An LSU team replacing a lot of talent traveling to play a South Carolina team hoping to make a comeback in 2024? I’m in. Even though LSU had two 10-win seasons under Brian Kelly, he was hired to bring championships to Baton Rouge.
South Carolina is in a rebuilding year of sorts as Shane Beamer looks to turn things around in 2023 after a 5-7 season. At the quarterback position, all signs point to the job going to promising out-of-state prospect LaNorris Sellers.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pound signal-caller shows a strong arm on film. He can tuck it in and run when he needs to, and for a guy his size, that’s a little scary. On defense, the Gamecocks return 79 percent of their production from last season, good for 10th nationally. Linebacker Debo Williams, South Carolina’s best tackler last season, returns.
For the quarterback, this will be a big test for projected starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who has only started once in his career. We’ll see how he fares against an experienced defense on the road. South Carolina can only win in this game. LSU, meanwhile, still has games against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma, so a loss in Columbia would make the Tigers’ path to the playoffs that much more difficult.
