South Carolina has never played Oklahoma; here is a list of the other major programs never to play the Gamecocks
This Saturday, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer will return to Norman, Oklahoma to face his former team. It will be the first time the Gamecocks and Sooners have met on the gridiron.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the South Carolina football program was an Independent. During that time, the Gamecocks routinely played teams from all over the country. USC also spent time as part of three historically southeastern leagues in the Southern Conference, ACC, and SEC. Carolina has matched up against teams from across college football in bowl games, as well. However, there still are plenty of major college football programs the Gamecocks haven’t played.
As things currently stand in the ever-changing landscape of conference realignment, South Carolina has played every team in the three Division-I Independents but has not faced off with 100% of any current major conference. On Saturday, that will change as Oklahoma is the final SEC school on the Gamecocks’ checklist.
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Despite having been a former member of the ACC, South Carolina has never played six current members of the league. The Louisville Cardinals, Boston College Eagles, Syracuse Orange, SMU Mustangs, Cal Golden Bears, and Stanford Cardinal all joined the conference in the 21st century. Because of that, none of them have never scheduled a game against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina has played six different BIG Ten teams in bowl games and four more in regular season contests. That leaves the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Illinois Fighting Illini, Purdue Boilermakers, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, and Washington Huskies as teams who never faced the Gamecocks. It is worth noting that the Gamecocks are 5-1 against historic teams like the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes. USC also beat the Southern Cal Trojans, Wisconsin Badgers, and Nebraska Cornhuskers the last time the teams played.
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Surprisingly, the Gamecocks have played the same number of teams in the Big 12 as in the BIG Ten. Carolina hasn’t battled against the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, BYU Cougars, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Utah Utes, Colorado Buffaloes, or Kansas Jayhawks.
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If it still counts as major college football, South Carolina hasn’t played the only two current members of the Pac-12. However, if the planned expansion holds, the Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers will be joined by the Colorado State Rams, Utah State Aggies, San Diego State Aztecs, and Fresno State Bulldogs. The Gamecocks have faced (and beaten) the Boise State Broncos in the program’s only game against the proposed new-look Pac-12.
Outside of major college football, South Carolina has played four teams from Conference USA, two teams from the current Mountain West, and eight teams from the MAC. They’ve also locked horns with nine teams from the Sun Belt and ten from the American Conference. The most notable teams from those leagues never to play USC include the Liberty Flames and Air Force Falcons.
