South Carolina Football: Gamecock opponent loses starting quarterback for the season
By Kevin Miller
This weekend, Shane Beamer and his South Carolina football team will look to follow up a win over Mississippi State with a good performance against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. The winner of the game still will be in a great position to finish in the top-3 in the SEC East in 2023, while the loser has an uphill battle to finish in the top half of the division.
After facing the Vols, the Gamecocks will have a bye week, will welcome the Florida Gators to Columbia, will travel to the other Columbia to play Mizzou, and will make their last road trip to College Station for a matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies.
That game against A&M will look a bit different than expected.
Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman was injured against the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, and Max Johnson filled in for A&M in the easy victory. The ailment for Jimbo Fisher’s quarterback was expected to be relatively minor, but on Wednesday, news came out of College Station that Conner Weigman would miss the remainder of the 2023 season with a broken foot.
Neither Weigman nor Johnson started the game last season against South Carolina football as Haynes King had the honor. King started, Johnson was injured, and the freshman Weigman was called upon. He played fine, but he couldn’t do enough to overcome the Gamecock lead. South Carolina won the game against A&M to bring the Bonham Trophy to Columbia for the first time.
Fast forward to the 2023 season, and the Aggies will start Max Johnson over the next few weeks. If he plays well, he will be the starter when the Gamecocks come to town on October 28th.
Both teams have a difficult schedule leading up to the game. The Gamecocks play three straight good teams in the SEC East (two on the road), while the Aggies play a neutral site game against Arkansas and road games against Alabama and Tennessee. A&M will have a bye week leading up to the Carolina game.
Spencer Rattler will give the South Carolina football team the advantage at the quarterback position in the matchup as the Gamecocks seek to start a winning streak against the Aggies.
That game is still a month away, however. Carolina will kick off against Tennessee this Saturday at 7:30 on the SECNetwork and ESPN App.