June 3, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina will play its first two football games of the 2010 season on national television, it was announced today.

The Gamecocks will open the season on Thursday, September 2 when they host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. That game will be televised nationally on ESPN beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game will be the first meeting ever on the gridiron between the two squads. It will also mark the sixth straight season in which the Gamecocks will play a Thursday night contest on ESPN and the fifth time in the six years under head coach Steve Spurrier that Carolina opens its season on a Thursday night. The Gamecocks are a perfect 4-0 in season openers on Thursdays under Coach Spurrier.

Carolina will open Southeastern Conference play on Saturday, September 11, when the Gamecocks entertain the Georgia Bulldogs at Williams-Brice Stadium. That contest will be televised nationally on either ESPN or ESPN2 with kick time slated for Noon ET. The Bulldogs hold a 46-14-2 advantage in the all-time series, including a wild 41-37 win in Athens last season. The Gamecocks are 7-19-2 when hosting the Bulldogs in Columbia.

The Gamecocks appeared on one of ESPN’s family of networks nine times during the 2009 season.