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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s upcoming football season officially kicks off this Saturday afternoon (September 5, 2026) at the newly renovated Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
Head coach Shane Beamer‘s squad has a trio of eminently winnable home games on its slate to start the 2026 campaign – contests against two proverbial cupcakes followed by a family weekend tilt against Mississippi State, one of the five Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams actually projected to finish behind the Gamecocks by the media this preseason.
It’s precisely the sort of gentle ease-in Beamer needs following a disastrous 2025 campaign… and make no mistake, the Gamecocks have no recourse other than to run the table over the next three Saturdays. The seat under South Carolina’s sixth-year head coach is positively scorching following last year’s 4-8 debacle – with expectations for 2026 through the roof thanks to incessant sunshine pumping from the media covering the program.
South Carolina finished just five spots out of the preseason coaches poll and seven spots out of the Associated Press Top 25 – surprisingly lofty positioning considering how far the program fell last season.
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Beamer will be without two of his key contributors for the Gamecocks’ season opener against Kent State as top transfer offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak and All-American defensive end Dylan Stewart have both been ruled out.
“Peak and Stewart will not play this week,” Beamer said. “They are getting closer. (We) wanted to see what they would do in practice, and they were able to do a little bit more, but aren’t quite there yet.”
Peak is dealing with the lingering effects of knee injury suffered in February, while Stewart has been battling back issues dating back to last season.
South Carolina previously lost two of its top wide receivers when sophomore Jayden Sellers – brother of starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers – and transfer wideout Jayden Gibson both sustained season-ending “lower-body injuries” during summer practice. Sellers caught 22 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown for the Gamecocks last year and was emerging as one of his brother’s favorite targets.
Junior offensive lineman Josiah Thompson is also out for the year following a lower-body injury sustained back in March.
Kickoff against Kent State is set for 12:45 p.m. EDT, while next Saturday’s game against Towson has been set for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The following week’s SEC opener against Mississippi State will kickoff at 4:15 p.m. EDT. All three games will be televised by the SEC Network.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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