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South Carolina

Who South Carolina would have played if not snubbed from the College Football Playoff

by: Kevin Miller12/09/24kevinbmiller52
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer. Photo by: CJ Driggers | GamecockCentral
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer. Photo by: CJ Driggers | GamecockCentral

It’s official. While Tuesday’s College Football Playoff made it pretty obvious, the CFP Selection Sunday show showed that the committee officially left South Carolina out of the 12-team field. In what is the final ranking ahead of the Playoff, the Gamecocks slotted in at No. 15.

According to Kelley Ford’s analytics model, Carolina was the most underrated team in the sport. Based on the KFord Rating, the Gamecocks should have been easily in the field at No. 9.

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But because they were snubbed, Shane Beamer’s team will play in a traditional bowl game. Prior to Sunday’s College Football Playoff field announcement, the Citrus Bowl seemed a certainty for USC. However, both the Reliaquest Bowl (former Outback Bowl) and Gator Bowl were possible landing spots. Things then changed a bit on Sunday. With Alabama out of the Playoff, all three Florida bowls (and perhaps the Music City Bowl in Nashville), could have been South Carolina’s postseason destination.

In the end, though, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl invited the Gamecocks to Orlando on December 31st. In the Citrus Bowl, South Carolina will match up with the Illinois Fighting Illini for the first time.

But who would USC have played if the CFP Selection Committee had put the Gamecocks in the Playoff field?

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Because the most realistic in-the-field seed for Carolina would have been No. 11 (replacing SMU), that means a matchup with the No. 6 seed. That would have meant a road date with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Gamecocks and Nittany Lions haven’t played since 1941.

A victory over Penn State then would have pushed the Gamecocks to the second round. There, USC would have played the 3-seed who had a bye through the first round. In this hypothetical, that game would have been against the Boise State Broncos.

If Shane Beamer and company made the semifinal, there would have been a few options for their opponent. On that side of the bracket, the Georgia Bulldogs had a bye through to the second round. The Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish would have played in the first round for the right to play UGA. Any of those three teams could have been the Gamecocks’ semifinal foe.

Pushing this hypothetical to its end, Shane Beamer’s team would have six possible opponents in a National Championship. Oregon and Arizona State have byes. The Ducks have to play the Tennessee-Ohio State winner, while the Sun Devils would get the winner of Clemson-Texas.

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However, South Carolina will have to wait until next year to fight for a National Championship. (GamecockCentral’s Chris Clark details how USC can make the field next season here.)

For now, the Gamecocks will be in for a nice bowl game that should allow them to continue building program momentum. With a victory in the Citrus Bowl, South Carolina football will have just its fifth 10-win season ever. Fans can tune in to watch the New Year’s Eve bowl at 3:00 p.m. on ABC or ESPN+.

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