LSU probably wasn’t expecting to face the Southeastern Conference leaders this early in the schedule. 

And maybe South Carolina needs as asterisk at the top of the standings. 

But the Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC) are alone up there, having played the lone conference game of the young season when they opened with a resounding 31-6 road victory over Kentucky last week. 

It has the Gamecocks’ fan base excited about the school’s first 1-0 conference start since 2017. 

It must be a big game — ESPN selected Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia for its popular “College GameDay” telecast, which will end just before the 11 a.m. Saturday kickoff. 

There’s a strong possibility of rain in the forecast and LSU head coach Brian Kelly said he is expecting a raucous crowd from what has always been a loyal following. 

LSU figures to get their attention as the Tigers have dominated the seldom-played series, 19-2-1. 

It will also be the first true road test for the Tigers (1-0, 0-0), who opened their season in a neutral stadium in Las Vegas with a 27-20 loss to the other USC, Southern Cal. 

It’s LSU’s first trip to Columbia since 2008. The Tigers have one player, wide receiver-kick returner Zavion Thomas, a transfer from Mississippi State, who has ever played in Williams-Brice, which is located in the state fair grounds. 

But, as Kelly said, “There’s a lot of guys who have played on the road and know and understand what it takes to win … in that kind of atmosphere. It requires a focus. It requires understanding that you’re in it every single play with an incredible sense of urgency.

“I’m not dealing with a group of guys that will be surprised by what game day in South Carolina and all that will be about.”

LSU did the standard road-game prep with music blared in for the week’s practices.

But Kelly said the key is to match the adrenalin a fired-up USC team figures to bring before its home crowd.

“You have to dominate your opponent every single play to the point they say, ‘I don’t think we’re going to win today,’” Kelly said.

“That doesn’t happen in the first quarter, it doesn’t happen by talking about it at the coin flip. You have to do it every single play, knocking them back.”

That sounds like physical play.

But Kelly spent a good portion of this week explaining why the Tigers managed 68 yards rushing last week against what should have been an outmanned Nicholls State team.

His standard answer has been that the Tigers took what the Colonels gave them — Nicholls was stacking defenders at the line of scrimmage so LSU turned quarterback Garrett Nussmeier loose in the air.

But that doesn’t mean Kelly wouldn’t like to see a more effective running game.

“There are times you have to run the ball with extra hats (at the line), right?” he said. “So I don’t want to paint the picture that we’re never going to run the box with seven guys. But if it’s clear that you’re going to get man coverage, and they are committed to that, then there are better alternatives for us (throwing).

“But we’re trying to find a way that we can get the kind of balance where they have to respect everything that we do.”

“I just don’t want to paint a picture that we’re never going to run the ball unless the numbers are exactly right. That’s not true, but we are going to be tactically smart about what we do.”

It’s early, of course but … first place in the SEC is at stake.

“We’ll find out a lot about our football team,” Kelly said.