Another Saturday night under the lights in Columbia is about to get loud. South Carolina will welcome Vanderbilt to Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 13 for a prime-time SEC showdown that carries a little more juice than usual. Kickoff is locked in for 7:45 p.m. ET, and the atmosphere is expected to be every bit of what you’d imagine from a fanbase that’s been counting down the days until conference play begins. For Shane Beamer ’s No. 11 Gamecocks, it’s the first real test inside SEC territory this season. For Clark Lea ’s Commodores, it’s a chance to prove that last year’s loss to South Carolina—one Lea himself called a “turning point” for his team—wasn’t just lip service.

Sprinkle in quarterbacks Diego Pavia and LaNorris Sellers , two rising names in the league, and you’ve go

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