South Carolina continues moving up in Top 25 polls
Shane Beamer and his South Carolina football team continue to take care of business. Following a 3-3 start, the Gamecocks won their fifth game in a row on Saturday. This most recent victory, a 56-12 thrashing of the Wofford Terriers, came despite a slow start.
The victory moved Carolina to 8-3 (5-3) on the 2024 season and tied Shane Beamer with Steve Spurrier for the most wins through a head coach’s first four seasons in garnet and black (28). With another regular season game and a bowl remaining, Beamer will have at least two more opportunities to best his mentor’s record.
Typically, a win over an FCS opponent like Wofford doesn’t move the needle much in the rankings. However, because of what happened around the country on Saturday, that wasn’t the case this week.
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Seven teams ahead of the Gamecocks in at least one major ranking lost. Indiana, Alabama, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M, Colorado, and Army all fell on Saturday. South Carolina, though, took care of business and won big.
When the USA Today Coaches Poll dropped around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, the Gamecocks had moved up to No. 14, a five-spot improvement from last week. This is the third week in a row USC has made the Coaches Poll.
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The Gamecocks have made the Associated Press Top 25 for three straight weeks. Carolina’s AP ranking matched their spot in the Coaches Poll the last two weeks, but when this week’s poll came out, USC ranked No. 16 according to the AP.
The College Football Playoff Ranking has liked Shane Beamer’s team more than the other two prominent polls. The Gamecocks were 21st two weeks ago and 18th last week in the poll that matters. The highly-anticipated update to the CFP Rankings will happen on Tuesday night. Fans can tune in to watch the CFP Selection Committee’s rankings show at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN. South Carolina needed to win and have chaos happen around them to have any semblance of a chance to earn a College Football Playoff spot. So far, they’ve won, and chaos has abounded. The heavy doubt and skepticism around the Gamecocks’ chances are dwindling by the day.
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With just one game remaining on the 2024 regular season schedule, Saturday’s game holds more national relevance for South Carolina football than almost any game in recent memory. With a win and some more help around them, the Gamecocks could find their way into the CFP’s 12-team field. Of course, Saturday’s contest is the annual rivalry against the Clemson Tigers.
The Gamecocks and Tigers will kick off in the Upstate at noon on Saturday. ESPN will broadcast the top-15 showdown, and the ESPN app will make it available for streaming.
