Nov. 25, 2015

The University of South Carolina football squad spent the day before Thanksgiving working out for nearly two hours at the new Gamecock Park practice facilities.

The Gamecocks (3-8) are preparing for their final game of the 2015 season when they host the top-ranked Clemson Tigers (11-0) on Saturday, Nov. 28, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN beginning at noon ET.

The Gamecocks will be going against one of the nation’s top defenses this week, but that’s nothing new. “Florida was pretty salty, too,” said offensive coordinator G.A. Mangus. “But (Clemson) does a good job. They’ve played well all season long and it will be a good challenge for us. We’re looking forward to it.”

The Tigers lost several starters off last year’s team, but come into this week’s contest as an experience group. “They played a lot of guys last year, so there’s some guys that have played a lot of football still, experience-wise. We’ll have to be on our A-game Saturday,” admitted Mangus.

The Gamecocks will be trying to end their season on a positive note. “For us, this is our last one this year and we’ll try to empty the bag and try to exploit the best we can,” said Mangus. “We’ll try to get our best players matched up where we think they have a chance to get some success. We’ll see how it goes Saturday.”

Freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nuñez has been practicing more this week and is expected to play on Saturday. “He threw the ball more today than he has thrown it lately,” noted Mangus. “He looked good, he feels good and the trainers say he’s ready to go, so he’s going to be ready to roll on Saturday. He seems excited about it too, which is great.”

Cornerback Chris Lammons remained in a yellow “no contact” jersey on Wednesday with a sore back. Offensive tackle Mason Zandi (ankle) and wide receiver Terry Googer (concussion) did not practice.

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Thursday.