Where South Carolina sits this week in bowl projections
The South Carolina win Saturday was big for a lot of reasons.
The Gamecocks got the Kentucky monkey off of their backs, picking up their first road win of the Shane Beamer era and first win against a ranked opponent since 2020. It was a big win, potentially, for the long-term effects of the program.
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But in the short-term, it puts the Gamecocks back on the path to bowl eligibility.
South Carolina sits two wins away from postseason play with six games two go, while two of which (Missouri and at Vanderbilt) will have the Gamecocks as favorites.
Because of that, the six-win threshold seems likely and the Gamecocks are sitting in a few projections entering their bye week.
The destinations are familiar ones, the vast majority of outlets picking the Gamecocks to head to the Birmingham Bowl two days after Christmas.
The Action Network, Athlon Sports, College Football News, a pair of ESPN writers and Yahoo all have South Carolina heading back to Alabama for its bowl game.
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The opponents, though, vary. One has the Gamecocks against an ACC team in Georgia Tech, another against a potentially intriguing in-state school and the rest a mixture of Big 12 or future Big 12 programs.
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South Carolina last played in the Birmingham Bowl in 2016, taking on South Florida in Will Muschamp’s first season with the Gamecocks.
CBS Sports and USA Today also have the Gamecocks heading west and playing in the Liberty Bowl. CBS has the Gamecocks playing Kansas State while USA Today pits them against another Big 12 school in Baylor. That game is Dec. 28.
The only outlet to not put South Carolina in either Birmingham or Memphis was Sporting News, who had South Carolina playing Dec. 17 in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl against Cincinnati.
That game is obviously played in Boston at Fenway Park.
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South Carolina is on a bye this week and closes the year hosting Texas A&M and Missouri while hitting the road for games at Vanderbilt and Florida. The Gamecocks get Tennessee at home before closing the regular season on the road at Clemson.
Full slate of bowl projections
Action Network: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Georgia Tech
Athlon Sports: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Iowa State
CBS Sports: Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28) vs. Kansas State
College Football News: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. BYU
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Coastal Carolina
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Tulane
USA Today: Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28) vs. Baylor
Sporting News: Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Dec. 17) vs. Cincinnati
Yahoo: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. BYU
