Runing ball will set up the passing

@Alan Cole is in the press box at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the 11 local/12 EST kickoff. A quick reminder that the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Both Alan and I will be giving live updates and reactions here, feel free to chime in with score predictions, game thoughts, and mutual joy and commiseration.

I’m trying to figure out the most cost effective way to buy. I might need to buy a sandwich after the monetary system fails. Any experienced buyers out there? The premium on metals is expensive. I hate to take a loss on the front end but unless I open a pawn shop the premium looks to be unavoidable

Old Dominion 20, VPI 17.

they still on the team??

That was fun!

Way to represent us in Austin!!

We've talked several times about how much Lamont Paris and staff are putting an emphasis on in-state recruiting, and perhaps there's not a great prize in the 2024 class than 4-star SG out of Lexington Cam Scott.

I spoke with Cam this morning and he let me know that he will be taking an Official Visit with South Carolina Oct. 22nd. The Gamecocks will pull out all the stops for this visit, including a look at the home football game against Texas A&M, but the Gamecocks will have stiff competition. Scott also has an official visit set to Florida State on October 1st, according to his Rivals profile. We'd also expect him to eventually visit Auburn. Either way, this is a crucial step for Paris and company to make their best pitch to the elite guard.

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Allow me to be the first:

Wild Pigs 42
Sunshine Pumpers 20

Injuries now begin to show their ugly head for a 5-7 season.

P.S. For our home grown Sunshine Pumpers .... Gonads = Balls.

Matchup: South Carolina (1-0, 0-0 SEC) @ No. 16 Arkansas (1-0, 0-0 SEC)



Venue: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium



Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET (11 a.m. CT)



Network: ESPN



Broadcast team: Bob Wischusen; Dan Orlovsky; Kris Budden



Spread: Arkansas -8.5



Over/under: 52.5 points


Articles from the week:

Final Preview and Prediction, Best/Worst Case Scenario

Arkansas Players To Know On Defense

Arkansas Players To Know On Offense

Aligning The Stars: Rivals Star Rating Comparison

Staff Picks Across CFB Week Two

Best Bets For Week Two

The Gamecock Scoop Podcast: Arkansas Preview

The KJ Jefferson Challenge

From The Otherside: Razorbacks Intel

SEC Road Woes for Gamecocks

Top 5 Wins Over Arkansas In Program History

Looks like the Gamecocks will be sporting the storm trooper look on the road tomorrow.

Beat UNC!

You have a tough matchup. Good luck on Sauturday. Get a turnover or two and make them pay. Son't dtop believn! (cue Journey)

5-0-2

FROM USC:

BLACKSBURG, VA – South Carolina women’s soccer remains undefeated after taking down the Virginia Tech Hokies 2-1 on Thursday with two unanswered goals in the second half.

Breaking Down the Action

The Hokies started things early in the first half, taking a shot 36 seconds in but were met by a save from senior goalkeeper Heather Hinz. The Gamecocks answered back three-minutes later with an on-goal shot of their own, but were unable to capitalize.

In the 18th minute, a handball by Camryn Dixon set up a penalty kick for Virginia Tech’s Natalie Mitchell, where the freshman was able to get past Hinz in the upper left corner to put the Hokies up 1-0.

Throughout the remainder of the half, the Gamecocks would make four more nail-biting attempts (two on target), and a total of seven corner kicks but were unable to break Virginia Tech’s defense.

After a pair of fouls on both sides and a yellow card on Virginia Tech’s Tori Powell to open up the second half, freshman Shae O’Rourke saw an opportunity off a header from Catherine Barry and scored the first goal for the Gamecocks in the 56th minute of play to tie things up 1-1. The goal marked the third of the season for O’Rourke, and the second assist for Barry.

Barry was quick to follow in O’Rourke’s footsteps, scoring a goal of her own after setting herself up to the left of the net less than two minutes later to put South Carolina on top 2-1. The goal was Barry’s 17th of her career, moving the junior into the No. 11 spot for all-time career goals in program history.

Virginia Tech would go on to take five shots throughout the second half, but the Gamecocks were able to hold onto their lead and finish with their fifth win of the season, despite a 12-11 shot advantage from the Hokies.

The Gamecocks took a total of 10 corners, and Hinz recorded five saves on the day.

UP NEXT

South Carolina will return home to play NC State on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 3:00 p.m. in Stone Stadium.

Deebo Samuel on the list from No. 1-25:

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For the second time in three seasons, A’ja Wilson has been named the Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player. She also won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award announced last week, making her the fifth player in WNBA history to claim both awards in the same season.

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I posted this last week, but quick reminder that 4-Star Forward Sammie Yeanay is visiting South Carolina this Sunday. We will try to catch up with him after and let you folks know how it goes.

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@Alan Cole will be in here with live updates from Carolina Calls tonight at a new location: Liberty Taproom in the Vista.

I recently spoke with a Gamecocks' top 2024 running back target, and with that, we have an update on when he plans to return to Columbia for a campus visit, along with the top schools on the student-athlete's list.

Four-star South Carolina Gamecocks running back target Jayden Scott (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) originally planned to attend the South Carolina vs. Georgia State game on September 3rd for a gameday visit Williams-Brice Stadium, but he has made a change of plans.

The AAAA (4A) Stockbridge Tigers running back, who keeps in contact with Gamecocks' running backs coach Montario Hardesty, said that he will visit for South Carolina's home bout with SEC West rival Texas A&M on October 22nd.

South Carolina, Rutgers, and Wake Forest are vying the hardest for the players' services, followed by North Carolina and Pittsburgh.

He was a standout performer at the Rivals Camp in Atlanta this summer, alongside top Gamecocks' target, No. 1 Class of 2024 linebacker in the United States (Rivals) Sammy Brown.

Most of you won't be able to read it unless you are subscribed over there too for some reason, so I'm pasting it here. Their Publisher, Mason Choate returned the favor if you missed his take here yesterday.

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HawgBeat went behind enemy lines to gain insight on Arkansas' opponent this weekend, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

GamecockScoop's publisher Caleb Alexander answered questions about the strength and weaknesses for the Gamecocks and what the keys to a victory for South Carolina would be.

Here is what he had to say:

Who is South Carolina in 2022?​

The 2022 iteration of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks much different than 2021, especially on offense. The Gamecocks had one of the more impressive transfer portal classes this offseason, with the highlight being QB Spencer Rattler but also picking up a solid possession WR from James Madison in Antwane Wells Jr. who led the team in catches in week one with 7.

Fellow Oklahoma transfer TE Austin Stogner had a relatively quiet first game but is expected to get more involved as the season progresses. The transfer portal also gave the Gamecocks much-needed depth in the secondary with starting S Devonni Reed, who played very well in his first action last week.

A true freshman S, Nick Emmanwori also made some critical plays against Georgia State, including an early 4th and one stop in the red zone that stalled the Panthers’ first drive.
One of the biggest problems the Gamecocks faced in 2021 was a lack of consistency on offense, and if one week is any indication, they are still looking for more from their OL and perimeter blocking.

Rattler made the offense work better than it did at any point last season, but they still struggled to get much of a rhythm going, especially in the run and screen game. Most positive plays came from Rattler scrambling out of the pocket and letting his receivers, namely Wells Jr. and Jalen Brooks, get creative in space.

The defense held their own against a Georgia State squad that ranked 8th in rushing in 2021, and was returning basically all of the pieces of their run game, but they weren’t really tested at all by QB Darren Grainger through the air, and Razorback QB KJ Jefferson will be a different animal entirely.

The biggest advantage the Gamecocks had in game one was on special teams, living up to the Beamer name. Two blocked punt returns for touchdowns, two of the seven longest-made field goals in the entire history of South Carolina football by a first-time starting kicker, converted a fake field goal in the red zone that led to a TD, and had a 79-yard punt in there from P Kai Kroeger as well. The Gamecocks also attempted a surprise onside kick after their first TD but didn’t convert.

While South Carolina is undoubtedly more talented than it was in 2021, there are still some glaring gaps on the OL, and in the run game. It would seem that the Gamecocks are going to have to play solid defense, continue to make game-breaking plays on special teams, and rely on Rattler to piece together enough points on offense to win games and take the step forward everyone wants this season.

How does the South Carolina offense stack up against Arkansas' defense?​

Despite the Gamecocks scoring a respectable 35 points in their season opener, two TDs came on special teams, with two second-half blocked punts for TDs after the Gamecocks hadn’t returned one blocked punt for a TD in a game since the 2000 season.
Needless to say, that production can’t be relied upon on a weekly basis.
The offensive stats are a bit more sobering, especially in the run game where the Gamecocks only mustered 79 yards on 32 carries (2.5YPC) against a Georgia State defensive front that is fine, but incomparable to many of the front sevens they’ll face in SEC play.

QB Spencer Rattler had a solid performance of 227 yards passing and 1 TD, but a couple of bad decisions also led to 2 interceptions.

Perhaps the area that needs the most improvement is 3rd down efficiency; the Gamecocks only went 3/14 on 3rd down last Saturday, much of that due to the inability to get to 3rd and manageable through the run or perimeter passing game.
It wasn’t all doom on gloom however, Rattler showed exceptional ability to extend plays with his legs while keeping his eyes down field, which led to a few big plays in the passing game, which could come in handy against Arkansas, who looked exploitable at times in the secondary vs. Cincinnati.

The Bearcats inexperienced QB failed to take advantage at times, but Rattler should be able to hit open receivers if the secondary struggles again. This is compounded by the possibility that both safeties, Jalen Catalon and Myles Slusher can’t heal up in time to make the start at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.

Arkansas seemed to play pretty well against the run last week, holding Cincinnati to just 3.6 yard per carry, despite a 35-yard scamper from Charles McLelland.

It shouldn’t have much problem with South Carolina’s anemic run game this week, but the question is whether that means Rattler will be constantly pressured, or if the combination of solid pass blocking, and Rattler’s escapability can buy him enough time to exploit Arkansas’ secondary with play makers like TE Jaheim Bell ,and WRs Josh Vann, Jalen Brooks, and Antwane Wells Jr.

How does South Carolina's defense stack up against Arkansas' offense?​

The defense had a bit of a bend but don’t break style through a lot of last year, and took some of those same concepts into Week 1 vs. Georgia State. The Gamecocks struggled at times to stop the run in 2021 and ranked 98th in 2021 in opponents rushing yards per game with 187.3 yards per game.

Shoring up the run defense was a priority all off-season, and eye-test-wise, I think they looked better against a team that is almost as committed to running the ball as the service academies are. Georgia State did run for 200 yards on Saturday night, but 85 of those yards came on two long runs, one on the first drive, and one when the game was already in hand and the backups were playing.

Otherwise, the Gamecocks mostly forced the Panthers into 3rd down passing situations, which the Panthers’ QB Darren Grainger just wasn’t equipped for. The Panthers mostly tried to steer clear of pre-season All-American Cam Smith and veteran CB Darius Rush and instead tried to pick on CB Marcellus Dial, who other than one defensive pass interference and giving up one long reception that kicked off Georgia State’s second TD drive, handled himself well in coverage.

The Gamecocks will likely be starting a true freshman at safety in Nick Emmanwori. In his first game action, he made several impact plays and is arguably more talented than the senior RJ Roderick who went out on the first series with an arm injury and didn’t return.
That said, Emmanwori is a freshman and made at least one bad read that I recall led to a touchdown off of play action. I expect the Razorbacks will attempt to pick on him and the linebackers with TE Trey Knox.

While I think the Gamecocks can hold up decently against the run and have a good bit of talent in their aggressive secondary that will man up to create pass rush opportunities for the front 7, I also expect Arkansas to get theirs. KJ Jefferson isn’t one to get shut down by an average to above-average defense, and I’d say Cincinnati’s defense that the Razorbacks just scored 31 on is probably on par or a little better than the Gamecocks’.
South Carolina is going to have to create some timely turnovers, of which it led the SEC in 2021, and try to limit big plays so that it can give its offense a chance to stick around in this one.

Another factor to watch is whether they can limit Arkansas from getting off to a quick start. South Carolina is 1-9 in its last 10 SEC road games, and most of those were over by half-time. The Gamecocks will have to learn to ride out the initial waves of momentum to stick around into the second half of this one.

Keys to a South Carolina win?​

It would certainly be an upset for South Carolina to come in to Fayetteville and sneak out a win against the No. 16 Razorbacks, who have already beaten a solid Cincinnati team to start the season. Arkansas is an 8.5 point favorite for a reason. That said, I do think there are ways for South Carolina to stick around in this game and make it interesting in the 4th Quarter:

Contain KJ Jefferson:​

Undoubtedly Arkansas will rack up some rushing yards, but South Carolina has to force a few 3rd and long situations and make Jefferson beat them with his arm.
While Jefferson is plenty equipped to make difficult throws in traffic, South Carolina’s strength is its cornerbacks, and they can make plays with the best of the best.

Don't fall behind early:​

The Gamecocks have had a notorious habit for starting slowly in road games, and if they allow Arkansas to build a multiple score lead in the first half, I don’t know that they can rely on enough offensive production to make a comeback. South Carolina needs to put pressure on the Razorbacks by scoring early and settling the home crowd down.

Find some production in the run game:​

While the strength of this offense is Rattler and the receivers, South Carolina will have to find a way to get some production on the ground to take some pressure off the shoulders of Rattler and keep KJ Jefferson and company off the field for extended drives. This one will not go well for South Carolina if the time of possession heavily favors Arkansas.

Prediction:​

Both of these teams will learn a lot about their potential to break into the upper echelon of the SEC this week. Whoever wins this game has a solid SEC win to start the season and can begin to build momentum as conference play opens up over the next several weeks.
I think South Carolina could win this game. Some of the strengths of this team work against the weaknesses I see in Arkansas.

Unfortunately, the same could be said in the inverse, and I think Arkansas has proven it can score points on nearly anyone, something the Gamecocks are still working out the kinks on.

Given the extra boost of home field advantage, coupled with South Carolina’s struggles on the road the last few seasons, I have to pick the Razorbacks to secure the win at home, but I’m not picking them to cover.

Arkansas 37, South Carolina 31