ESPN projects South Carolina to two different bowls as season starts
It is officially bowl projection season for South Carolina.
College football officially starts Saturday, and with kickoff on the horizon, ESPN has released its preseason bowl projections. There are also varying ideas of where the Gamecocks end up.
Kyle Bonagura has South Carolina going to the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl and playing Virginia Tech.
The bowl is typically reserved for a six or seven-win SEC team and is played two days before Christmas in Tampa, Florida.
Mark Schlabach has the Gamecocks in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl playing Minnesota in Nashville.
The Gamecocks are also playing Vanderbilt this season in Nashville.
That is typically a bowl that sees a seven or eight-win team from the SEC against a school from the Big 10.
South Carolina hasn’t played in either of those two bowls. They were going to play in the Gasparilla Bowl during the 2020 season. That was ultimately canceled.
The Gamecocks have played in a bowl game 15 times since the 2000 season and are 9-6 in that span.
Their most recent bowl game, and win, was the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. South Carolina trounced North Carolina 38-21 to get to seven wins on the season.
But the Gamecocks are going to have to face their fair share of projected bowl teams by ESPN.
Both Bonagura and Schlabach projected Georgia and Clemson to play this year’s College Football Playoff. Neither projects them to make it to the national championship.
ESPN projects Arkansas to make it to either the Liberty or ReliaQuest Bowl. Both project Kentucky to the Citrus Bowl. ESPN projects Flordia to the Gator and Liberty bowls. Tennessee finds itself at the Las Vegas or Texas bowls.
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Each has Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl, a New Year’s Six game. Schlabach has Charlotte playing Mississippi State in the Birmingham Bowl.
South Carolina upgraded its roster this season, bringing in a quality freshman and transfer portal class this offseason.
Spencer Rattler headlines it, but it should have plenty of incoming players who will be key contributors.
South Carolina opens the season Sept. 3 against Georgia State (7:30 p.m., ESPN Plus) before hitting the road. The Gamecocks are at Arkansas before returning home to host Georgia.
Both of those games are at noon ET.
The Gamecocks just wrapped their second week of preseason camp. They scrimmaged Saturday night, the final of this preseason, and begin opponent preparations this week.
South Carolina has an off day Monday before practicing Tuesday morning in what is a typical game week.
Shane Beamer and players will meet with the media Tuesday while coordinators have scheduled press conferences Wednesday.
