Gamecocks Travel to No. 7/8 Ole Miss Saturday
South Carolina’s official game notes can be found here.
Ole Miss’s official game notes can be found here.
QUICKLY: The South Carolina Gamecocks (3-5, 1-5 SEC) are back on the road looking to snap a three-game losing streak as they travel to Oxford, Miss. for a Saturday, Nov. 1, date with the No. 7/8 Ole Miss Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC). Game time is set for 7 pm ET (6 pm CT) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038). This week’s game marks the fourth-straight contest in which Carolina has faced a top-15 opponent.
OVER THE AIRWAVES: This week’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Bob Wischusen will handle the play-by-play with Louis Riddick providing the color commentary. Kris Budden will work the sidelines for the mothership. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Hall of Fame quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (34th season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (53rd season). Chet Tucker is back for his third year as the sideline reporter.
HOW WE GOT HERE: The Gamecocks enter this week’s contest with a 3-5 mark overall including a 1-5 record in SEC play. Carolina opened the season with a 24-11 non-conference win over Virginia Tech in Atlanta, then rolled past South Carolina State by a 38-10 margin in the home opener. The Gamecocks had their eight-game regular season winning streak and their 16-game winning streak against Vanderbilt snapped in a 31-7 decision in the SEC lid-lifter, then fell by a 29-20 count at Missouri before bouncing back with a convincing 35-13 win over Kentucky. After a bye week, the Gamecocks went to Baton Rouge and came up on the short end of a 20-10 decision to the 11th-ranked LSU Tigers, then dropped back-to-back home decisions to No. 14/13 Oklahoma (26-7) and No. 4/4 Alabama (29-22).
THEY REMEMBER NOVEMBER: Now that the calendar has flipped from Cocktober, the Gamecocks are ready to embark on another “November to Remember.” Shane Beamer’s teams have historically played their best ball in November, posting a 13-4 record in the month since Coach Beamer took over in 2021, including a perfect 6-0 record against ranked opponents. In the seven years prior to Beamer’s arrival (2014-2020), the Gamecocks were 0-12 against ranked opponents in the month of November. The Gamecocks were 2-2 in November of 2021. They went 3-1 in November of 2022 including wins over No. 5 Tennessee and at No. 7 Clemson. After opening the 2023 season with a 2-6 mark, the Gamecocks went 3-1 in November. Last season, the Gamecocks were a perfect 5-0 in November with ranked wins over No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 24 Vanderbilt, No. 24 Missouri and at No. 12 Clemson.
NOT ALL SCHEDULES ARE CREATED EQUAL: South Carolina is in a stretch in which they will face five top-15 teams in a row, something that has never happened in school history. They played at No. 11 LSU and hosted No. 14 Oklahoma before last week’s game versus No. 4 Alabama. After playing at No. 7 Ole Miss and an off week, the Gamecocks will travel to College Station to face No. 3 Texas A&M. Including this week’s game, Carolina will have faced 13 ranked opponents over a 20-game stretch.
