While the FCS kicked off on Saturday, the highest level of college football officially begins play at 6 p.m. Thursday when the South Carolina Gamecocks travel to face the North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte.
How to watch South Carolina vs. UNC on TV or online, plus 3 things to know
The Battle of the Carolinas will kick off the FBS season on Thursday night.
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Despite 52 games all-time between the two schools, the Thursday night matchup is only the third time the two sides have faced each other since 1991, dimming what was once a strong football rivalry. Annual games between UNC and South Carolina ended when the Gamecocks left the ACC in 1971 to become an independent for two decades and eventually join the SEC in 1991.
South Carolina enters as a 3.5-point favorite, according to OddsShark. The Heels return a ton on offense and hired former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik to fix the defense, while the Gamecocks might be in better shape than a lot of people think.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN (Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack, Kaylee Hartung)
Radio: South Carolina, North Carolina
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Three big things to know
- Connor Mitch is a North Carolina native, but will make his first start for the Gamecocks after winning a competition for the quarterback job. The 6'3, 211-pound passer redshirted in 2013 and sat behind Dylan Thompson in 2014, but takes over the reins of the South Carolina offense now as a redshirt sophomore.
- Pharoh Cooper is one of the top wide receivers in all of college football and likely the top prospect for the 2016 NFL Draft playing in the game, but if things went just a little differently a few years ago, he might be playing for the other team instead. During his recruitment, he felt slighted when promised tickets to a UNC basketball game only to have them rescinded, which led him to his commitment to South Carolina.
- The teams are meeting in Charlotte to play at Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers. The 93-mile travel to the game is actually less for South Carolina, listed as the away team for the game, than it is for the Tar Heels, who are 140 miles away in Chapel Hill.
Further reading
For more on South Carolina, check out Garnet and Black Attack. For more on UNC, take a look at Tarheel Blog.
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