College football’s 25 most powerful people: Who’s too high and too low?
USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes joined Before The Snap to explain why Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti are ranked too high among CFB’s 25 most powerful people.
One of the top two games on Sunday’s slate of college football schedule features the “Beamer Bowl” between South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
No. 13 South Carolina will meet up with Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Sunday, Aug. 31 for a 3 p.m. ET kickoff inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It’s the fourth SEC-vs.-ACC matchup of the opening weekend slate in college football, as Syracuse-Tennessee, Alabama-Florida State and Clemson-LSU all served as a prequel to the Gamecocks and Hokies matchup on Sunday. The Hokies can even the series with a win after the Seminoles shocked the No. 8-ranked Crimson Tide on Aug. 30, 31-17.
LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart headline the Gamecocks roster this season, as both received All-SEC Preseason Team honors last month. Sellers led the Gamecocks to a 9-3 record in his first season as South Carolina’s starting quarterback last year.
It is the first meeting between South Carolina and Virginia Tech since 1991, when the Gamecocks defeated the Hokies 28-21 in Columbia. The Hokies are coming off a 6-7 season last year.
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This section will be updated
TEAMS1Q2Q3Q4QFVirginia Tech2603—South Carolina73014—
This section has been updated with new information
LaNorris Sellers hits speedy Nyck Harbor down the field for a 64-yard touchdown to extend South Carolina’s lead over Virginia Tech to 24-11. A really nice throw by Sellers, who now has over 200 passing yards on the day, and an even bigger response by South Carolina, which seems to have found something on offense.
The scoring drive is three plays and 75 yards and took 1:18 off the game clock.
LaNorris Sellers connects on a HUGE 64-yard TD to Nyck Harbor.
Elite arm talent on display from Sellers, and phenomenal ball tracking from Harbor. pic.twitter.com/PzT80D0qNY
— Andy (@AndyyNFL) August 31, 2025
John Love hits a 39-yard field goal to bring Virginia Tech within six of South Carolina at 17-11 with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter. With a reliable kicker like Love, Virginia Tech elected to take the field goal compared to going for it on fourth-and-2 after Kyron Drones fell a few yards short of picking up the first down on the quarterback keeper.
It was only a matter of time the “Beamer Bowl” would have “Beamer Ball” be involved in it, and it came at a much needed time for South Carolina.
After South Carolina elected for Virginia Tech to punt again following an illegal formation penalty on Virginia Tech, South Carolina’s Vicari Swain breaks through Virginia Tech’s special teams unit and takes Nick Veltsistas’ 57-yard punt all the way back from a 80-yard punt return touchdown.
A big momentum shifter for the Gamecocks who now lead the Hokies 17-8 with 13:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.
It’s a scoreless third quarter in Atlanta between South Carolina and Virginia Tech, as the Gamecocks take the very same 10-8 lead they had at halftime into the fourth quarter. South Carolina’s struggles on offense has allowed Virginia Tech to stay in this one.
The Gamecocks have only 155 offensive yards since their opening touchdown drive that went 75 yards.
LaNorris Sellers’ woes against the Virginia Tech defense continues, as the South Carolina quarterback is sacked twice during the Gamecocks’ latest series. The first sack was a 10-yard loss from Emmett Laws and Jaden Keller on first-and-10 after a 21-yard catch-and-run pass from Sellers to Donovan Murph; while the second came two plays later on third-and-15 for another 10-yard loss.
South Carolina has struggled to find any success against Virginia Tech after the game’s opening drive.
LaNorris Sellers has been sacked for a third time today. VT brought linebacker who had a lane right to him and then a defender broke off from Boaz Stanley to clean it up.
Sellers was then sacked for a fourth time. pic.twitter.com/7Co5K9TZzN
— Jack Veltri (@Jacktveltri) August 31, 2025
Virginia Tech was moving on offense and sitting on South Carolina’s 43-yard line after Kyron Drones hit Donovan Greene for a 32-yard catch down the left sideline. However, a 7-yard sack from South Caroline edge rusher Dylan Stewart on top of a self-inflicted 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Greene killed the Hokies’ momentum on offense as they punted it away.
A nice series overall for the Gamecocks as they got some big plays from their star edge rusher, who is a projected top first-round draft pick. South Carolina takes over at its 18-yard line with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter and a 10-8 lead.
South Carolina sends out the punt unit after LaNorris Sellers is unable to connect with Mazeo Bennett Jr. on third-and-4 in the middle of the field for the first down. A tough turn of events for South Carolina to punt the ball there after finding some rhythm and success with its passing game to begin the drive.
Virginia Tech appears to have a first down, but Takye Heath drops the pass from Kyron Drones on third-and-5. Hokies send out their punt unit on the first drive of the second half.
South Carolina will have the ball at its own 17-yard line coming up working with just a two-point lead at 10-8.
South Carolina will head into halftime with a rare 10-8 lead over Virginia Tech after Hokies kicker John Love drills a 56-yard field goal right down the middle as time expired.
The Gamecocks offense went rather quiet after their first drive, but looked to have found some momentum and rhythm on their final drive of the half. While on the other side, Virginia Tech has been able to stay in it with the thirteenth-ranked Gamecocks due to some mistakes on defense from South Carolina.
South Carolina star edge rusher Dylan Stewart has exited the game with an apparent shoulder injury. ESPN’s cameras showed Stewart holding his shoulder on the third-and-3 play. He immediately went down after the play was ruled dead.
A potential big loss to the Gamecocks defense as he heads off the field on his own power.
After a touchdown gets brought back, South Carolina extends its lead to 10-5 over Virginia Tech with a 27-yard field goal from William Joyce.
The scoring drive is 13 plays for 70 yards and took 5:01 off the game block. Virginia Tech now has a chance to take a lead going into halftime with that Nyck Harbor-LaNorris Sellers touchdown taken off the board.
LaNorris Sellers looks to have Nyck Harbor on a corner route into right corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown to extend South Carolina’s lead over Virginia Tech to 14-5, but it was ruled a no catch after a video review on the field.
A tough break for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will now elect to take the field goal.
Here’s another look at Harbor’s catch that was brought back after review:
Hello, Rahsul Faison!
The new South Carolina running back breaks off for a 31-yard carry to erase bad field position for the Gamecocks on second-and-33 following a 14-yard loss on a LaNorris Sellers sack and fumble. Faison was originally awarded a first down on the play but video review showed he was three yards short of a new set of downs.
A big third-down coming up here for South Carolina with 4:54 remaining in the first half.
Virginia Tech perfectly draws up a screen pass from Kyron Drones to Marcellous Hawkins, but Hawkins drops the pass to send the Hokies’ punt unit out onto the field. If Hawkins had held onto the pass, the Hokies running back would have had open field coverage down the sideline for a big play.
Virginia Tech’s John Love hits a 29-yard field goal straight down the middle to bring the Hokies’ deficit against No. 13 South Carolina closer at 7-5.
The big play of the drive for Virginia Tech came on the first play call of the second quarter when Kyron Drones connected with Donovan Greene for a 37-yard catch on the run up the right sideline.
The scoring drive is eight plays for 59 yards and took 2:32 off of the game clock. South Carolina needs a big answer to respond on it next drive coming up, as it hasn’t scored since the opening drive of the first quarter.
South Carolina leads Virginia Tech 7-2 after one quarter of action in the Aflac Kickoff Game. After driving down the field and scoring on their first drive of the game, the Gamecocks offense has gone rather cold, as they’ve had to punt twice and got a safety recorded against them on the other.
Virginia Tech will face a second-and-9 to open the second quarter after Marcellous Hawkins picked up a 1-yard carry to end the first frame.
Virginia Tech rushes up the middle of the field and gets to LaNorris Sellers as the pocket collapses, resulting in a safety for the Hokies. Kelvin Gilliam Jr. and Kody Huisman were given the combo sack for Virginia Tech.
Kyron Drones forces it on third-and-10 and it comes to backfire on him as South Carolina linebacker Fred Johnson intercepts the Virginia Tech quarterback in the end zone. A costly play by Drones after the Hokies found some rhythm and momentum on offense.
South Carolina takes over at its 2-yard line.
The Hokies have something brewing on offense, as Kyron Drones utilizes the Greene brothers on back to back plays to get into the South Carolina red zone for the first time. On third-and-1, Drones connected with Donavon Greene for a 25-yard catch and then went to Ayden Greene on the next play for a 36-yard catch up the right sidelines.
Facing a third-and-11, LaNorris Sellers shows off his athleticism once again by getting out of the pocket and taking the right side of the field to pick up the first down with a 13-yard scramble. Nice job by Sellers to fight for the fight down along the sidelines as Virginia Tech defenders came on him.
It’s a three-and-out for Virginia Tech to open up the game after South Carolina defensive Brandon Cisse breaks up a pass from Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones on third-and-8. Nice coverage by Cisse to force the punt, and a strong start for South Carolina.
Shane Beamer gets the start he wanted to see from LaNorris Sellers and the South Carolina offense, as the Gamecocks’ quarterback calls his own number and runs it into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown.
A really nice drive put together by the Gamecocks who found some rhythm both in the passing and running game. If the Gamecocks continue to utilize Sellers’ dual-threat abilities like they did on their opening drive, Virginia Tech’s defense could be in for a long day.
Here’s what Sellers’ touchdown looks from field angle at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
The Hokies win the coin toss and elect to defer the kick to the second half. South Carolina and LaNorris Sellers will come out first on offense. And here we go from Atlanta!
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley has made the trip to Atlanta for Sunday’s Aflac Kickoff Game between the Gamecocks and Virginia Tech.
Staley, who was at the Chris Brown concert last night in Atlanta, told Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston on their podcast that she interviewed for the New York Knicks coaching job this past offseason, and would “have had to” take it if they offered her the position. Staley is 475-110 overall in 17 seasons at South Carolina.
As Shane Beamer arrives to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the fifth-year South Carolina coach is welcomed to “Beamer Ball” chants from those outside of the Gamecocks entrance as he goes over and hugs his parents, Frank and Cheryl Beamer.
Pretty cool atmosphere building in Atlanta on what should be a day to remember for the Beamer family with South Carolina taking on Virginia Tech.
Here’s the injury report for South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech according to Lulu Kesin of The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network:
George Wilson (EDGE) — OUTZahbari Sandy (DB) — OUTJackson Burger (DB) — OUTKobby Sakyi-Prah (EDGE) — OUTCaleb Williams (DT) — OUTRyan Brubaker (OL) — OUTJaylen Brown (EDGE) — OUT
With Raheim Sanders graduating, South Carolina went to the transfer portal to fill its hole at running back. The Gamecocks landed on Utah State transfer Rahsul Faison, who was just granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA to play at South Carolina.
Here’s a breakdown of his Faison’s stats at Utah State:
Career: 316 carries for 1,845 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns; 33 receptions for 151 receiving yards2023: 118 carries for 736 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns; 11 receptions for 52 receiving yards2024: 198 carries for 1,109 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns; 22 receptions for 99 receiving yards
Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, the dad of South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, is taking selfies outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with Hokies fans … while wearing a Gamecocks jacket.
South Carolina announces on its X account (formerly Twitter) that it will be wearing its home black uniforms for its Aflac Kickoff Game vs. Virginia Tech on Aug. 31.
The Week 1 showdown between South Carolina and Virginia Tech on Aug. 31 is a bittersweet one for South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, as he is not only facing against his alma mater, but also going against a program that his dad, Frank Beamer, led from 1987-2015.
In fact, Shane Beamer was an assistant at Virginia Tech for Frank Beamer’s final five seasons, as he served as assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Hokies from 2011-15.
As noted by Lulu Kesin of The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, South Carolina did not release a depth chart ahead of its Week 1 opener vs. Virginia Tech.
“I didn’t want him to release one then we don’t release one and he’s like ‘what the heck?'” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said Aug. 27. “It’s not trying to keep any secrets from Virginia Tech, to be honest I am just trying to avoid any unnecessary overreactions.”
He added: “We still have position battles going on out there on the practice field and if I had released a depth chart it was going to have a gazillion ‘and’s and ‘or’s’ … I’m respectful of the job you have and I’m not trying to make things more difficult but that’s just what I was trying to avoid. I looked at what’s best for our team right now that’s not putting anything out on paper.”
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Sunday, Aug. 31
Spread:Â South Carolina -7Over/under:Â 51.5Moneyline:Â South Carolina (-220) | Virginia Tech (+180)
LaNorris Sellers is starting at quarterback for South Carolina in its Week 1 opener vs. Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game. The preseason second-team All-SEC selection is entering his second season as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback, as he led the team to a 8-4 record last year while throwing for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Kyron Drones is starting at quarterback for Virginia Tech in its Week 1 opener vs. South Carolina in the Aflac Kickoff Game. He is one of six ACC starting quarterbacks who are returning for their second consecutive season.
What time does South Carolina vs Virginia Tech start?Date: Sunday, Aug. 31Time: 3 p.m. ETWhere: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
The Week 1 matchup between South Carolina and Virginia Tech is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 31 from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Watch South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech live with Fubo (free trial)
What TV channel is South Carolina vs Virginia Tech on today?
South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech will be broadcast nationally on ESPN in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season. Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick will call the game from the booth at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Kris Budden reporting from the sidelines.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
South Carolina-Virginia Tech predictionsSouth Carolina schedule 2025
Here is South Carolina’s schedule:
Sunday, Aug. 31: vs. Virginia Tech | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN (Fubo)Saturday, Sept. 6: vs. South Carolina State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+Saturday, Sept. 13: vs. Vanderbilt *Saturday, Sept. 20: at Missouri *Saturday, Sept. 27: vs. Kentucky *Saturday, Oct. 4: BYESaturday, Oct. 11: at No. 9 LSU *Saturday, Oct. 18: vs. Oklahoma *Saturday, Oct. 25: vs. No. 8 Alabama *Saturday, Nov. 1: at No. 15 Ole Miss *Saturday, Nov. 8: BYESaturday, Nov. 15: at No. 21 Texas A&M *Saturday, Nov. 22: vs. Coastal CarolinaSaturday, Nov. 29: vs. No. 6 Clemson | Noon ET
* Denotes SEC game
Virginia Tech schedule 2025
Here is Virginia Tech’s schedule:
Sunday, Aug. 31: vs. No. 13 South Carolina | 3 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)Saturday, Sept. 6: vs. Vanderbilt | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network (Fubo)Saturday, Sept. 13: vs. Old Dominion | 7 p.m. | ACC Network (Fubo)Saturday, Sept. 20: vs. WoffordSaturday, Sept. 27: at NC State *Saturday, Oct. 4: vs. Wake Forest *Saturday, Oct. 11: at Georgia Tech *Saturday, Oct. 18: BYEFriday, Oct. 24: vs. Cal * | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)Saturday, Nov. 1: vs. Louisville *Saturday, Nov. 8: BYESaturday, Nov. 15: at Florida State *Saturday, Nov. 22: vs. No. 10 Miami *Saturday, Nov. 29: at Virginia *
* Denotes ACC game