Shane Beamer is no stranger to Thursday games. How USC is preparing for a short week

South Carolina is gearing up for a rare midweek game — a feeling not unfamiliar to Shane Beamer.

In each of Beamer’s years as an assistant coach with South Carolina, the team played a Thursday night game. He told the team about each game.

The squad defeated Kentucky in 2007 and N.C. State in 2008 and 2009. USC also beat Ole Miss in 2009 on a Thursday, when “Sandstorm” debuted in Williams-Brice. South Carolina beat Southern Miss in 2010 in the season opener.

“Had some awesome Thursday nights out there in Columbia,” Beamer said. “Hopeful that this Thursday will be just as electric and exciting, as well.”

South Carolina will play S.C. State at 7 p.m. on Thursday to avoid the weather from incoming Hurricane Ian over the weekend.

The Gamecocks were excited to play a night game this week, Beamer said, and that excitement showed in practice on Tuesday. He had an idea the game would be moved on Monday night, but he was not certain until Tuesday morning.

South Carolina will speed up its preparation a bit this week. The team will look to condense its practices, as Beamer said Wednesday will be a “combination” of Thursday and Friday practices.

“There’s not enough hours in the day,” Beamer said.

Beamer reached out to the Miami Dolphins — who have a Thursday night game this week — to get a feel for their schedule during the week. A few members of USC’s staff have coached in the NFL as well, so he’s heard from them, too.

“There’s no perfect plan, but we’re trying to put together the best thing for our team at this moment,” Beamer said.

The team is watching film more often than normal, studying between classes when they have the chance. How the team runs its practice, according to offensive lineman Eric Douglas, won’t change much.

“You got to be excellent at being a student-athlete this week,” Douglas said. “Getting your classwork stuff done early, and whenever you finish that, just getting back into the building and getting the film on your own.”

The last time South Carolina moved a game due to the weather was in 2016 — during Beamer’s time at Georgia — when it moved its Saturday game against Georgia to Sunday because of an incoming hurricane. It also relocated for a 2015 game against LSU due to flooding.

South Carolina canceled a 2018 game against Marshall because of Hurricane Florence.

The last regular season game the team played on a Thursday was the 2016 season opener against Vanderbilt.

Defensive back Devonni Reed, who transferred in from Central Michigan, played his share of midweek games in the Mid-American Conference.

He said most of the midweek games weren’t a product of inclement weather but because of how the MAC conference scheduled games.

“It’s all about how you adjust,” Reed said. “As long as you’re focused on the game and the task at hand, it’ll be OK.”

Despite the midweek game, wide receiver Corey Rucker believes that enough fans will attend and make the experience similar to what the team is used to.

“I’m pretty sure the Cockpit will be full,” Rucker said. “College students really look for any reason to drink, so I think they’ll be there and be loud and rowdy. But overall, I think it’ll be a good atmosphere.”