ESPN’s 'College GameDay' is coming to South Carolina for the first time since 2014 for Gamecock football’s matchup with the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
It was announced on Sep. 7 that the show was coming to Columbia, and has already made massive waves through the University of South Carolina community. A sell-out crowd is expected for the game at Williams-Brice, while GamecocksOnline announced that The Cockpit has set a new record of student ticket requests ahead of the game.
Rece Davis, host of 'College GameDay', and “Stanford Steve” Coughlin, a panelist on the show who primarily works as a betting analyst, both spoke to the media on Friday afternoon to give their thoughts about the event.
“It’s awesome,” Coughlin said.“It’s good to come to a school that knows what GameDay is all about.”
Davis said that he’s been impressed with the pass-rush from the Gamecocks so far this season, highlighting the play of fifth-year edge rusher Kyle Kennard and freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart.
“You got a young one and a veteran one on each side, and both of them have been meeting at the quarterback,” Davis said. “Stewart is a rising star in this game. He’s going to be a guy that continues to grow there.”
Coughlin said that LSU is facing more pressure than South Carolina heading into this matchup, having already lost a game this season, while the Gamecocks are 2-0 after beginning the season under-the-radar.
“I think South Carolina is playing with house money,” Coughlin said. “I don’t think many people had them 2-0 hosting GameDay by Week 3. I think the road team has a lot on their shoulders, I think they know that, and I think South Carolina knows that.”
South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley was announced to be the celebrity guest picker on Thursday afternoon for the GameDay broadcast.
“I’m fired up,” Coughlin said. “She’s the face of the sport. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.”
Davis admitted that he doesn’t always immediately think of South Carolina when he hears the name "USC" or "Carolina", alluding to either the University of Southern California or the University of North Carolina.
Regardless, Davis said he’s giving Gamecock fans an opportunity to change his mind based off the crowd's atmosphere for Saturday’s game.
“Make me think of Cocky, 2001, Sandstorm, the Chicken Curse, Steve Taneyhill (former quarterback), my friend George Rogers (former running back),” Davis said. “Make me think of that when I hear USC. Make me think of that when I hear Carolina."