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How to watch South Carolina football game vs. Akron: TV, stream, kickoff time, odds

After dropping a heartbreaker against LSU last weekend, South Carolina has a chance to look right and carry some confidence into the end-of-September bye week with a win over Akron on Saturday.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Gamecocks versus the Zips, including how to watch, top storylines and the Week 4 projected depth chart:

What channel is the South Carolina game on?

Who: South Carolina (2-1) vs. Akron (1-2)

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPNU

Stream: ESPN.com and the ESPN app

On-air announce crew: Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Steve Addazio (analyst)

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area (Todd Ellis, play-by-play; Tommy Suggs, analyst; Chet Tucker, sideline) … See all the radio affiliates around South Carolina here.

Satellite radio: Sirius/XM channel 374

Series history: Saturday marks the second matchup between these two football teams. South Carolina defeated Akron 28-3 in 2018.

Injury report, top storylines for the game

  • Injury report: Because this weekend’s USC game is not an SEC matchup, there is no conference-mandated injury report. But coach Shane Beamer told Todd Ellis on his weekly radio show Thursday it’s uncertain whether or not QB LaNorris Sellers, receiver Jared Brown and linebacker Bangally Kamara will play. Receiver Gage Larvadain and Trovon Baugh, who both missed last week’s game, are both “a week healthier.” And safety Nick Emmanwori and defensive lineman TJ Sanders, who left the LSU game with injury, are both fine, Beamer said.

  • Tune-up game: The Gamecocks committed 13 penalties in their first loss of the season last week. Two of those came at the cost of pick-sixes by USC’s defense, which would’ve won the game. Akron is a perfect opportunity for South Carolina to get right heading into its first of two bye weeks.

  • Night kick at Williams-Brice: Saturday marks USC’s first night game of the season. This year also marks the first time since 2019 that South Carolina didn’t have a night game kickoff at home in the first three weeks of the season. (In 2019, USC hosted Charleston Southern at noon Week 2 and Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Week 3.)

Weather forecast for Columbia, SC

Saturday night should be mostly clear with game time temperatures starting in the mid-80s and ending up the upper 70s, according to the National Weather Service.

ESPN FPI game prediction

ESPN’s Football Power Index gives South Carolina a 94.3% chance to win the game.

Point spread for USC Gamecocks vs. Akron Zips

The Gamecocks are 28.5-point favorite against the Zips, according to VegasInsider’s consensus line. The over/under is 45 points.

2024 football schedule

  • Aug. 31 – South Carolina 23, Old Dominion 19

  • Sept. 7 – South Carolina 31, Kentucky 6

  • Sept. 14 – No. 16 LSU 36, South Carolina 33

  • Sept. 21 – vs. Akron – 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

  • Oct. 5 – vs. Ole Miss – TBA (flex)

  • Oct. 12 – at Alabama – 12 p.m., ABC —OR— ESPN

  • Oct. 19 – at Oklahoma – TBA (early)

  • Nov. 2 – vs. Texas A&M – TBA (night)

  • Nov. 9 – at Vanderbilt – TBA (afternoon)

  • Nov. 16 – vs. Missouri – TBA (afternoon)

  • Nov. 23 – vs. Wofford – 4 p.m., SEC Network+/ESPN+

  • Nov. 30 – at Clemson – TBA

Projected USC depth chart

——OFFENSE——

  • QB: Robby Ashford (Davis Beville)

  • RB: Raheim “Rocket” Sanders (Juju McDowell —OR— Oscar Adaway III)

  • TE: Josh Simon (Michael Smith)

  • TE: Brady Hunt (Maurice Brown II)

  • WR: Jared Brown —OR— Nyck Harbor —OR— Dalevon Campbell

  • WR: Mazeo Bennett Jr. —OR— Gage Larvadain —OR— Payton Mangrum —OR— Luke Doty

  • WR: Vandrevius Jacobs (Tyshawn Russell)

  • LT: Josiah Thompson (Tree Babalade)

  • LG: Kamaar Bell (Markee Anderson)

  • RG: Torricelli Simpkins III —OR— Trovon Baugh

  • RT: Cason Henry (Jatavius Shivers)

  • OC: Vershon Lee (Ryan Brubaker)

——DEFENSE——

  • Edge: Kyle Kennard (Gilber Edmond, Desmond Umeozulu)

  • Edge: Dylan Stewart (Bryan Thomas Jr. —OR— Jatius Geer)

  • DT: Tonka Hemingway —OR— T.J. Sanders (Monkell Goodwine)

  • DT: Alex “Boogie” Huntley (Nick Barrett —OR— DeAndre Jules)

  • MLB: Bam Martin-Scott —OR— Demetrius Knight Jr. (Fred “JayR” Johnson)

  • WLB: Debo Williams (Bangally Kamara, Mohamed Kaba)

  • NICK: Jalon Kilgore (Kelvin Hunter —OR— Jalewis Solomon)

  • CB: O’Donnell Fortune (Emory Floyd —OR— David Spaulding)

  • CB: Judge Collier (Vicari Swain)

  • SS: DQ Smith (Peyton Williams)

  • FS: Nick Emmanwori (David Bucey —OR— Gerald Kilgore)

——SPECIAL TEAMS——

  • PK: Alex Herrera (Mason Love, William Joyce)

  • P: Kai Kroeger (Mason Love)

  • LSN: Hunter Rogers (Cole Rasmussen)

  • H: Kai Kroeger (Mason love)

  • KOR: Juju McDowell (Nyck Harbor)

  • PR: Juju McDowell (Gage Larvadain)