South Carolina football finally earns deserved spot in top 25 rankings
USC did not crack the major top-25 rankings (AP Poll, USA Today Coaches Poll, or College Football Playoff Ranking) following the first two wins in the streak. However, that is changing this week now that the Gamecocks are 6-3.
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On Sunday, the USA Today Coaches Poll released its update around 12:30 p.m. The Gamecocks slotted into the No. 23 spot in the rankings. Last week’s poll saw Carolina receive the third-most votes among all unranked teams. This week’s inclusion marks USC’s first in the USA Today Coaches Poll since the final poll of the 2022 season.
A little over an hour later, the AP Poll dropped, and South Carolina found itself ranked No. 23rd again. When last week’s AP poll released, South Carolina had the second-most votes of all unranked squads. This is the first time the Gamecocks have been ranked in the AP Poll since the last ranking of 2022.
On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will release its second ranking of the season. The question no longer is “if” South Carolina will be ranked; instead, it is a question of “how high?” Like with the AP Poll and Coaches Poll, USC hasn’t been included in the CFP Rankings since 2022’s final list.
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[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game]
Up next on the schedule is the Missouri Tigers. After a wild finish against Oklahoma moved Mizzou to 7-2, Eli Drinkwitz’s team remained ranked. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Tigers are 21st. The AP Poll pegs them as the sport’s 24th-best team. They likely will be in the CFP Rankings, too, as they were 24th last week and won on Saturday.
Saturday’s contest (set for 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network and the ESPN app) represents a big moment for South Carolina. The team’s small College Football Playoff hopes hinge upon the Gamecocks winning the rest of their games, including finding a way to knock off Missouri for the first time since 2018. Even if the CFP isn’t in the cards, with a strong finish, Carolina could earn its way to a nice bowl game and the program’s most regular-season wins since 2013.
Despite the team’s similar rankings, South Carolina opened as around a two-touchdown favorite.
