South Carolina football's Gator Bowl schedule

After a few days off, South Carolina begins a frenzied week of bowl prep in Jacksonville. 

The Gamecocks broke for Christmas a few days ago, arriving down in Jacksonville last night to begin on-site practices for the Gator Bowl. 

It’s a jam-packed week with plenty going on from four practices to three availabilities, a press conference and multiple team events. 

Here’s a look at a general schedule for the week. 

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Sunday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)

South Carolina’s team arrived in Jacksonville by 6 p.m. Christmas night and had a team dinner soon after at the team hotel. 

The Gamecocks’ players and coaches had a few days off before reconvening in the Sunshine State. South Carolina’s last practice was Dec. 22 and players had the rest of that day and the next two days to go home and spend time with family before getting to Jacksonville to start bowl practice. 

The plan is to practice four times–a typical game week–at a local high school before the Friday kickoff. 

Monday, Dec. 26

The Gamecocks will practice at 10:25 a.m. Monday morning with the first two periods, roughly 15 minutes, open to the media. It’s the first time the Gamecocks will practice on-site.

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Shane Beamer will meet with the media after practice to preview the week ahead, speak about any players who signed after Wednesday, and update the team before his official press conference Thursday morning. 

There are no other official events scheduled for that day, according to a South Carolina release.

Tuesday, Dec. 27

The Gamecocks will again practice at 10:25 a.m. with the first three periods open to the media as well. That will span about 20 minutes of practice. 

Defensive players will meet with the media after practice Tuesday to preview the bowl game and speak about the challenges Notre Dame’s offense presents. 

There is a spouses luncheon at noon Tuesday with multiple player events later that afternoon. The players will have an outing at Naval Station Mayport after practice then have a team service event at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort before dinner. 

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Wednesday, Dec. 28

South Carolina’s final big practice will start at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday and will be closed to the media. Requested offensive players will be available for interviews after practice to speak about the bowl and what’s next for the program.

The players will also have a team outing at Top Golf in the early afternoon. That is the only thing on the schedule after practice, according to South Carolina. 

Thursday, Dec. 29

Thursday is the big media day of the entire bowl week with the Gamecocks participating in the traditional press conference at 11 a.m.

Before that, though, the team will go to a local zoo for a team outing. 

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For the press conference, Beamer and four of the team’s five captains will meet with the media. The only captain who won’t is Zacch Pickens, who is not playing in the bowl game. Eric Douglas, Jovaughn Gwyn, Brad Johnson and Spencer Rattler will all be available to the media. 

The team will have a Dream Team visit after the press conference and then have the final practice of the season later in the day. 

Practice starts at 2:35 p.m. and will be closed to the media with no availability afterward. 

There will be a pep rally at the Beach Seawalk Pavilion at 6:30 p.m. There is also a Patrick Davis concert following that at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. and it will be at the Florida Theatre. 

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Friday, Dec. 30

It’s officially game day. 

South Carolina will kick off against Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. on ABC from TIAA Bank. With a win, the Gamecocks can clinch a nine-win year for just the second time since 2013 and arguably the best season over the last decade. 

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