By james art 
While the fourth quarter ended with South Carolina’s 44-20 victory over No. 10 Texas A&M on Saturday, the black-clad students edged closer to the hedge.
When the clock finally struck zero, those students – and then all the fans throughout Williams-Brice Stadium – jumped over the bushes and walls and stormed the field to celebrate with the Gamecocks finally defeating a ranked team after nine straight attempts .
For the first time since the Gamecocks dumped No. 5 Tennessee on the Willy-B in 2022, Gamecock fans finally got to be a part of a field storm.
However, it will cost the Gamecocks.
South Carolina will have to pay Texas A&M $250,000 for fans storming the field Saturday night.
“I’m sorry for the fine, Coach Tanner,” Shane Beamer told athletic director Ray Tanner in Saturday night’s postgame press conference. “Surely don’t take that out of our NIL money.”
Since the SEC updated its competition policy in 2023, thus resetting it, anything before that doesn’t count. The new policy dictates that the school will be fined $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second and $500,000 for each field or court invasion thereafter.
But South Carolina was fined in January after fans at Colonial Life Arena invaded the court after the men’s basketball team beat Kentucky.
That meant the Gamecocks now entered Saturday with one hit on their record. After an incredible November night, there will be a second strike — meaning the next time South Carolina fans storm the field/court, the Gamecocks will have to pay $500,000.