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South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer goes to significant lengths to help players prepare for "bad weather" games, and storms are possible Saturday in Columbia for the Gamecocks' matchup with No. 16 LSU.
While the Tigers rearranged their schedule Wednesday to brace for the worst as Hurricane Francine threatens Louisiana and beyond, the Gamecocks are prepping equipment and could follow wet-weather prep protocol Beamer has used in the past. That includes dunking footballs in water, spraying players to get them accustomed to playing in rain and altering field conditions.
Practice was moved up for LSU on Wednesday. Head coach Brian Kelly and players got off the field at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night and were informed the next one started early in the morning on Wednesday.
"Players had to come back in this morning around 6:30 a.m.," Kelly said. "That's a bit of a turnaround. But they have the rest of the day to recover. We're expecting some rain in Columbia on Saturday so it was good preparation for us working with the wet ball. The practice was what I expected it to be on a Wednesday. Hopefully this storm passes through without much damage and we're able to get back to a regular schedule on Thursday."
Kelly said he spent time Wednesday discussing expectations and a "no excuses" approach to ball security, reminding offensive players they have an advantage on cuts and breaks over defenders guessing where they might be going. But the key point in Wednesday's morning session was to take care of the ball.
"I've had some quarterbacks that spin it better than others in wet conditions. You have to cradle the ball a little bit different in wet conditions," Kelly said. "That's why it was important for me to get outside. I want to practice in these conditions because I don't think it's the same. ... More than anything else, it's taking care of the football in these conditions. We were talking about today, especially in special teams, how important all of these things are, especially on the road."
Kelly is attempting to keep his own weekly routine intact while focusing on South Carolina (2-0). He said LSU knew Beamer would have a heavyweight contender in 2024.
"He's got a quarterback that is an ascending players in this league, a salty defense with playmakers on the edge," Kelly said. "Just a great challenge. One that we knew coming in, early in our schedule, we knew we were going to need to get ready for. Sold out stadium, (ESPN College) GameDay."
Beamer said the Gamecocks are confident but guarding against letting their guard down.
"We talked this morning, one of the keys for Saturday is we have to learn how to deal with success the right way," Beamer said Wednesday. "And handle some of the, I don't want to say distractions, but there is a lot going on this week that we didn't have to deal with last week. Or that we didn't get to deal with last week. I think it's a positive, I think we need to get used to it. but one we need to make sure we are handling distractions the right way and we also have to handle success the right way. And we have to realize right now that the bandwagon is getting full."
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