Mississippi State hits the road for the first time this season as the Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) travel to Williams-Brice Stadium to take on South Carolina (1-2, 0-1) for a 6:30 p.m. Central Time kickoff on SEC Network. The teams have not played each other since 2016 and last met in Columbia in 2013. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series, 9-7.

South Carolina has played a tough early schedule, losing to a ranked North Carolina team in a neutral-site game and then defeating a top-10 Football Championship Subdivision team in Furman in its home opener. Last weekend, the Gamecocks led No. 1 Georgia by two scores on the road at halftime but were shut out in the second half and lost 24-14.

To learn more about this South Carolina team, The Commercial Dispatch chatted with Madison Hricik, who covers the Gamecocks for The State in Columbia.

Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

 

The Commercial Dispatch: Three games into the season, what have you learned about this South Carolina team?

Madison Hricik: This South Carolina team is showing it is able to adjust to mistakes from previous games. Looking back at the season opener against UNC, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. But since then, there have been signs of improvement against Furman and against Georgia. This is a big game for head coach Shane Beamer, not just because it’s an SEC opponent, but because he has close ties with MSU. Beamer had his first coaching job with the Bulldogs, and joked earlier this week he’s got many family and friends in town for this weekend. So, he’ll be eager to see more improvement and to play back at home. The good news for Beamer is that this team hasn’t played a perfect game yet by any means, nor have we seen the full potential, particularly with Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. out this week and with Ahmarean Brown, Tyreek Johnson and a few others still questionable.

 

The Dispatch: What are the biggest challenges South Carolina’s offense will pose to this Mississippi State defense?

Hricik: South Carolina has done a good job so far of having a fast start offensively. Spencer Rattler can make explosive plays very early in games, especially when given the space and time, allowing this offense to put points on the board in the first few drives of every game this season. Xavier Legette has become the consistent No. 1 target, so he’ll be a receiver that Mississippi State has to keep an eye on. It was expected that this team would have an air-raid offensive style, and Spencer Rattler has lived up to that expectation. Even despite the multiple sacks he has taken through three games, Rattler has proven he can still work the offense just fine. Containing Rattler and preventing those explosive plays will have to be a priority across the board for Mississippi State to slow South Carolina down early.

 

The Dispatch: What do you make of the Gamecocks’ defense so far, and what does it have to do to slow down MSU’s offense?

Hricik: South Carolina’s defense dealt with injuries since the beginning of the season, but has slowly started rotating back to what was expected. Similarly to MSU’s Week 2 game against Arizona, the Bulldogs are going to put the run defense to the test this weekend. Running back Jo’quavious Marks has played very well so far this season, and South Carolina’s run defense against Georgia last week wasn’t exactly perfect. However, the Gamecocks held the No. 1 team in the country to less than 200 rushing yards — well below the 2022 season average for the national champions — so it can be possible, as long as the defense’s stamina can hold out. Linebackers Debo Williams and Stone Blanton are taking a majority of snaps in a thinner room, but Nick Emmanwori returned last week for the safeties, which can help bring some more experience back into the secondary.

 

The Dispatch: South Carolina will win if…

Hricik: The offensive line gives offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains the chance to call a balanced game. Rattler has proven he can lead South Carolina with his passing game, but this team has struggled to truly establish a run game. The offensive line has gotten better every game this season, whether it be limiting sacks or playing more cohesively. Assuming they are able to take another step this weekend, ideally that goal should be to let Loggains call more rushing plays.

 

The Dispatch: South Carolina will lose if…

Hricik: Pre-snap penalties and preventable penalties continue to become an issue. South Carolina had 11 penalties against Georgia last week, many from false starts or holding calls. Now, Saturday’s game at Williams-Brice Stadium will almost certainly help, because the Gamecocks will have home-field advantage, but they cannot afford to be in second- and/or third-and-long situations on offense the entire game. If that is the case, the defense will be on the field a lot longer, once again putting the pressure on a thinner defense to get stops.