SEC Stadium Makes Case for College Football’s Most Underrated Atmosphere

South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium spent Saturday night making its case as one of college football’s loudest and most underrated home environments, with a sellout crowd carrying the Gamecocks to a walk-off win over No. 11 Tennessee.

Kicker Malik Orsan made a 48-yard field goal as time expired for a 27-24 victory, and the sold-out crowd of 79,193 flooded the field with “Sandstorm” blaring through the stadium.

How did Williams-Brice tilt the finish?

Tennessee led 24-17 when Vols coach Josh Heupel went for it on fourth-and-1 at the South Carolina 39 with 3:35 left, and the Gamecocks stuffed quarterback George MacIntyre.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers tied it on a touchdown run with 1:17 remaining, and Dylan Stewart stripped MacIntyre on the next possession to set up the winning kick.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer spent the week asking the crowd to “answer the bell this weekend and be an absolute factor and weapon for us this Saturday.”

“Neyland Stadium last week was a weapon, and Williams-Brice Stadium tonight was a weapon, too,” Beamer said after the game. He added that the fans “never flinched and they never wavered.”

The field storming will cost South Carolina a $500,000 SEC fine, one week after Tennessee drew the same penalty when its fans celebrated a win over Alabama.

Williams-Brice’s record night against Georgia

The stadium’s attendance record still stands from Oct. 6, 2012, when 85,199 fans watched No. 6 South Carolina beat No. 5 Georgia 35-7.

SEC Country’s Joe Vitale, a Georgia fan who attended that game, has called it the most intimidating atmosphere he’s witnessed.

“Years ago, I wrote that South Carolina had the second-most loyal fan base in the SEC. I took heat for that. But if you’ve experienced Williams-Brice Stadium during a big Saturday night game, you understand,” Vitale wrote Saturday.

He added, “No atmosphere I’ve experienced tops Oct. 6, 2012, when South Carolina crushed Georgia.”

The 1934-built stadium has also been credited with 133.6 decibels, matching the Husky Stadium reading that stood as college football’s most cited noise record for 31 years. Still, EA Sports College Football 27 left Williams-Brice out of its top five toughest places to play, a list led by LSU’s Tiger Stadium.

Why Gamecocks fans keep showing up

Saturday’s sellout came one year after a 4-8 season that led AL.com to name South Carolina’s supporters the SEC’s most depressed fan base.

The Gamecocks then started 0-3 in SEC play this fall, including a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky, and Beamer landed on the college football coaching hot seat index.

“Sandstorm rocking, fans who keep showing up through the bad years getting a night like that. It’s hard to beat,” Vitale wrote.

Beamer has since beaten then-No. 16 Florida and Tennessee in consecutive games, and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy picked South Carolina to win 27-24 earlier this week, the exact final score.

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) visits Oklahoma on Oct. 31 and needs two more wins to become bowl eligible.