National reactions from South Carolina's win over SC State
On Saturday, following a two-hour and 23-minute weather delay, South Carolina defeated SC State in the Gamecocks’ first home contests of the 2025 season. Like the weather, the game was sloppy, but when the (muddy) dust settled well after midnight, Shane Beamer’s team finished with a 38-10 victory against their in-state opponent.
Though this weekend’s matchup wasn’t as high-profile as most games on South Carolina’s schedule, there were still a few notable reactions to the happenings within Williams-Brice Stadium.
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During the rain delay, head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley lost her voice cheering on the Gamecocks along with the student section. Staley, flanked by Tessa Johnson, Raven Johnson, and Ta’Niya Latson, also spoke with ESPN’s Ashley Stroehlein on the television broadcast. Staley shouted out the USC Faithful. So did Stroehlein.
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CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford was one of many who was disappointed in the Gamecock offense, particularly the offensive line. Against an FCS opponent, the South Carolina front did not have a good day. Lonnie Teasley’s group will need to have a better showing moving forward for USC to continue winning.
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Another CBS employee, Danny Kanell, booted South Carolina from his top 12 “resume based” power rankings. The Gamecocks were 6th last week after beating Virginia Tech.
The overall game wasn’t pretty. But redshirt sophomore Vicari Swain had a great day. Former South Carolina star Ace Sanders was impressed with Swain’s pair of punt return touchdowns. With three scores in his career, Sanders knows a thing or two about special teams impact. Swain has tied Sanders for second place on the program’s all-time punt return touchdowns list.
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The Gamecocks will be at home again next week against Vanderbilt. The SEC opener will begin at 7:45 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network and streamed on the ESPN app. The Commodores have not beaten Carolina since 2008.