By: Lauren Hinnant
The Gamecock football team heads home to face the Florida Gators this week after four weeks on the road and a 44 to 28 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday.
The team is dealing with a string of injuries and may be without starting quarterback Connor Shaw. Players say that even with the defeat in Arkansas, they must put the game behind them and remember the race for the SEC East is not over yet.
"Stay focused and just let what happened last week...that's just in the past," said Junior Wide Receiver Alshon Jeffrey.
Melvin Ingram agreed with Jeffrey. "We can't let one loss effect us for two games. We've got to forget about that and go out and practice hard this week," said the defensive end.
The Gamecocks return home for the first time in four weeks to play SEC East rival Florida and take part in the homecoming festivities that come with the game.
One familiar face may not be on the field Saturday, however. Connor Shaw suffered a concussion late in the fourth quarter of the Arkansas game. A decision on his availability will be made later in the week.
USC students are standing behind the football team no matter the adversity they've faced thus far.
"Florida's a big rivalry game and it's homecoming week. We'll be able to come back strong. I'm sure the crowd will be loud," said Freshman Kevin Keating.
Jeffrey and Ingram say they are anxious to get back on their own field.
"Every team wants to win homecoming," said Jeffrey. "I mean it's a 12:00 game. We're excited about being back at home and our crowd is going to help us out a lot."
"It's a big deal. It just feels good to be back home in front of our home crowd...just getting our fan support," Ingram said.
When asked how big the SEC East is playing in the back of their head, Ingram said, "We can't dwell on that. We've just got to focus on our next game and that's Florida. We've got to put all our focus onto them and try to go and get a victory."
And put the Georgia Bulldogs, who sit at number one in the SEC East, in the back of their mind.
