​Williams-Brice Stadium endzone Provided/Williams Brice StadiumCOLUMBIA – The Gamecocks pulled off a 57-0 season-opening rout over Kent State on Sept. 5, but the biggest win may be the lack of reported injuries and hospitalizations from a game played in blistering heat. Owens Airport, the closest sensor to Brice-Williams stadium, recorded temperatures in the mid 90s at the game’s 12:45 p.m. kickoff.By the fourth quarter the mercury topped out at 95 degrees with a humidity-driven “feels-like” high of 110 degrees, making the contest the hottest ever football game played at Brice-Williams, according to multiple reports.Beamer praises his team for overcoming the elementsWith South Carolina comfortably leading by 50 points on the fourth quarter, the game was cut short by 10 minutes.Wide receiver Nyck Harbor was the only South Carolina player who left the field during the game, but it was not due to the blistering heat. Harbor apparently bumped helmets with a Kent State player while making a block.In South Carolina Football’s post-game video on X, Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer congratulated the team on its victory as well as its lack of health concerns.“It’s the hottest game in the history of South Carolina football; we had no cramping issues,” Beamer said to a round of cheers.Players started chanting Yimy Queipo Rodriguez, the name of the team’s performance nutritionist. Beamer happily handed the game ball to Rodriguez.Students try to beat the heatPerhaps students in the stands could have benefited from Rodriguez’s ministrations as they struggled in the searing temperatures.“I saw multiple people who looked really sick,” student Kendall Chandler told The Daily Gamecock. “It looked like they were having heat exhaustion.”Students also reported getting burns on the back of their legs as the relentless sun seared the stadium’s metal seats.Student Government provided students with free water. By 11:45 a.m., an hour before kickoff, student government’s entire supply of approximately 1,200 water bottles had run out.Water is not enough to keep fans in their seatsLuckily, the USC athletic department placed large buckets of water and ice around the stadium, as well as extra fans on the concourse. The stadium also sold and gave away almost 50,000 water bottles during the game, doubling the amount given out last year at a single game.Nonetheless, by halftime, Williams-Brice staff advised students to leave. Many complied, and by fourth quarter most students had left the sparsely shaded stands.Some attendees questioned if the game should have rescheduled once the impact of the heat became apparent. The point gains pertinence considering that the Gamecock’s Sept. 12 home game against Mississippi State has a scheduled 4:15 p.m. kickoff, a time that could be problematic if the the season’s excessive heat persists.The Post and Courier reached out to USC’s Athletics Communications and Public Relations Department with questions about the depar