Mississippi State Bulldogs at South Carolina Gamecocks
Sat Sep 19 · 3:15 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 9d ago·2 min read
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Mississippi State kicks off SEC play on the road, and it's landing on a South Carolina team still trying to figure out who it is up front.
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Best BetSouth Carolina
South Carolina at home with Sellers under center is the side to trust to just win the game, even with the O-line questions. Mississippi State is breaking in a new starting quarterback in Kamario Taylor for his first true SEC road test, and that kind of inexperience is more likely to cost a team a game outright than a shaky offensive line is.
Mississippi State
+New DC Zach Arnett brought in to fix defense
+Added portal pieces like WR Marquis Johnson, DT Jenkins
+Started 4-0 last year before fading
−Finished 5-7, lost 7 of last 8 games
−Benched longtime starter Shapen before Egg Bowl
−Kamario Taylor is an unproven first-year starter
South Carolina
+Returns ~68% of contributors, tops in SEC
+LaNorris Sellers back with real Heisman buzz
+Hired Kendal Briles to fix the offense
−Went 4-8 overall, 1-7 in SEC in 2025
−Entire starting O-line from opener is gone
−Starter Josiah Thompson out for the year, Peak banged up
Jeff Lebby is into year 3 in Starkville, and the leash is getting shorter after a 5-7 finish last season that included a benching of longtime starter Blake Shapen before the Egg Bowl. Kamario Taylor takes over at quarterback for the Bulldogs now, and new defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was brought in to fix a unit that couldn't hold up down the stretch. Across the field, LaNorris Sellers returns as one of the more talked-about quarterbacks in the sport, and South Carolina hired Kendal Briles to get more out of him after a rough offensive year.
The bigger story in Columbia is up front. The Gamecocks' entire starting offensive line from their 2025 opener is gone, and it's not been replaced without scars — Josiah Thompson is out for the year after a spring practice injury, and transfer tackle Jacarrius Peak banged up his knee playing basketball this offseason. South Carolina went out and grabbed eight portal linemen to patch things, but stitching together a new front five in real time against SEC pass rushers is no small task.
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Mississippi State, for its part, isn't walking into Columbia with a clean résumé either. The Bulldogs opened last season 4-0 before cratering, losing seven of their last eight and dropping a winnable finale. This early SEC road trip is as much a test of the new-look Bulldogs defense and a first-year starting quarterback as it is a measuring stick for where South Carolina's rebuild actually stands.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Sep 12?@ Minnesota—
Sep 5?vs UL Monroe—
South Carolina Gamecocks
Sep 12?vs Towson—
Sep 5?vs Kent State—
Recent form.
South Carolina's calling card is continuity — the Gamecocks return roughly 68% of last year's contributors, tops in the SEC, with 76% back on offense. That's the argument for a jump: Sellers has more weapons around him and a full offseason with his new play-caller. The counter is that none of that matters much if the rebuilt offensive line can't hold up, especially against a Mississippi State front that Arnett is being paid to sharpen.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
South Carolina Gamecocks
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
This is a Week 4 SEC opener for both sides, still months out, so don't treat any of this as settled — camp battles and the O-line shuffle in Columbia have real time to shake out before kickoff. But the shape of the matchup is already clear: a talented, well-supported quarterback trying to play behind a patchwork line against a Bulldogs team looking to prove last year's fade wasn't who they are.
