South Carolina football drops out of AP top 10

Finally, in the early hours of Sunday morning, South Carolina football completed a 38-10 victory over SC State. The Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs handily on the scoreboard, but the game felt far from lopsided, as USC got three non-offensive touchdowns to make up the majority of the scoring margin. In the end, though, Carolina is 2-0 heading into the SEC opener next week against Vanderbilt.

Though not the showing fans hoped for, the SC State contest didn’t hurt the Gamecocks too much in the rankings. It was, however, enough to lose a spot in the top 10.

When the Associated Press dropped its updated top 25 poll on Sunday afternoon, South Carolina dropped to the No. 11 overall spot. That is also fourth in the SEC. USC spent just one week among the top 10.

If the AP poll translated to the final College Football Playoff ranking, the Gamecocks would be the first team out of the College Football Playoff field.

Next week’s USC foe, the Vanderbilt Commodores, debuted in the also receiving votes portion of the poll, collecting one No. 25 vote on Sunday.

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The entire updated AP top 25 is below (first-place overall votes in parentheses):

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (57)
2. Penn State Nittany Lions (5)
3. LSU Tigers (2)
4. Oregon Ducks (1)
5. Miami Hurricanes
6. Georgia Bulldogs
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
9. Illinois Fighting Illini
10. Florida State Seminoles
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
12. Clemson Tigers
13. Oklahoma Sooners
14. Iowa State Cyclones
15. Tennessee Volunteers
16. Texas A&M Aggies
17. Ole Miss Rebels
18. South Florida Bulls
19. Alabama Crimson Tide
20. Utah Utes
21. Texas Tech Red Raiders
22. Indiana Hoosiers
23. Michigan Wolverines
24. Auburn Tigers
25. Missouri Tigers

Also receiving votes: Arizona State Sun Devils, BYU Cougars, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Florida Gators, Southern Cal Trojans, TCU Horned Frogs, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Louisville Cardinals, SMU Mustangs, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tulane Green Wave, Baylor Bears, UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, Pittsburgh Panthers, Navy Midshipmen, Memphis Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores

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The USA Today coaches poll also released its updated top 25 on Sunday. Following up a No. 11 spot from last week, South Carolina moved up to No. 10. If the eventual final CFP ranking mirrors the coaches poll, that spot would be good enough to crack the 12-team field as the final at-large team in the field.

ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) updated to include the Gamecocks at No. 20, 11th in the Southeastern Conference. The sizable drop stems from poor efficiency numbers and a strength of schedule dip from playing an FCS opponent.

South Carolina and Vanderbilt will kick off Saturday at 7:45 p.m. SEC Network will broadcast the SEC contest, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming.

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