KROEGER IS YOUR GUY: The Augusta Sports Council has named South Carolina junior punter Kai Kroeger one of 10 semifinalists for the 2022 Ray Guy Award, which recognizes the nation’s top punter. Kroeger has been on the “Ray’s 8” list six times this season, was the national Punter of the Week following the Georgia State game and was the co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week following the Vanderbilt game.
BEATING A RANKED OPPONENT: South Carolina has knocked off two ranked opponents this season, topping 13th-ranked Kentucky in Lexington by a 24-14 score and beating No. 5 Tennessee, 63-38 last week. Shane Beamer is 2-4 as a head coach against Top-25 teams, including a 2-2 mark this season. The Gamecocks fell at No. 2 Georgia and at No. 17 Texas A&M during the 2021 campaign. This year, they dropped decisions at 16th-ranked Arkansas and at home to top-ranked Georgia, before the wins at Kentucky and at home vs. Tennessee.
BACK-TO-BACK JACK: The Gamecocks are playing their second top-10 opponent in as many weeks. The last time Carolina played consecutive games against top-10 teams was in 2019 when they won at No. 3 Georgia before losing to No. 9 Florida at home. That season, the Gamecocks also played No. 2 Alabama, so they saw three top-10 teams in a five-week stretch.
IT WOULD BE MEMORABLE: Clemson enters this week’s game ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll. The Gamecocks are looking to win back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the first time since 2013 when they defeated No. 6 Clemson and No. 19 Wisconsin to wrap up the season.
NO NAIL BITING HERE: The Gamecocks have played just one game that was decided by a touchdown or less, a 34-28 win over Texas A&M, and the Aggies had to score with just 10 seconds left to make that a one-score game. The only other contest that was decided by 10 points or less was a 24-14 win over Kentucky. The average margin of victory in the 11 games played by the Gamecocks this season is 22.6 points.
NEVER LOOK BACK: The Gamecocks are 7-0 this season when scoring first and 12-1 when scoring first in the Shane Beamer Era. Oddly, in its eight SEC contests this season, Carolina was not involved in a game in which there was a lead change.
TURNOVERS WIN GAMES: After recording just one takeaway through the season’s first three games while posting a 1-2 record, Carolina recorded 10 turnovers in its next four contests, all wins, including back-to-back three-interception games against Charlotte and South…
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