COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina officially kicks off the new season on Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium, as the Gamecocks host Kent State at 12:45 p.m.

This is just the second ever meeting between Carolina and Kent State. The last meeting took place in 1995 when the late-great Steve Taneyhill led the Gamecocks to a record-setting day.

Here are some things to know about today’s game, which will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Head coach Shane Beamer enters his sixth season as head coach in 2026. His 33 wins in his first five seasons trail only Joe Morrison (37) and Steve Spurrier (35) for the most victories in program history through a head coach’s first 63 games.
South Carolina and Kent State have played just once in the series history with the Gamecocks coming away with a 77-14 win over the Golden Flashes on Oct. 7, 1995, in Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks put up 21 points in the first quarter and had a 35-point third quarter for its third win of the season. Taneyhill was 20-for-24 with 263 yards and four touchdowns while Zola Davis caught three touchdown passes and had 109 yards receiving in the victory.
South Carolina scored 77 points against Kent State in 1995, the third-most points in a game by the Gamecocks in school history and most in the modern era. Carolina had 89 points against Welsh Neck in an 89-0 win on Oct. 6, 1903, and scored 80 points against Charleston M.C. on Nov. 28, 1902. The 63-point margain of victory is the eighth-most in school history and the 91 combined points is tied for eighth in USC program history.
Kent State head coach Mark Carney is in his second season with the Golden Flashes. He was the interim head coach to begin the 2025 season, but had the interim tag taken off on October 30 after the Flashes’ 24-21 win over Bowling Green. Carney guided KSU to five wins in 2025, including a win over rival Akron, after going winless in 2024.
Kent State wide receiver Da’Realyst Clark enters the 2026 season as a preseason All-American at kick returner by ESPN, The Sporting News, Walter Camp and Athlon Sports. Clark had 16 kick returns for 452 yards and two touchdowns last season, including a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown in the win over Merrimack. He also caught an 89-yard touchdown in a win over Akron and threw a game-winning touchdown against Bowling Green.
Redshirt junior quarterback Dru DeShields returns as the starting quarterback for the Golden Flashes this season. DeShields was named to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. Last season, he started 11 games at quarterback, completing 136 of 240 passes for 2,030 yards and 18 touchdowns. He threw for five touchdown passes in a win over Akron and had another four in a win over Massachusetts. DeShields ran for three touchdowns last year after missing 2023 and 2024 due to injury.
The Carolina offense has a trio of new coaches this fall led by offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. Briles has 11 years of experience as a play caller at the FBS level, most recently spending the last three seasons at TCU (2023-25). He had top-35 offenses every season in Forth Worth, finishing No. 40 or higher in scoring offense each season there as well. Offensive line coach Randy Clements and running backs coach Stan Drayton were hired as well back on Dec. 11, 2025 shortly after the conclusion of the regular season. Clements and Drayton have a wealth of expereince at their respective positions with Clements having 23 years of offensive line coaching under his belt and Drayton having 26 years of coaching the running back position on his resume in college and the NFL. Drayton was the running backs coach on teams that won the National Championship at Ohio State (2014) and Florida (2006), working under Urban Meyer.
A two-time team captain, LaNorris Sellers returns for his third season as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback. He is one of 22 starting QBs in FBS with 24 or more career starts. Auburn’s Byrum Brown (32), Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss (29) and Oklahoma’s John Mateer (24) are the only other QBs on the list from the SEC entering Week 1. Sellers’ 63.4% career completion rate is No. 3 all-time in program history behind only Spencer Rattler (67.5%) and Connor Shaw (65.5%). His 33 careeer touchdown passes are 11th in school history. His 13 career rushing touchdowns are fifth-most by a QB in program history, trailing Jeff Grantz (26), Connor Shaw (17), Garry Harper 15) and Stephen Garcia (15).
Sixth-year defensive coordinator Clayton White, who has established himself as one of the top defensive play callers in the SEC, brings back 17 letterwinners from a defense that allowed 22.1 points per game and forced 22 turnovers (25th nationally) last season. Junior EDGE Dylan Stewart highlights the crop of returners with 22.5 career tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks in 24 games played the last two seasons.
The Gamecock defense has been opportunistic under White’s direction. The Gamecocks have ranked in the top-25 nationally in turnovers forced in four of his five seasons leading the defense. Carolina has forced 110 turnovers over the past five seasons, which is No. 1 in the SEC during the stretch. White’s defenses in Columbia have helped account for 24 total non-offensive touchdowns (seven each in 2025 and 2022) over the last five seasons.

–courtesy of South Carolina Athletics