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Examining PrizePicks offensive player projections for South Carolina in Week 2 at Kentucky

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Examining PrizePicks offensive player projections for South Carolina in Week 2 at Kentucky


South Carolina is only one day away from kicking off SEC play against a familiar conference foe. The Gamecocks will travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC, and the offensive player projections are out, according to PrizePicks.

This is shaping up to be a massive, early season game for both sides. The stakes are higher than ever, with each program looking to get off to a good start in conference play.

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South Carolina comes into this matchup fresh off a 23-19 win over Old Dominion in Columbia. It was a great day for the defense with four turnovers and five sacks. However, the offense could never get into a rhythm, specifically in the passing game. Though, the Gamecocks did end up rushing for 174 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

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Meanwhile, Kentucky dealt with a pair of lightning delays that ultimately shut its opener down with 9:56 left in the third quarter. But the Wildcats did manage to cruise to a 31-0 win over Southern Miss. New starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff threw for 169 yards and three touchdowns in his team debut on Saturday.

Before the game gets rolling, here’s a full look at each offensive player projections for the Gamecocks from PrizePicks with some added thoughts.

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Pass Yards: 169.5

Rush Yards: 30.5

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Pass+Rush Yards: 205.5

With his first college start out of the way, there’s reason to believe Sellers should be more comfortable and know what to expect. At the same time, he hasn’t made a road start before, let alone in the SEC. He had a tendency to rely on his feet to do some of the work last Saturday, rushing 22 times for 68 yards and a touchdown. If Kentucky brings pressure, this will either force him to throw more or take sacks if he looks to run. So it’s tough to say what’s the best play. If it comes down to it, I’d say to trust what he does on the ground. Even if he throws the ball more often, he’s still going to take off and run sometimes. 30.5 rushing yards feels like a good number he can surpass. There’s also just a lot of question marks at wide receiver to where it feels hard to see him having more than the listed projection in pass yards.

Rush yards: 52.5

South Carolina was so run-heavy in Week 1. How much is that going to change this weekend? Shane Beamer and Dowell Loggains have made it abundantly clear they would like to have more explosive plays in the passing game. But it’s easier said than done. It’s not like everything is going to change overnight and the offense turns into an elite passing unit. Either way, Sanders is going to get his touches. If he gets some space, he’s going to take it and run for good chunks of yards. Plus, he’s not on any sort of pitch count as he played 64 snaps last weekend. This feels like a clear more for yardage. And if you’re feeling good about Sanders, he also has a demon listing for more than 0.5 Rush+Rec TDs. If the Gamecocks get within goal line distance, he’s more likely than not going to be fed the ball.

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Receiving Yards: 22.5

In his South Carolina debut, Jacobs totaled two catches for 59 yards with a game-high long of 41. If he creates separation and has room to move, he’s going to turn a medium pass into a long gain. As mentioned earlier, Sellers still doesn’t have a true No. 1 receiver to throw to in the passing game. If he does end up throwing the ball more like his coaches want him to, he’s going to need a reliable pass catcher on the other end. Jacobs could certainly be that guy. But if the offense is more of what we saw last week with a focus on the run game, Jacobs would need some long plays to finish with more than the projection.

Receiving Yards: 26.5

Much like what I said about Jacobs, it really comes down to what South Carolina decides to do as an offense. This looks like a favorable projection if Sellers is using his arm more. But when Brown did get his opportunity to rack up big yards last time out, he dropped a 50-plus yard bomb that was right in his hands. He didn’t finish with any catches. Earlier in the week, Brown said he lost focus on that play and makes those plays “100 times in practice.” It wouldn’t take much to see him go for more than the projection. But with how limited his opportunities were in the receiving game, this might be tough to roll with.

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Kicking Points: 5.5

Because of how much South Carolina’s offense struggled against ODU, Alex Herrera was called on quite a bit. And he delivered most of the time, making three of his four field goal attempts. This game could be more of a challenge with Kentucky’s defense and the fact it’s on the road. It’s still very early in Herrera’s playing time since this is his first season as the starter. If the Gamecocks can consistently get into Wildcat territory, I would feel great about this projection. That’s really what it comes down to. But if you don’t like the idea of him kicking in a hostile environment, this might be a harder choice to make. There just isn’t enough to go off of to prove whether or not he can do it. Then again, all it takes is two chip shot field goals and you’ll be golden.



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South-Carolina

UCLA upsets #1 South Carolina for Gamecocks first loss in 44 games

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UCLA upsets #1 South Carolina for Gamecocks first loss in 44 games


 The UCLA women’s basketball put the country on notice, defeating the #1 South Carolina Gamecocks 77-62 at home on Sunday.

The sold out crowd at Pauley Pavilion was engaged all night, with UCLA never trailing in the win, a signature victory for Cori Close’s program. South Carolina entered Sunday’s game winners of 43 in a row, including an undefeated season last year that ended with a national title. 

UCLA took a 43-22 lead into halftime, taking an early first quarter lead and never looking back. UCLA didn’t allow a South Carolina basket in the game’s first five minutes, holding the Gamecocks for the first half of the first quarter. A three by junior guard Londynn Jones gave the Bruins a 15-2 lead with 2:36 to play in the opening quarter.

Junior guard Kiki Rice was a full-go for UCLA for the first time all season, with Rice scoring 11 points on 5-11 shooting in 28 minutes. It was a modest scoring night for junior center Lauren Betts, finishing with 11 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks while playing 37 minutes. Jones led the Bruins with 15 points, as UCLA had five players with double figures. 

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South Carolina shot the three ball well, going 8-12 from deep but just 29.6% on two point shots. The Gamecocks would win the second half 40-34 but after the dominant first half by the Bruins, it was too late. 

The #5 Bruins are due to climb in the rankings after doing what no other women’s college basketball team has done since April of 2023, beat the South Carolina Gamecocks.



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BREAKING: No. 5 UCLA Stuns No. 1 South Carolina, Ends Epic Win Streak

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BREAKING: No. 5 UCLA Stuns No. 1 South Carolina, Ends Epic Win Streak


No. 5 UCLA pulled off something no team has been able to do since the 2023 NCAA Tournament — it defeated No. 1 South Carolina. And soundly.

The Bruins downed the Gamecocks, 77-62, at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, ending South Carolina’s 43-game win streak,

The defending national champions, who went undefeated last season, hadn’t lost a game since the 2023 Final Four when they fell to Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Ironically, the Gamecocks had defeated UCLA in the Sweet 16 of that tournament.

The Bruins were led by five double-digit scorers in Sunday’s win, including junior guard Londynn Jones, who led all Bruins with 15 points.

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Junior center Lauren Betts recorded yet another double-double, posting 11 points while grabbing 14 boards.

Freshman guard Elina Aarnisalo tallied 13 points, and junior guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez each finished with 11 points.

UCLA shot 47.5& from the field, including 47.6% from distance, as the Bruins made 10 3-pointers in the win.

They were able to come away with a double-digit victory despite turning the ball over 16 times. Meanwhile, they forced 11 turnovers, eight of which were steals. UCLA also recorded five blocks.

The Bruins won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding South Carolina 43 to 35. They also bested the Gamecocks in the assists department, 16-13.

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UCLA never trailed and, at one point, held a 23-point lead.

With the win, the Bruins improve to a perfect 5-0 start. They will next face UT Martin on the road on Friday at 3 p.m. PST, 6 p.m. EST.

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Did the College Football Playoff Field Open Up Enough for South Carolina?

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Did the College Football Playoff Field Open Up Enough for South Carolina?


After this weekend’s action, did the college football playoff open up enough for South Carolina to get in?

It was a chaotic weekend of college football as Ole Miss lost to Florida, Oklahoma dominated Alabama, Auburn beat Texas A&M in a thriller, Ohio State handled Indiana and Kansas upset Colorado. A lot of teams that were ahead of the South Carolina Gamecocks in the rankings, but the more important question is did enough spots open up for South Carolina to potentially sneak in?

The Gamecocks will certainly rise closer to the top 12 in the next release of the rankings. They came in at No. 18 this last week and will likely be somewhere around 15 in this week’s rankings. South Carolina might have been too far back to be on the back end of the playoff this go around, but they are certainly inching closer and closer.

There is however one problem for South Carolina. Despite Alabama losing, the Crimson Tide have virtually every edge for a playoff spot over the Gamecocks if a decision came down between them. Alabama has the head to head, they have the better win against Georgia, South Carolina lost to LSU and Alabama dominated LSU on the road. South Carolina does have the better strength of schedule ranking, but that hasn’t seemed to matter too much to the college football playoff committee.

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The bottom line is South Carolina has played like on the best teams in college football as of late and has certainly done enough to put themselves into the conversation. However, if the decision came down to “which three loss SEC team do we want to put in?” the Crimson Tide likley check more boxes than South Carolina does.

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