Beaumont 'Beau' Cheraw · South Carolina Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
(Lights down. Music up. A single spotlight. Smoke machine, family-sized.) Cue the music. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Gamecock Nation: I'm Beaumont Cheraw, but you can call me Beau, and I live for the entrance. I time my podcast intro to dramatic music. I have timed my breakfast to dramatic music. I travel with this team, I live with this team, and I'll bring you the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines every week, with the volume where it belongs. When we win, I'll bounce like the whole of Williams-Brice when the music hits. When we lose, I'll turn the music down, just for a minute, and remind you that the band plays again next Saturday. I'm electric, I'm theatrical, and I will always be kind to the visitors, because a great show needs a great guest. And I promise: every number I give you comes with a receipt, right there in brackets. Forever to thee.
The School in 60 Seconds
South Carolina plays in the SEC and has since 1992. Before that, the Gamecocks were in the ACC from 1953 through 1970, winning the 1969 conference title, and then a major independent from 1971 through 1991. The independent years gave us George Rogers, our 1980 Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall selection in the 1981 draft. Jadeveon Clowney went No. 1 overall in 2014. We won the SEC East in 2010. Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier are both in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Shane Beamer was the 2024 SEC coach of the year. Home is Williams-Brice Stadium, listed at 80,250 seats. When that stadium starts bouncing, you understand. The Gamecocks finished in the final AP top 25 in 1984 and 1987 as an independent, and have posted eight final top-25 finishes in the SEC era.
The Coach and the Scheme
Beamer was hired Dec. 6, 2020, and this is his sixth season. His teams went 9-4 in 2024 and 4-8 in 2025. The 2026 Gamecocks bring the noise on offense: 474.7 yards a game (13th in FBS), 232.3 rushing yards (10th) and 37.7 points (18th). CFBD has 1,394 rushing yards on 233 carries, just about 6 yards a carry. The defense is sturdy against the run, 103.7 yards allowed a game (25th), and leakier through the air, 237.2 passing yards allowed (107th). The red zone defense ranks 122nd. That's the one part of the show we're still rehearsing.
Players to Know
QB LaNorris Sellers: 115 of 187, 1,338 yards, 12 TD, 4 INT. Against Florida he threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns, and ran one in.
RB Matthew Fuller: 485 yards on 81 carries, 5 TD.
WR Nyck Harbor: 17 catches, 278 yards, 2 TD, including four for 83 and a score against Florida.
LB Justin Okoronkwo: a team-high 43 tackles. DE Anthony Addison: 3 sacks. DB Peyton Williams: an interception.
Freshman Julian Walker: two starts and a sack, per the school's injury rundown.
The Conference Picture
South Carolina is 3-3 and 1-3 in the SEC. The three SEC losses were by 7 to Mississippi State, by 31 at Alabama and by 1 in overtime to Kentucky, 35-34. The win at Florida, 38-19, came right before the bye. We're unranked. Next up is a trip to Oklahoma on Oct. 31. Knocking off the No. 11 team in the country at home would be one fine entrance into November.
This Week: No. 11 Tennessee (6-1) at South Carolina (3-3)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 3:30 p.m. ET · Williams-Brice Stadium · ESPN.
Last game: we beat Florida 38-19 on Oct. 10, then had the bye. Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10 last Saturday behind 159 rushing yards from DeSean Bishop.
Our offense vs. their defense: this is the main event. Tennessee allows 14.7 points (9th), 280.6 yards (15th) and 159.3 passing yards (8th). It has 29 sacks. Our run game, 10th in FBS, against their run defense, 42nd, is where I'd put the spotlight.
Their offense vs. our defense: Tennessee runs for 217.1 yards a game (19th) and ranks 6th in red zone scoring. We allow 103.7 rushing yards a game (25th), so that's strength against strength. Their quarterback spot is a work in progress, per AP.
Series: UT's game notes list the all-time series at Tennessee 29, South Carolina 11, with 2 ties. From 2016 through 2025 it's even, 4-4.
Availability: Beamer, after the Florida game: "Everybody that missed the game yesterday or left the game, like Judge Collier did, we all expect to be back against Tennessee. The only one that we would be most concerned about. is QuaySheed Scott." That group included DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, Walker and center Carter Miller. The first SEC availability report comes Wednesday. For Tennessee, aggregators list three players out, including LB J. Harmon (ACL).
What decides it: (1) Whether Sellers can find room against the 8th-ranked pass defense. (2) Red zone: our defense has to get stops there. (3) Whether the bye week gets our injured guys back to full speed.
And Rocky Top Haskew, Tennessee's insider, I hear you brought a banjo. Bring it on in. We'll give you a proper entrance.
My call: Tennessee Volunteers 29, South Carolina Gamecocks 27.