The South Carolina football team (3-3, 1-3 SEC) will head to Norman, Oklahoma, this weekend to take on the Oklahoma Sooners (4-2, 1-2 SEC) in the Gamecocks' fifth SEC matchup of the 2024 season.
South Carolina is going into its third consecutive matchup against an SEC opponent. The Gamecocks have struggled in conference play this year, as games against SEC teams have accounted for all of its losses.
South Carolina’s lone SEC win this season came on the road against Kentucky, when the team beat the Wildcats 31-6. Since then, the Gamecocks have dropped games to then-No.16 LSU, then-No.12 Ole Miss and, most recently, No. 7 Alabama.
“Life in this conference is really, really hard,” head coach Shane Beamer said following the team's loss to the Crimson Tide on Oct. 12. “There’s really good teams you play week in, week out.”
In its sixth game of the season, the Gamecocks lost a back-and-forth battle to the Alabama Crimson Tide. In a critical get-back game for both teams, the Tide held off the Gamecocks for a 27-25 win in front of the team’s home crowd in Tuscaloosa.
Beamer and several Gamecock players have emphasized the importance of closing out games for the remainder of the season.
In two of those games, South Carolina has lost, despite leading heading into the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks held a 19-14 advantage over Alabama and a 24-22 advantage over LSU with 15 minutes remaining in both games.
"In the SEC, it's just one or two plays (that can make a difference)," sophomore defensive back Judge Collier said. "We’ve just got to be able to finish."
A graphic of a quote from sophomore defensive back Judge Collier reads, "We've just got to be able to finish."
Saturday will present a unique situation for both South Carolina and Oklahoma, as they will face off against each other on the gridiron for the first time time in their respective histories. Although South Carolina's football program has existed since 1933, it has yet to play the Sooners.
This past offseason, Oklahoma was one of two teams — the other being Texas — to join the SEC during the 2024 season. The Sooners had spent the previous 28 seasons competing in the Big 12 Conference.
While Oklahoma may be an unfamiliar opponent for South Carolina's players, it will be more familiar to Beamer. His previous coaching job prior to joining South Carolina's staff was with the Sooners, where he served as the assistant offensive head coach for three seasons.
Beamer said his three seasons with Oklahoma helped him grow on a personal and professional level.
"I'm so appreciative of my time there," Beamer said. "I'm thankful to Lincoln Riley giving me an opportunity. (I'm) thankful for the great players that I was around."
Riley, who is now the head football coach at the University of Southern California, was the Sooners' head coach during Beamer's tenure in Oklahoma.
The Gamecocks' matchup against the Sooners will also be its third road game against an SEC opponent. Despite the challenges Oklahoma may bring to the table, Beamer said South Carolina will be well-equipped for the environment in Norman, as it did not allow the crowd in Tuscaloosa affect their play last week.
"I don't think anybody said that Oklahoma's ever not been talented," Beamer said. "They're an extremely talented and well-coached football team."
The Sooners head into the contest having made some changes at the quarterback position earlier in the season.
Sophomore Jackson Arnold, a former five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 1 quarterback in his class by ESPN, began the season as Oklahoma's starting quarterback. But Arnold has since been overtaken by freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. four games into the season.
In just his second collegiate appearance against then-No.6 Tennessee, Hawkins provided a spark off the bench as he conducted two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. Hawkins then got the starting nod for the following week against Auburn, where he led the Sooners to the team's first SEC win in program history amid a 27-21 victory.
Hawkins now has a 1-1 record as a starter after Oklahoma suffered a blowout 34-3 loss to No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry this past weekend. But fifth-year edge rusher Kyle Kennard said the Gamecocks' defense will have to be focused on more than just the Sooners' quarterback.
"The quarterback's real good (and) athletic — both of the guys we may see," Kennard said. "I know that their receiver's out, but the ones that they have in there are really good. And the guy's I'll be seeing, as far as the offensive line, they're decent players, good players."
The Gamecocks will take on the Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m., and the game is set to air on SEC Network.