South-Carolina
Live updates/game thread: South Carolina vs. Akron (Week 4)
South Carolina will have a chance to finish out September strong and go into the bye week with a win.
The Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC) will face the Akron Zips at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. They’ll look to bounce back from a devastating loss to LSU last weekend.
GamecockCentral is here at Williams-Brice Stadium to provide live updates throughout the evening.
Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. Akron
By: Peyton Butt
After a hard fought loss to LSU, the Gamecocks gear up for another week of action at Williams Brice Stadium. South Carolina will host a member of the Mid-Atlantic Conference, the Akron Zips, for a game under the lights Saturday.
Akron (1-2, 0-0 MAC) @ South Carolina (2-1, 1-1 SEC)
When: Sept. 2, 2024 – 7:30 ET
Where: Columbia, S.C. – Williams Brice Stadium (77,559)
Broadcast: ESPNU (Clay Matvick, Steve Addazio)
Local Radio: Gamecock Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Chet Tucker)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM Channel 374
Odds: Gamecocks -28
Weather: 85°, Sunny
ALSO SEE: South Carolina in-state target visits for first two games, has ‘amazing experience’
Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | App | YouTube | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Depth Chart | Commit List
South Carolina vs. Akron Preview Content
How to watch today’s game
Saturday’s game will be broadcasted by ESPNU through the ESPN Network. The Gamecocks will kickoff at 7:30 P.M. under the lights at Williams Brice Stadium.
The ESPNU Network is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite, and streaming provider.
GC LIVE: Thoughts from OC/DC pressers | Looking ahead to Akron
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bV09pNkw-ZA%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Quick Notes from South Carolina Athletics
QUICKLY: After back-to-back Southeastern Conference games, the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC) step out of conference action on Saturday, Sept. 21, when they host the Akron Zips (1-2, 0-0 MAC) out of the Mid-American Conference. The contest is slated for 7:30 pm at Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559) in Columbia. A full house is expected for the game as it’s Family Weekend on the University of South Carolina campus and it’s the first night game of the 2024 season.
OVER THE AIRWAVES: This week’s contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Clay Matvick will handle the play-by-play with former Temple, Boston College and Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio providing the color commentary. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season). Chet Tucker returns for his second year as the sideline reporter.
LET ME REINTRODUCE MYSELF: The South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a 2-1 start this season. They opened with a hard-fought 23-19 win over Old Dominion, then dominated Kentucky in the SEC opener, winning by a 31-6 count in Lexington, the largest road win in the Shane Beamer Era at South Carolina. The Gamecocks were unable to hold onto a 17-0 first half lead last week in a heartbreaking 36-33 setback to No. 16/17 LSU despite rushing for 243 yards, forcing two turnovers and blocking a punt.
ZIP INTO THE WIN COLUMN: Akron enters this week’s contest with a 1-2 mark. The Zips dropped a pair of lopsided games against Big Ten schools Ohio State (52-6) and Rutgers (49-17) on the road to open the season before rallying from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit to post a 31-20 win over FCS-level Colgate last Saturday in their home opener. The Zips final eight games of the season after this week are all MAC contests.
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks year four of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 636-614-44, a .509 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 170-132, a .563 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 22-19, a .537 winning percentage, including wins in five of their last seven games.
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IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season is South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 110-149-1 (.425) all-time in SEC regular season play but posted a 42-38 (.525) record in conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 11-15 in SEC play, a .423 winning percentage.
TOUGH SLATE: South Carolina again has one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2024, as seven of its 12 regular-season opponents were ranked in the nation’s preseason top-20. The Gamecocks’ 2024 slate includes contests against preseason top-20 teams Alabama (5/5), Ole Miss (6/6), Missouri (11/11), LSU (13/12), Clemson (14/14), Oklahoma (16/16) and Texas A&M (20/20).
GAMECOCKS VS. ZIPS: This is the second gridiron battle between the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks and the Akron Zips, out of the Mid-American Conference. South Carolina was a 28-3 winner in 2018, the only previous encounter between the two squads.
IT TOOK AN ACT OF GOD: South Carolina and Akron met on Dec. 1, 2018 in Columbia in the only previous meeting between the two schools. The game was added to the schedule after both teams had early season contests called off due to weath- er. The Gamecocks were slated to host Marshall on Sept. 15, but that game was canceled due to Hurricane Florence. The Zips were scheduled to play at Nebraska on Sept. 1, however that game was canceled due to lightning.
SO WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GAME?: Deebo Samuel scored three times, two on touchdown passes from Jake Bentley and a third on a fumbled snap in the end zone while the Zips were in punt formation, as the Gamecocks wrapped up the 2018 regular season with a 28-3 win over Akron on Dec. 1. The game which was played on a wet, cold December afternoon, was marred by seven turnovers. Bentley finished the day completing 14-of-27 passes for 199 yards. Mon Denson rushed 17 times for 110 yards and Rico Dowdle added 86 yards on 13 carries. Bryan Edwards caught five passes for 109 yards. The Carolina defense had 11 tackles for loss including five sacks in the contest. The Gamecocks, under the leadership of Will Muschamp, would go on to lose to Virginia in the Belk Bowl to finish the season with a 7-6 mark, while Akron, led by head coach Terry Bowden, wrapped up its season with a 4-8 record.
HISTORY OF THE ZIPS: The team was established in 1891 when the school was known as Buchtel College and later became the University of Akron in 1913. In 1926, the athletic teams were named the Zippers after rubber boots manufactured by the B.F. Goodrich Company, which was headquartered in Akron at the time. The name was shortened to “Zips” in 1950.
MAC ATTACK: The Mid-American Conference is currently made up of a dozen schools. The Gamecocks are 9-3 against teams that currently comprise the MAC, but the game against Akron in 2018 was their first since matchup with a MAC opponent since the 2000 season. Eleven of the previous 12 matchups with MAC opponents were held at Williams-Brice Stadium, with the lone exception being the 1975 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando against Miami (Ohio).
WE’RE ON A ROLL: After dropping three of their first four, with all three losses coming to Miami (Ohio), the Gamecocks have won eight-straight games against MAC opponents in a series of games contested between 1977 and 2018.
YOU’RE NOT WORTHY: The Gamecocks are 43-15 in their last 58 non-conference games, a .741 winning percentage, with eight of the 15 losses in that stretch coming against Clemson. The Gamecocks went 2-2 against non-conference foes in 2023 and are 1-0 in non-conference play this season following a season-opening win over Old Dominion.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE: South Carolina has won 39 of its last 46 home games (.848) against non-conference foes. The Gamecocks have won six of their last seven non-conference home games.
THE POWER OF FOUR: Since the turn of the century, the Gamecocks have a 55-4 mark (.932) against teams not currently in a Power-4 conference. The only four losses in that stretch came to UConn in the 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl, to The Citadel in 2015, to USF in the 2016 Birmingham Bowl and to Appalachian State in 2019. It should be noted that UConn was in the Big East, which was a BCS automatic qualifier during the 2009 season.
Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | App | YouTube | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Depth Chart | Commit List
NOTE: The above video is a livestream of WIS featuring current newscasts, Soda City Living and Gray Media’s Local News Live.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer has been nominated for a position in foreign diplomacy.
The White House on Tuesday listed Bauer as a nominee to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Belize, a Central American country bordering Guatemala.
It’s unclear when a confirmation hearing will take place. WIS has reached out to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee for more information.
Bauer was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor from 2003-2011, serving under then-Gov. Mark Sanford. Before that, he served terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate.
More recently, Bauer entered the race for U.S. Senate in July 2025, looking to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary. He ended his campaign the following month.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
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