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Missouri football preseason preview: What MU should expect from South Carolina in November

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Missouri football preseason preview: What MU should expect from South Carolina in November


When Missouri football visits South Carolina in mid-November, the tone for its season will already be more or less set.

Mizzou is 46 days away from kicking off its season Thursday, Aug. 29, against Murray State on Faurot Field in Columbia. On Tuesday, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz will be joined by wide receiver Luther Burden III, quarterback Brady Cook and defensive tackle Kristian Williams at SEC media days in Dallas.

The Tigers are among the group of teams expected to make a push for a berth to the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff. To get there, MU will need to win a minimum of 10 games, with an 11-win regular season likely the only sure path into the playoffs.

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On Nov. 16, when Mizzou faces coach Shame Beamer’s Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina, it will have already faced the likes of Texas A&M and Alabama on the road, and it will be coming straight off a home game against former Big 12 foe Oklahoma. 

Those games likely will decide whether or not Missouri will factor into the playoff committee’s consideration.

If the Tigers are still in contention, the road trip to South Carolina becomes oh-so-important.

Here’s what to know about South Carolina’s offseason, including key additions and playmakers to keep an eye on when the teams take the field:

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More: Three transfers who could help define Missouri football’s success in 2024 season

Who are the opposing names to know when Missouri football visits South Carolina?

Quarterback: LaNorris Sellers is suiting up for his first season as South Carolina’s starter, getting his shot as a redshirt freshman as ex-starter Spencer Rattler heads to the league. Sellers threw four passes as a rookie, all against FCS Furman, and went 4-for-4 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. In two other reserve appearances, against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, he rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown on three total carries.

Offensive playmakers: Coastal Carolina transfer Jared Brown is an intriguing addition after a 1,051-yard, all-purpose year for the Chanticleers, as is Louisville newcomer Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, who brings three years of experience. 

But the real linchpin of this Gamecocks offense will be running back Raheim Sanders, who rushed for 1,443 yards for Arkansas in 2022 but spent half of last season sidelined with various injuries. If he stays healthy, that’s a major grab for coach Beamer’s team.

Defensive playmakers: Debo Williams was an All-SEC linebacker for the Gamecocks last season and returns as one of their top playmakers in 2024. South Carolina also has some stout options at defensive tackle, including T.J. Sanders, who registered 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season, and Tonka Hemingway, who had six quarterback hurries, seven pass breakups and two fumble recoveries last year.

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What did the offseason look like for Gamecocks?

Key additions: Rocket Sanders (RB); Kyle Kennard (EDGE); Bangally Kamara (LB); Dylan Stewart (DE); Jared Brown (WR); Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (WR)

Key losses: Xavier Legette (WR); Spencer Rattler (QB); Marcellas Dial (CB); Nick Gargiulo (IOL); Mario Anderson (RB); Stone Blanton (LB); Trey Knox (TE)

Key coaching changes: NA

Here’s Beamer’s biggest issue: The Gamecocks have lost their top three pass-catchers from 2023 in Carolina Panthers first-round pick Xavier Legette, tight end Trey Knox and wide receiver Ahmarean Brown. They’ve lost their leading rusher, Mario Anderson, to Memphis in the portal. They’ve lost Rattler, their quarterback, who was a fifth-round draft pick to the Saints.

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In total, per a table from ESPN’s Bill Connely, South Carolina is returning 52% of its offensive production from last season. That ranks 94th in the FBS. For reference, Mizzou returns 79%, which sits at 16th in the country.

With 22 total commitments, 247Sports ranks South Carolina’s transfer class at No. 16 nationally, a couple spots behind Missouri. Plenty of that work was acquiring offensive playmakers.

Some in-season chatter circulated last season that USC defensive coordinator Clayton White might be on the hot seat, but he remains in the role for a fourth season after giving up the third-most yards per game (395.8) in the SEC last season.

Early forecast for Mizzou at South Carolina

This has been Missouri’s game since Drinkwitz arrived in Columbia.

Mizzou has won each of its past five games against the Gamecocks, including a 4-0 record in its current head coach’s tenure. As it stands, MU should be favored this time around, too.

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There aren’t many easy road trips in the SEC, though, and South Carolina has some players that could, on any given Saturday, cause a team some serious problems. Sellers is a true dual threat, and Sanders can give any team the runaround.

Mizzou completely shut South Carolina down last season. If Missouri is a two-loss team at the time of its visit to Williams-Brice Stadium, it might have to put the same type of hurt on the Gamecocks to boost its resume. If it’s managed to keep single-digit losses or fewer, any type of win will do.

More: Missouri football preseason preview: What Oklahoma will bring when old foes reunite

More: Missouri football gets 5th commit in a week, lands 4-star East St. Louis safety Charles Bass



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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’

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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’


New disclosures of a foul-mouthed tirade by Rep. Nancy Mace in the Charleston airport have roiled the South Carolina governor’s race and ignited angry accusations between the lawmaker and one of her competitors in the Republican primary.

Her rival, state AG Alan Wilson, called Mace a “spoiled brat” who treats cops like “servants,” at a time when the two of them are furiously competing for support from voters – and President Trump.

Mace back in August called herself “Trump in high heels” and acknowledged “I would really like his support for governor.” So far, Trump hasn’t given it – to anybody.

An investigative report by the Charleston Airport Authority quotes police officers and TSA agents who say Rep. Nancy Mace used foul language while trying to get expedited security processing FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

Mace this week slammed an internal Charleston Airport Authority investigation that probed her profanity-laced “spectacle” Oct. 30, when Mace chewed out police officers and TSA agents over expedited security for her outbound flight, after a planned VIP escort fell through.

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New details are still coming to light – including an earlier incident in April where Mace allegedly blew up at agents who wouldn’t let her bring a family member through expedited security, according to the investigation report. 

“This is the only airport that gives me s–t,” she complained, according to one of the numerous law enforcement officers interviewed as part of the probe.

The investigative report was obtained by The Post through a public documents request.

One interviewed TSA agent quotes Mace as telling a cop following the botched Oct. 30 escort for her arrival at an airport gate, “I’m sick of your s–t, I’m tired of having to wait.”

Another officer, an explosives tech, described Mace as being “very nasty, very rude.” She said she could hear Mace calling police officers “f–king idiots” and “f–king incompetent” and stating that she was a “f–king representative.”

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“This is the only airport that gives me s–t”, Mace said, according to testimony in the report AP

Yet the airport was “not busy at all” at the time of the incident, the officer said.

A TSA agent said during the interaction Mace “literally was on that phone talking and texting her life away” as well as “saying rude things,” according to the investigative report.

One TSA officer who had been at the airport 23 years told investigators “every VIP or whomever, dignitary, that we’ve been across and had to deal with, we never, never had this problem.”

Mace hired an attorney and threatened weeks ago to sue the airport over the October incident, but has yet to do so.

One officer noted that the airport was not crowded the morning of Oct. 30 when Mace had her meltdown FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

The report revealed the April confrontation when agents wouldn’t let Mace bring a family member through expedited security. TSA later let her take family members with her when she got screened.

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“I thought that the way she acted showed a sense of entitlement – [that] she is entitled to special protection, she is entitled to special treatment. When she doesn’t get special treatment, she throws a tantrum. To me that harkens back to a child not getting their way,” Wilson told The Post in an interview.

“These are public servants, not personal servants,” he said of law enforcement at the airport.

State AG Alan Wilson said Mace was behaving like a “spoiled brat,” and is challenging Mace in a fierce race for governor of South Carolina. AP

Mace told CNN in an interview this week the report had been “falsified,” without providing evidence. In response to Wilson’s “brat” comment, she wrote: “Imagine being ‘Attorney General’ and flying 500 miles for the sole purpose of dismissing death threats against a single mom.”

She told The Post she has received numerous credible death threats, and said on Friday a judge denied bond to a man accused of making online threats against her. She said during the April incident TSA had violated its own policy allowing federal officials to bring a guest and separated her from her child.

Mace has been taking her case to the airwaves in a week where she trashed the House Republican leadership in a Washington Post op-ed.

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A consultant to Mace’s campaign, Austin McCubbin, resigned Dec. 1, accusing her of turning her back on MAGA and trying to “hug the political cactus that is the [Sen.] Rand Paul [and Rep.] Thomas Massie wing of the Party.”



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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews

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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews


“The combined rail system would offer the reliability our business community has been asking for…”


by NATHAN BALLENTINE

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For as long as I’ve served in the South Carolina House, I’ve believed that strong infrastructure is the backbone of a strong economy. Whether talking about roads, bridges, broadband, or freight mobility, our ability to efficiently move people and goods determines how competitive our state will be in the decades ahead. South Carolina continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in the country, and with that growth comes a responsibility to ensure our logistics network can meet the demands of modern commerce.

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That is why the proposed merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) deserves thoughtful consideration, not just at the national level, but here at home. South Carolina’s economic success is directly tied to reliable freight transportation. From advanced manufacturing in the Upstate, to the distribution and warehousing centers in the Midlands, to the countless businesses that depend on steady supply chains, every region of our state relies on a freight system that works smoothly and predictably.

When freight rail is fragmented across multiple networks, bottlenecks and delays become far more common. Businesses, especially those operating with tight production schedules and narrow delivery windows, feel the impacts immediately. A delayed railcar can throw off inventory planning, disrupt operations, and create ripple effects that stretch across an entire supply chain. These unpredictable slowdowns can be enormously costly for the companies that keep South Carolina’s economy moving.

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The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger aims to address many of these longstanding challenges. By creating a unified network connecting more than 50,000 miles of track and linking 43 states with over 100 ports nationwide, the combined rail system would offer something our business community has been asking for: reliability. Studies indicate the merger could generate approximately $1 billion in annual cost savings and improve freight-car velocity by around 10 percent. These aren’t abstract figures, they reflect tangible improvements that would strengthen operations for employers, distributors, retailers, and consumers alike.

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“Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina…”

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A more dependable rail network means companies can plan with greater precision, suppliers can manage logistics with fewer surprises, and transportation partners can commit to schedules with increased confidence. Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina: not just a skilled workforce and business-friendly climate, but a transportation network capable of supporting long-term growth.

Improved rail performance also benefits South Carolina’s infrastructure more broadly. Rail is one of the most efficient ways to move goods long distances. Every shipment that travels by rail instead of truck reduces congestion on our highways, lowers fuel costs, and decreases wear and tear on roads that taxpayers ultimately fund. Better rail capacity complements, rather than replaces, our ongoing efforts to invest in roads and bridges across the state. It allows us to stretch transportation dollars further and focus on the improvements most needed in fast-growing communities.

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Another important factor is competitiveness. States across the Southeast are aggressively investing in logistics infrastructure to position themselves as national leaders in manufacturing and distribution. If South Carolina wants to stay ahead, and continue attracting companies that create stable, high-quality jobs, we must support improvements that strengthen the reliability and efficiency of our freight network. The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger presents an opportunity to do just that.

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RELATED | SOURCES: S.C. LAWMAKERS THREATEN SUPREME COURT

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As someone who has spent nearly two decades advocating for responsible, forward-looking growth in our state, I believe that modernizing our freight system is not just a transportation issue, it is an economic necessity. Ensuring that goods can move quickly, safely, and predictably is fundamental to the success of our businesses and the financial well-being of South Carolina families.

Federal regulators will ultimately determine the path forward, and their review should be thorough and transparent. But from where I sit, the potential benefits to our state are clear. A more integrated, efficient rail system will help South Carolina businesses compete, help consumers by keeping costs lower, and help our state maintain the strong economic momentum we’ve built over the past decade.

A stronger rail network means a stronger South Carolina, and that is a future we should fully support.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Nathan Ballentine (Provided)

Nathan Ballentine represents the citizens of House District 71 in the S.C. General Assembly.

***

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts


Statehouse Reporter Mary Green will have more on this tonight.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Attorney General and other officials will be holding a press conference Friday at 9:30 a.m. to talk about statewide drug busts.

Wilson is set to be joined by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, as well as several local sheriffs and other law enforcement partners.

Watch the full press conference in the video above.

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