South Carolina's latest bowl projections heading into showdown with top-10 Texas A&M
South Carolina football fans didn’t have a Gamecock game to watch this weekend. Instead, fans of the garnet and black were treated to a wild weekend of college football. There were lots of near-upsets, but only the Texas A&M Aggies knocked off a higher-ranked opponent on Saturday.
Because South Carolina faces off with that newly-minted top-10 Texas A&M team this Saturday, there is a chance for major movement in how the national media views Shane Beamer’s team. For now, though, the Gamecocks’ latest bowl projections didn’t see much change from last week.
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ESPN’s duo of Mark Schlabach and Kyle Banagura again predicted different bowl situations for USC. According to Schlabach, the Birmingham Bowl remains Carolina’s most likely destination. This time, though, he penciled in Boston College as the Gamecocks’ opponent. Bonagura remained consistent with his Texas Bowl vs. Cincinnati prediction. South Carolina has never played Boston College, and the Birmingham Bowl hasn’t been kind to the Gamecocks; the team is 0-1 in the Birmingham Bowl and lost two previous iterations of the bowl in Birmingham, as well (the PapaJohns.com Bowl after the 2009 season and the Hall of Fame Classic in 1979). The Gamecocks are 2-0 historically against Cincinnati but have never been to the Texas Bowl.
Despite projecting the Gamecocks in his field of bowl teams a week ago, CBS’ Jerry Palm has removed them from bowl season after the bye week. No bowl for the Gamecocks likely would mean a win over Wofford but a combined 0-4 record against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Clemson down the stretch.
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Veteran sportswriter Brett McMurphy of the Action Network joined Schlabach in picking South Carolina to play in the Birmingham Bowl. According to McMurphy, though, the Gamecocks will match up with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. USC hasn’t played GT since 1991 when Sparky Woods’ team won 23-14 in Columbia.
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Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan didn’t update his projection for South Carolina. He still has the Gamecocks and Illinois Fighting Illini meeting in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. The two unique mascot-named programs have never met on the gridiron. Carolina has never played in the Music City Bowl, either.
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The 4-3 Gamecocks need two more victories to reach bowl eligibility. With FCS-level Wofford still remaining as a likely win, that means South Carolina also needs a victory over at least one of Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (in Nashville), Missouri, or Clemson (in the Upstate) to reach the six-win threshold for eligibility.
This week, the Texas A&M Aggies and South Carolina Gamecocks will kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium. USC fans not able to attend the game can tune in on ABC, ESPN+, or the ESPN app.
