South-Carolina

First look at South Carolina vs. Akron: Gamecocks a big betting favorite at home

Published

1 year ago

September 16, 2024

First look at South Carolina vs. Akron: Gamecocks a big betting favorite at home

South Carolina football is coming off a heartbreaking 36-33 home loss to LSU. Now comes a tune-up game in which they can bounce back.

The Gamecocks are set to host Akron, their second mid-major opponent of the season. The Zips are well-coached and creative, but they are not particularly talented.

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. AKRON GAME, TV INFO

Who: South Carolina (2-1) vs. Akron (1-2)

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPNU

VEGAS ODDS, POINT SPREAD

The Gamecocks are 27.5-point favorites against the Zips, according to the Action Network. The over/under is 46.5 points.

LAST MEETING, TRENDS

The Gamecocks won the last and only meeting between the teams, a chilly 28-3 victory in a cold and wet game in 2018 that was played in December as a makeup when a hurricane canceled an early-season contest.

STATE OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

South Carolina let one slip away Saturday, blowing a 17-0 lead to LSU and losing late in an avalanche of mistakes and ill-timed penalties. The Gamecocks were painfully close to pulling off a 2-0 start in conference play.

The offense showed more potential, with more than 350 yards of explosive plays. The defense had some good moments but seemed to wear down and struggle with tackling down the stretch. The offensive production came despite QB LaNorris Sellers missing half of the game with an ankle injury.

Missing the chance to get to 3-0 means Shane Beamer’s team will still need to pull one SEC or Clemson upset to reach a bowl game. Had they won last week, they’d be in pole position to make the postseason and almost guarantee minimal uncomfortable questions in the offseason.

State of the Akron Zips

In Year 2 under Joe Moorhead, the Zips are trying to make progress after consecutive 2-10 seasons. They took a pair of brutal losses (outscord 101-23 by Ohio State and Rutgers) before topping FCS Colgate.

Moorhead, a former ace Penn State offensive coordinator and failed Mississippi State head coach, has been scheming things up to take most advantage of what he has. His quarterback, Ben Finley, bounced back from getting knocked out of the Ohio State game and torched Colgate. The defense plays hard and gets after it, but they were at such a talent disadvantage the first two weeks that the numbers were ugly.

Life for the Zips program is always going to be difficult and an uphill battle. Since returning to Division 1-A/FCS in 1988, they’ve posted only eight winning seasons and played in three bowls.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers: In less than a half of work, Sellers had some moments against LSU. The second-year player hit a few nice passes and broke off a 75-yard run before tweaking an ankle. He’ll probably be fine for the Zips and could probably use a game where he can slow down a bit.

South Carolina RB Rocket Sanders: The former Arkansas star started the season slowly, then got lathered up against LSU. He posted 143 yards, including a 66-yarder. The Zips give up 5.9 yards per carry to power conference opponents, so Sanders might have a chance to feast.

South Carolina DE Kyle Kennard: The LSU game featured a lot of positives for the veteran pass rusher, but he also committed a (controversial) penalty that took a potential game-icing score off the board. He’s already been terrorizing offensive linemen, and Akron has a decidedly struggling pass protection situation.

Akron QB Ben Finley: After stints at N.C. State (where his brother starred) and Cal, Finley has finally found a place in a lineup. He just got hammered by Ohio State, but he finally got going with 358 yards and four scores vs. Colgate.

Akron DE C.J. Nunnally: A quick and tough defensive end at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Nunnally can be a dangerous pass rusher for the Zips. He’s already got a sack and 1 .5 tackles for loss after posting seven and 13.5 last season.

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South-Carolina

David Pascoe: ‘South Carolina Isn’t Run by Republicans’ – FITSNews

Published

5 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

David Pascoe: ‘South Carolina Isn’t Run by Republicans’ – FITSNews

by DAVID PASCOE

***

Republicans have a supermajority in South Carolina; yet, our state is more liberal than the purple states that border us. John Adams once said, “facts are stubborn things.” Well, the facts prove our State Republican leadership gets its playbook from the Democratic Party.

In 2024, I was one of the only elected officials to endorse conservative Republican JD Chaplin in his campaign against liberal Democrat Gerald Malloy, who blocked every single pro-law enforcement bill in the General Assembly. Malloy was one of the most powerful lawyer-legislators in the state and teamed often with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to stifle conservative legislation. I met with Republicans in both Houses of the General Assembly and tried to rally them to support the REPUBLICAN nominee. They refused because they either feared Malloy and feared the lawyer-legislators in power who supported him. In my endorsement of Chaplin, I stated that the two-party system in South Carolina is not R vs. D but those who strive to serve others vs. those who strive to serve themselves. Luckily, JD Chaplin beat Gerald Malloy without the help of any Republican leadership in the General Assembly.

In our state, we have witnessed the liberal Republican Party establishment demonize and attempt to defeat conservative fighters because they are members of the Freedom Caucus. They use political consultants (The Swamp Parasites) giving them offices on State House property to attack the Freedom Caucus, the very men and women who exemplify what it means to be a conservative and fight against corruption and cronyism. The leadership in the General Assembly would rather work with liberal Democrats than work together with their fellow Republicans. But here is a coincidental fact – 30% of the General Assembly are lawyer-legislators; less than 10% of Freedom Caucus members are lawyer-legislators.

***

Let me tell you the core reason we are a liberal state and why I have enemies: conservatives are not really in charge of South Carolina. The lawyer-legislator uniparty is.

Nearly 30% of the General Assembly are lawyers. They control all of the money, the judiciary, and the most important committees. That is not representative government. That’s a cartel.

When lawyers gain unchecked political power, they do not just write laws. They shape the system to benefit themselves. They design rules that ordinary citizens cannot understand, navigate, or challenge. That is exactly what has happened in South Carolina.

For over 30 years, liberal Republicans have controlled the State House. Liberal control has given us a judicial system dominated by legislative insiders. We have judges effectively chosen by the same lawyers who practice before them. We have legislative privilege routinely abused to delay cases, rearrange court dockets, and keep powerful clients out of trouble.

***

David Pascoe (Dylan Nolan/FITSNews)

***

What we have is a uniparty. A trial lawyer uniparty. Republicans and Democrats alike who share two things in common: they are lawyers who benefit from controlling the courts, and they cannot stand me because I am about to stand in their way as Attorney General. Their bank accounts cannot afford for me to win.

I have seen this system up close. I spent decades as a prosecutor. I led the State House Corruption Probe that exposed a pay-to-play culture operating at the highest levels of government. That investigation did not make me popular in Columbia. It did, however, make something very clear. Corruption does not thrive in chaos. It thrives in systems designed to protect insiders and punish anyone who challenges them.

The most powerful examples of this system are the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. These Committees are where judicial reform and pro-life legislation go to die. It is where lawyer-legislators protect their influence. It is where bills that threaten legislative control of the courts quietly disappear. This is not about party labels. It is about power. Worst of all, it is often about using public service for personal profit.

Under this system, lawyer-legislators decide which judges are allowed to be considered. And then they walk into courtrooms across South Carolina expecting favorable treatment from the very judges whose careers they control. That is not separation of powers. That is consolidation of power.

***

RELATED | BOUGHT AND PAID FOR

***

Families lose. Crime victims lose. Small businesses lose. And public trust evaporates.

This system did not develop by accident. It was built deliberately, layer by layer, and it continues because too many elected officials tolerate it. I’ve spent the last five years calling it out, which is the reason self dealing RINOs will stop at nothing to take down my campaign for Attorney General.

Bring. It. On.

The liberal Republicans aren’t winning this battle. As your next Attorney General, I will dismantle the lawyer-legislator uniparty for good, starting with Weston Newton’s stranglehold on this state. And more importantly, I will make it impossible for them to profit from their public service

If South Carolina wants real reform, it has to start by breaking the trial lawyer uniparty’s grip on the judiciary. It has to restore balance. It has to put citizens back ahead of insiders. I did not spend my career prosecuting corruption to stay quiet now. This system can be fixed. But only if we are honest about who really runs it.

Join me in this fight and let’s crush corruption in South Carolina.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

David Pascoe is solicitor for South Carolina’s first judicial circuit, which includes Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties. He is a Republican candidate for attorney general of the Palmetto State.

***

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South-Carolina

Clemson’s Defense Takes Care Of South Carolina, Picks Up Palmetto Series Win

Published

17 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Clemson’s Defense Takes Care Of South Carolina, Picks Up Palmetto Series Win

The Clemson Tigers prevailed on the hardwood against the South Carolina Gamecocks, winning 68-61 at Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night.

Defense ruled the roost for Clemson, which allowed only four successful threes from 26 attempts by South Carolina, a low 15.4%. The Tigers forced 14 turnovers and turned them into 16 points of their own, a credit to how the team can slow down opposing offenses.

South Carolina’s 61 points are the lowest that the Gamecocks have scored all season, a credit to head coach Brad Brownell’s defense.

Redshirt freshman Ace Buckner took advantage of the opportunity he was given, seeing extended time while playing the most minutes he had all season. With two Tigers injured during the game, he took over, finishing with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds.

The bench led the way for Clemson (9-3), scoring 41 points to South Carolina’s 14 in the win. In addition to Buckner, Carter Welling came off the bench and finished with 16 points and four rebounds. The big man would also have three steals on Tuesday night.

The Tigers’ starting unit struggled to get going in the first five minutes, leading to a full shuffle of the lineup after being down as much as seven. Then, the bench unit carried Clemson out of the hole, gaining the lead by the 12:25 mark in the first half and not giving it back.

There was bad news from Tuesday’s win involving true freshman Zac Foster, who exited the game in the first half with a knee injury. He did not return to the game and was not on the bench in the second half with his team. The four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, will await the timeline that comes next with his injury.

Fellow guard Butta Johnson also missed the second half with a left leg injury, having a physical play close to the basket that also had him slow to get up.

It led to the opportunity for Buckner, who played 17 minutes in the second half and scored 15 of his points in the final frame. He would also finish with two steals in the win.

While the Tigers shot well from the field, they struggled from the free throw line. Clemson made 60% of its free throws, missing 12 in the win.

Clemson will be back in action in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday afternoon, playing Cincinnati at the Bon Secour Wellness Arena in the 2025 Greenville Winter Invitational.

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South-Carolina

South Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 15, 2025

Published

2 days ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

South Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 15, 2025

The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 15, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 15 drawing

23-35-59-63-68, Powerball: 02, Power Play: 4

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 15 drawing

Midday: 5-9-2, FB: 6

Evening: 1-3-7, FB: 2

Check Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 15 drawing

Midday: 0-2-2-8, FB: 6

Evening: 7-5-9-6, FB: 2

Check Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 15 drawing

Midday: 10

Evening: 15

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Palmetto Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 15 drawing

04-07-16-25-35

Check Palmetto Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

The South Carolina Education Lottery provides multiple ways to claim prizes, depending on the amount won:

For prizes up to $500, you can redeem your winnings directly at any authorized South Carolina Education Lottery retailer. Simply present your signed winning ticket at the retailer for an immediate payout.

Winnings $501 to $100,000, may be redeemed by mailing your signed winning ticket along with a completed claim form and a copy of a government-issued photo ID to the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center. For security, keep copies of your documents and use registered mail to ensure the safe arrival of your ticket.

SC Education Lottery

P.O. Box 11039

Columbia, SC 29211-1039

For large winnings above $100,000, claims must be made in person at the South Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters in Columbia. To claim, bring your signed winning ticket, a completed claim form, a government-issued photo ID, and your Social Security card for identity verification. Winners of large prizes may also set up an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for convenient direct deposit of winnings.

Columbia Claims Center

1303 Assembly Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Claim Deadline: All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date for draw games.

For more details and to access the claim form, visit the South Carolina Lottery claim page.

When are the South Carolina Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Pick 4: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Cash Pop: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Palmetto Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. ET daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Carolina editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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