National bowl projections for South Carolina, including a College Football Playoff prediction

On a Saturday that included upsets and long weather delays in the Southeast, Shane Beamer’s South Carolina Gamecocks didn’t have their best day on the field but managed to win 38-10, nonetheless.

With the victory, Carolina moved to 2-0 on the season and will begin conference play this weekend.

Virtually every national college football voice has the Gamecocks participating in a nice bowl this winter, and one bowl season guru even has South Carolina in the College Football Playoff.

Below, you can check out some of the latest national bowl projections for USC.

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On3’s Brett McMurphy didn’t change his destination from last week for South Carolina. Again, the veteran writer predicts a trip to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl. However, instead of playing against the Baylor Bears, McMurphy now thinks the Gamecocks could match up with the BYU Cougars. If that projection plays out, the January 2nd bowl game would be the first-ever meeting between the two teams on the gridiron. The program hasn’t played in the Liberty Bowl since Steve Spurrier led the ‘Cocks to a victory over the Houston Cougars following the 2006 season.

ESPN duo Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura have the Gamecocks staying closer to home for another January 2nd contest. Both national analysts currently project a Duke’s Mayo Bowl trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. They differ on South Carolina’s potential opponent, though. According to Schlabach, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will be waiting. Bonagura thinks the NC State Wolfpack will be the opponent. Former ACC rivals of both teams, USC hasn’t faced off with the Ramblin’ Wreck since 1991, a win for the garnet and black. South Carolina beat NC State to kick off the 2017 season in a neutral-site game in Charlotte. The Gamecocks beat another ACC team, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

A familiar projection is in from Athlon’s Steven Lassan. He has Carolina traveling to Tampa, Florida for the ReliaQuest Bowl. Formerly known as the Outback Bowl, the Gamecocks have played in the game five times. Lassan’s prediction for the New Year’s Eve showdown is an on-field meeting with the Michigan Wolverines. South Carolina has a two-game winning streak in the series, taking down the maize and blue in the 2012 and 2017 editions of the Outback Bowl. The second win over Michigan was the program’s most recent trip to the Outback/ReliaQuest Bowl.

CBS analyst Jerry Palm’s bowl projection is sure to make South Carolina football fans happy. The veteran bowl prognosticator entered a pick for the Gamecocks to make the College Football Playoff. Slotting USC in as the No. 11 seed, he has Shane Beamer’s team matching up with the 6-seed Oregon Ducks in the first round. The two teams have never met in football. If Palm’s prediction holds, Carolina and Oregon would play on either December 19th or December 20th. Pending seeding, Palm has a matchup waiting in the second round against the Ohio State Buckeyes, LSU Tigers, Miami Hurricanes, or Penn State Nittany Lions.

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South Carolina’s schedule begins an upturn this weekend. As part of eight SEC contests in a row, the Vanderbilt Commodores will travel to Columbia.

Kickoff is slated for 7:45 p.m. SEC Network will handle the broadcast, and the ESPN app will make the conference showdown available via streaming. South Carolina has won 16 consecutive games in the Vandy series and hasn’t lost since 2008.

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