Football Saturdays in South Carolina

When I flew in from Utah to see the University of South Carolina take on Vanderbilt, I expected excitement, the same level of excitement that comes with any game day at any university in the country. What I found was something closer to a holiday. Streets jammed with cars, tailgates overflowing, and an entire city’s mood depending on the performance of 20-30 collegiate athletes.

This wasn’t my first taste of SEC football. Back in 2019, I traveled to Knoxville to watch my BYU Cougars face the Tennessee Volunteers. This was a particularly positive year for the Cougars as they had Zach Wilson at Quarterback and were a year away from arguably their most successful season since 1984. That game was electric, but Tennessee was in a down year, buried near the bottom of the conference. 

This SEC matchup felt different. South Carolina entered the contest ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, and expectations were sky high.

I arrived Friday night after flying into Charlotte and driving an hour and a half south. On Saturday morning, my friend — a childhood friend who now attends South Carolina — gave me a tour of campus. That’s when the differences hit me. Everything seemed bigger: the gym, the dorms, the student center. Even the campus itself sprawled across downtown Columbia. Compared to what I’d seen in Utah, I felt like I was on a completely different planet

As kickoff approached, we gathered with friends to watch the end of the Clemson–Georgia Tech game. For South Carolina fans, Clemson isn’t just a rival — it’s the rival. So when Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr drilled a game-winning field goal to topple the Tigers, the room erupted. It was as if South Carolina had already won. The energy around the campus going into the game was palpable.

Then came the migration. Crowds funneled toward Williams-Brice Stadium, the city’s headquarters on game days. Traffic slowed to a crawl, with hundreds of cars stacked bumper to bumper, all heading to the same place. In Columbia, game day doesn’t just take over the campus — it takes over the entire city.

Pregame Festivities:

It felt like the entire city of Columbia was outside Williams-Brice Stadium, tailgating hours before kickoff. Everywhere I turned were die-hard Gamecock fans — thousands of tailgates, burgers sizzling on grills, footballs flying through the air. The atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

The energy was palpable. Nearly 30,000 people packed the lots four hours before kickoff. 

Four. Whole. Hours. 

In Utah, if you showed up four hours before a Utah State game, you’d be greeted with empty parking lots. The passion and dedication is simply different in the South. Football isn’t just a social event — it’s a religion.

The Game:

After hours of tailgating and tossing the football, it was finally time to head inside. To get the best student section seats, my friend insisted we go in two hours before kickoff. That alone stunned me. Back home, you can stroll into a game minutes before kickoff and still find a good spot. At the University of South Carolina, showing up two hours early only got us three rows back.

As the stadium filled, the traditions kicked in. A train rolled onto the field carrying “Cocky,” the Gamecocks’ mascot, alongside former star Marcus Lattimore, who holds the school rushing touchdown record. They hyped up a sellout crowd of nearly 78,000, and the noise was deafening. The ground literally shook beneath my feet.

Then, just before kickoff, comedian Theo Von appeared from the tunnel and was mobbed by students. Big-name celebrities at games are routine here. Back in Utah, the most famous attendee I’d seen was Donovan Mitchell, and even that was rare. In the SEC, someone noteworthy seems to show up every week to watch the best players in the country go head-to-head.

Just before kickoff, the stadium went dark. Fans waved their white towels and jumped in unison as music blared. The roar was deafening.

Adding fuel to the fire was Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who had spent the week stirring up controversy with pointed comments about South Carolina. The moment he appeared, the student section erupted into profanity-laced chants. To his credit, Pavia seemed to love the hostility, and it may have fueled his performance.

As for the game itself, the Commodores and South Carolina remained neck and neck in the first quarter before Vanderbilt’s offense pulled away, and the game turned into a lopsided affair. Still, the Gamecocks had plenty of moments during the game that drew electric responses from the fans. Former Utah State running back Rahsul Faison punched in a touchdown to tie the score at seven, sending the stadium into pandemonium. Several defensive stands drew similar jeers.

But the mood shifted late in the second quarter when star quarterback Lanorris Sellers went down with what appeared to be a concussion. The crowd’s energy switched from the scoreboard to their Heisman hopeful.

To Gamecocks fans’ credit, they all stayed and supported backup Luke Doty and the rest of the team throughout the entire second half. Even though the scoreboard was ugly for the Gamecocks, the atmosphere generated by the game gave me a memory that I will never forget.

My trip to South Carolina was truly remarkable, and something I will not soon forget. If I had advice for teams outside the SEC, it would be simple: study the SEC’s game day atmosphere and copy it. If it doesn’t work, try again.