A little over a month ago, the thought of South Carolina playing a competitive game, much less beating Mississippi State seemed like wishful thinking for Gamecock fans. At 4-4, USC had been blown out twice by top-10 teams at home and struggled against lesser ones. MSU, meanwhile, was 8-0 and had soundly thrashed then-No. 10 Texas on the road.
But when Dawn Staley’s team travels to Starkville on Thursday for a showdown on ESPN, it will enter with plenty of momentum, feeling confident about its chances.
Carolina has won eight games in a row, including some tough road victories.