COLUMBIA — South Carolina football wants to avoid a sickness but not the type that has to do with a cough.

"I know that there's this thing going around called the SEC flu or something with having a big win and then coming around and laying an egg," Gamecocks starting offensive lineman Nolan Hay said Oct. 27.

The Gamecocks (4-3, 2-3 SEC) are coming off a 27-24 win over then-No. 11 Tennessee on Oct. 24. They play at Oklahoma (4-3, 2-2) on Oct. 31 (4:15 pm ET, SEC Network).

Already this season, Ole Miss beat LSU at home then lost big on the road to unranked Florida the next week. Georgia beat Alabama on the road, then lost at home to unranked Auburn a week later. Tennessee was coming off a win over Alabama at home before losing to unranked South Carolina on the road.

"But we're a very mature group. We're not like that," Hay said. "We all just had a mentality of you got to get better. It's a new week and it's all about us at the end of the day."

When asked about his own definition of the SEC illness, coach Shane Beamer smiled and said he didn't want to elaborate, and added, "You can ask me again after the game."

After a related question, Beamer acknowledged it's not a trend he wants his team to follow and in some ways, the Gamecocks are already on the right track. They beat Florida 38-19 on the road before beating Tennessee, separated by an open date.

"I'd like to think we didn't succumb to it between Florida and Tennessee," Beamer said. "I get we had an off week in between but ... it's something that I'm aware of, our players are aware and it's something we've challenged ourselves to combat this week."

Beamer called the Florida win "pretty dang big" and described the field storming after beating the Vols as "euphoria" but as of 1:45 p.m. the next day, it was onto Oklahoma.

"We can't let that be the highlight of the season," Beamer said. "It would be really disappointing and a shame if that's the highlight of the year, Saturday night against Tennessee."

In 2024, South Carolina had a road week win, then an open date, then beat the No. 11 team in the country, just like the last three weeks. That season ended on a six-game SEC win streak, finishing a career-best 9-4 season for Beamer.

"It's going in that direction," cornerback Judge Collier said when asked if it feels like 2024 right now. "That's the goal. One week at a time, one play at a time."