South Carolina may be Sooners' last good chance this season for a SEC win

Oklahoma will play its next to last home game of the 2024 season when the Sooners host South Carolina on Saturday at Gaylord Family -- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m., the first time the Sooners have played in the early TV window all season.

Oklahoma and South Carolina have been playing football for 130 years, but Saturday's game will be the first time they have played each other. While the Sooners and Gamecocks have never met, OU head coach Brent Venables has faced South Carolina nine times while serving as defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2012 to 2021. Clemson was 7-2 in those games, including wins in the final seven matchups.

South Carolina, on the back end of a two-game road swing, is coming off an outstanding performance and near upset of No. 7 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks lost by just two points, 27-25 , and had a chance to win the game before Alabama intercepted a pass in the end zone as time ran out. The Sooners, on the other hand, took an early 3-0 lead over Texas before the top-ranked Longhorns took over the game and rolled to a dominant 34-3 victory in the 120th edition of the Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

Since the start of the 1999 season, Bob Stoops' first year as Oklahoma head coach, the Sooners are 24-1 in games immediately following their annual rivalry game with Texas. The Sooners are also 117-8 over that same span playing at home against unranked teams in the Associated Press poll.

Oklahoma is hoping to avoid back to back home losses, something that has happened just once since 1999 (to No. 14 Kansas State and No. 12 Baylor in 2014).

With OU's final four SEC regular season games against teams ranked in the top 20 of the Associated Press poll -- and with three of those four contests on the road -- Saturday's game with South Carolina could be the Sooners last good chance to record a conference win.

The OU-South Carolina game will be televised on the SEC Network with Tom Hart doing play-by-play, Cole Cubelic providing analysis and Alyssa Lang reporting on the sidelines.

What fans need to know about South Carolina

• South Carolina averages 27.5 points and 362 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 13th out of the 16 SEC teams. The offense is extremely balanced, averaging 175 yards on the ground and 187 yards through the air. When the Gamecocks run the ball, RB Raheim "Rocket" Sanders and QB LaNorris Sellars are the primary ball carriers. Sanders averages nearly five yards per carry. Mazeo Bennett Jr. (17 catches) and Joshua Simon (16 catches) are Norris' primary receivers.

• As good as Oklahoma has been on defense this season, South Carolina has been even stingier. The Gamecocks rank sixth in the SEC and 20th nationally, allowing opponents just under 300 yards per game.

• South Carolina has recorded 19 sacks through six games and 21 quarterback hurries. The Gamecocks' 3.2 sacks per game ranks 10th among all FBS teams. DE Kyle Kennard is one of the better edge rushers in the country and wll be a major challenge for the Oklahoma offensive protection package. Kennard leads the SEC with 7.5 sacks and has 11.5 tackles for loss.

• Two of USC's three losses this season are by two points last weekend at Alabama and by three points to LSU, both ranked in the top 10 nationally.

• South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer was at Oklahoma in the 2018-20 seasons, where he was assistant head coach for the offense and special teams coordinator.

What to watch for from Oklahoma

• Oklahoma ranks last in the SEC in total offense (287 yards per game), last in rushing offense (122 ypg) and last in passing offense (165.7 ypg)). THIS IS NOT A MISPRINT. The Sooners need to pay much better than this to win on Saturday.

• Michael Hawkins Jr. will start his third consecutive game at quarterback on Saturday against South Carolina. Although the Sooners are struggling mightily on offense, Hawkins can't be expected to do it all on his own. He needs help from the running game. The Sooners are averaging just 3.1 yards per rush this season. Leading receiver Deion Burks could be back from injury this week, but OU needs other wide receivers to step up. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Let's hope that's not true again this week.

• The Sooners are 12-0 since the start of the 2023 season when they win the turnover battle. Saturday's game will pit an Oklahoma team that ranks seventh nationally with 14 turnovers gained against a South Carolina team that ranks 115th with 12 turnovers lost.

• If Oklahoma is going to hold home serve against a good South Carolina team, it is going to have to beat the Gamecocks at their own game with excellent special teams play. That means a kicking game that is pure in field goal opportunities and keeps the USC offense operate from a long field.

• The Sooners have as many conference titles (14) as home losses since the start of the 1999 season and are 24-1 in games immediately following the annual rivaly game with Texas.

Injury Report

Oklahoma: WR Jayden Gibson (out); WR Jalil Farooq (out); WR Nic Anderson (out); WR Andrel Anthony (out); DB Kendel Dolby (out); OL Geirean Hatchett (out); WR Deion Burks (questionable); TE Kade McIntyre (questionable); RB Sam Franklin (questionable).

South Carolina: WR Jared Brown (out); DB Jalewis Solomon (out); DB Kelvin Hunter (out); OL Jakai Moore (out); DT DeAndre Jules (out); WR Payton Mangrum (questionable); OL Caseon Henry (probable).

Weather forecast

Sunny and 69 degrees at kickoff. Wind: 13 mph. End of game temperature: 76 degrees.

Standout stat

Oklahoma's rushing attack with Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum and even QB Michael Hawkins Jr., which ranks 101st among FBS teams and is averaging 122 yards per game, against the South Carolina rush defense, which is only allowing 110 yards per game and ranks 32nd in the country.

Standout stat

Which team hold the lead at halftime in this game could be a key in determining the outcome of this game. South Carolina is 19-3 when they lead at the half under head coach Shane Beamer. Conversely, they are 2-18 when trailing after 30 minutes.

Prediction

At midweek, Oklahoma was favored by a touchdown in this game. That may a bit high, given the problems associated with the OU offense and how well South Carolina played last week on the road against Alabama. The OU defense will keep the Sooners in the game, but the offense needs more to be more consistent and productive on early downs and stay on the field by sustaining drives. South Carolina will win this game if Oklahoma plays like it did against Texas. The Sooners hold on late to defeat their former assistant coach, and special teams will play a contributing role. Oklahoma 27, South Carolina 21