South Carolina won't play Miami next season after all

The first major Gamecocks-related scheduling impact of the SEC’s move to a nine-game conference schedule has hit.

The University of South Carolina and the University of Miami both announced Monday they have mutually agreed to cancel their home-and-home football series scheduled for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The Hurricanes were scheduled to open the 2026 season at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., with the Gamecocks making the return trip to Hard Rock Stadium in 2027.

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The ACC is also moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026.

South Carolina has a non-conference home game against Towson and a road game at Clemson on its 2026 slate and is actively pursuing a third non-conference opponent, according to the release.

The move makes sense, given the competitive nature of the league and the fact that Carolina will play Clemson every year.

One would presume other future out-of-conference games against Power 4 opponents could be on the chopping block.

The Gamecocks are currently scheduled to face North Carolina in 2028 and 2029, N.C. State in 2030 and 2031, and Virginia Tech in 2034 and 2035.

Miami’s three 2026 non-conference games are Florida A&M (home), Central Michigan (home), and Notre Dame (away), according to the release.

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