South Carolina football: ECU environment better than Big XII, ACC schools

South Carolina is sitting pretty at 1-0 following a 46-0 shellacking of Eastern Illinois this past Saturday. While spirits are up with a nice win to start the Shane Beamer era, the season is about to get much tougher as the Gamecocks must soon leave the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium.

The program faces back to back road trips against East Carolina and Georgia in the coming weeks, two environments that will prove to be tough places to play. Coach Beamer took to the media on Tuesday to elaborate on those upcoming contests, with a focus on the matchup with the Pirates.

The South Carolina head coach first commented on East Carolina as a program, and one that’s seen success against the big boys of college football in recent years. While the Pirates play as a Group of Five member in the American Athletic Conference, they’ve seen their teams take down a few ACC powers over the last decade or so.

"“The team that we expect to see… is the one that’s beaten the University of North Carolina three times since 2013. The same one that’s beaten NC State two times since 2013. The same one that’s beaten Virginia Tech two times since 2014.”"

It doesn’t sound like the South Carolina head coach is taking the Pirates lightly, and maybe he shouldn’t. While the Gamecocks would appear to be the more talented team based on recent recruiting rankings, East Carolina is the team that opened as a four-point favorite according to Vegas.

With the Georgia game looming, looking ahead could prove costly for the Gamecocks, who are looking to move to 2-0 ahead of conference play.

Coach Beamer is expecting a tough environment in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, too.

"“I’ve been to every stadium in the Big XII, I’ve been to every stadium in the ACC and the atmosphere at East Carolina is a whole lot better than a lot of the places I went in those conferences.”"

That atmosphere could cause issues for signal caller Luke Doty, who’s expected to be back under center for the Gamecocks this weekend. If he can’t go, Zeb Noland will make his second start of the year after his four-touchdown performance in week one.

East Carolina has been known locally as a tough place to play, and that’s further recognized by the upsets that coach Beamer mentioned in his press conference. A crowd of 50,000-plus will be there cheering on their Pirates, but the Gamecocks will hope to send them home with a defeat.

Be sure to tune in at noon on Saturday with the game being aired on ESPN 2. You can also stream live on Fubo TV.