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When South Carolina goes on the road to face No. 23 Missouri on Saturday, star quarterback LaNorris Sellers will get the start. Sellers has been cleared to play after he was knocked out of last weekend’s loss to Vanderbilt, sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Sellers exited South Carolina’s 31-7 loss to the Commodores just before halftime after taking a forceful blow to his chin, and he did not return to the game after that. In the days leading up to this clash with the Tigers, there was some uncertainty about Sellers’ availability. Although South Carolina coach Shane Beamer remained optimistic, Sellers was listed as questionable on the official injury report on Wednesday. He was upgraded to probable on Thursday and is now good to go for Saturday’s showdown in Columbia.
Getting Sellers back is good news for South Carolina on a couple of fronts. For starters, the team is pretty thin at quarterback behind Sellers. Sixth-year senior Luke Doty took Sellers’ place against Vanderbilt and completed just 18 of his 27 passing attempts for 148 yards and an interception.
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On top of that, Sellers carved up the Tigers’ defense when the teams met at Williams-Brice Stadium last year. Sellers threw for 353 yards and five touchdowns while adding 45 rushing yards in a 34-30 win. The Gamecocks may need a similar performance given how good the Missouri offense has looked in the early going.
Throughout the 2024 season, Sellers elevated the South Carolina offense with his dynamic playmaking ability. He threw for 2,534 yards, rushed for 674 more and tallied 25 total touchdowns. Through two-plus games this season, Sellers has accumulated 476 total yards and three touchdowns.
If the Gamecocks are going to bring home a win on Saturday night, Sellers will need to build upon his impressive 2024 campaign. Missouri, coming off a 52-10 trouncing of Louisiana, is currently a 10-point favorite over South Carolina at DraftKings Sportsbook.
With Sellers in for this one, we could have a shootout on our hands because the Missouri offense is loaded with weapons and averages 51.6 points per game. Quarterback Beau Pribula is sixth in the conference with 791 passing yards, running back Ahmad Hardy leads the league with 462 rushing yards and Mississippi State transfer Kevin Coleman Jr. is off to a good start at wide receiver.