South Carolina makes ESPN's BCS + College Football Playoff poll
It’s been over a decade since the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) played a role in college football. However, from 1998-2013, the BCS picked the participants in the National Championship Game. Since then, a 4-team and 12-team College Football Playoff has taken its place.
Even so, on Wednesday night, ESPN released a prediction for the first College Football Playoff top 25 with a BCS-style formula. Just like the BCS before it, ESPN used human rankings and computer projections to determine its top 25.
The BCS-style predicted poll can be seen below (Associated Press ranking; then, USA Today coaches poll rankings in parentheses):
- Oregon Ducks (1; 1)
- Georgia Bulldogs (2; 2)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (3; 3)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (4; 4)
- Texas Longhorns (5; 6)
- Miami Hurricanes (6; 5)
- Tennessee Volunteers (7; 8)
- LSU Tigers (8; 7)
- Clemson Tigers (9; 9)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12; 11)
- Iowa State Cyclones (10; 10)
- Indiana Hoosiers (13; 13)
- BYU Cougars (11; 12)
- Texas A&M Aggies (14; 14)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (15; 15)
- Kansas State Wildcats (16; 16)
- Ole Miss Rebels (18; 18)
- Missouri Tigers (21; 17)
- Boise State Broncos (17; 19)
- Pittsburgh Panthers (19; 20)
- SMU Mustangs (22; 22)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (20; 21)
- Army Black Knights (23; 23)
- Navy Midshipmen (24; 24)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (NR; NR)
[See what Gamecock fans are saying on The Insiders Forum!]
While South Carolina did not feature in the AP poll or USA Today coaches poll, the Gamecocks slotted into the No. 25 spot in ESPN’s College Football Playoff predictor. USC also was included in top-25 rankings from ESPN’s FPI, Josh Pate’s JP Poll, the Massey Rankings, and the Kelley Ford Ratings.
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The first rankings are in
The Gamecocks are the only team included in ESPN’s BCS-style poll that did not find itself ranked in either the AP or USA Today coaches polls.
Because everything is on TV now, the first official College Football Playoff ranking reveal will be on ESPN on November 5th. The “worldwide leader” will air the selection show live from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on November 5th; the ESPN app also will stream the show.
However, before any College Football Playoff rankings come out, South Carolina has a game to play. Following the Gamecocks’ bye this Saturday, Shane Beamer’s team will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies (ranked 14th in all three polls mentioned in this article) to Williams-Brice Stadium for the Battle for the Bonham Trophy. Though ESPN has revealed a night kickoff for the game, the exact kick time and television network remains up in the air. Texas A&M won last year’s matchup, but South Carolina was victorious the last time the two teams played in Columbia back in 2022.
