the energy alive during the wait.
Offensive Line Criticism
Not everyone walked away impressed. CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford voiced his disappointment with the Gamecocks’ offensive front, which struggled against an FCS defensive line.
“LaNorris Sellers has had no pocket and 0 time to throw against South Carolina State,” Crawford wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Same effort from the OL next Saturday night against Vanderbilt and the long winning streak over the ‘Dores will be over.”
Lonnie Teasley’s group will need to improve quickly if USC is going to sustain success in SEC play.
Dropped from Rankings
The performance also had national repercussions. CBS analyst Danny Kanell removed South Carolina from his weekly “resume based” Top 12 power rankings after placing them as high as No. 6 just a week ago.
“After Week 2 here is my resume based #DKtop12,” Kanell posted, listing South Florida, Ohio State, Florida State, Miami, and Auburn as his top five.
Swain’s Special Teams Stardom
Despite the sloppy offense, Vicari Swain stole the show once again. The redshirt sophomore scored on two punt returns, tying former Gamecock Ace Sanders for second on the school’s all-time punt return touchdown list with three. Sanders, who knows a thing or two about special teams magic, gave Swain his stamp of approval on social media, posting three goat emojis in response.
Looking Ahead
The Gamecocks return to Williams-Brice Stadium next Saturday to open SEC play against Vanderbilt. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network, with streaming available on the ESPN app. South Carolina has not lost to the Commodores since 2008.
