Where South Carolina sits in bowl projections: week 8
South Carolina is back to practice this week coming off a bye week, and sit now two wins away from bowl eligibility.
After picking up a win over Kentucky, a bowl seems likely now with varying projections entering week eight.
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The Gamecocks are coming off a bye and sitting in the majority of every major news outlet’s bowl projections entering the season half of the season.
And one of the more frequent projections has South Carolina playing in a familiar bowl.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, CBS Sports and more outlets all have South Carolina playing two days after Christmas in the Birmingham Bowl. The opponent, though, fluctuates.
The Gamecocks, if they play in Birmingham, will play a Group of 5 school out of the pool. That spot is typically reserved for a quality Group of 5 team. South Carolina last played in the Birmingham Bowl in 2016 where it suffered an overtime loss to South Florida.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy have the Gamecocks heading to the Liberty Bowl for the first time since the mid-2000s and playing a resurgent Kansas program under Lance Leipold.
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Here is a full list of The Gamecocks’ bowl projections heading into this week.
Action Network: AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28) vs. Kansas
Athlon Sports: Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28) vs. Kansas State
CBS Sports: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Georgia Southern
College Football News: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Iowa State
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. UCF
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28) vs. Kansas
Saturday Down South: Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 27) vs. Iowa State
Sporting News: Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Dec. 17) vs. Houston
South Carolina is currently on its first three-game win streak since 2017, taking care of Charlotte and South Carolina State and upsetting Kentucky most recently.
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The Gamecocks host Texas A&M (7:30 p.m., SEC Network) in a pivotal night game at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday.
South Carolina then hosts Missouri before consecutive road games at Vanderbilt and Florida. The Gamecocks then play a pair of top-five teams against Tennessee and at Clemson.
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ESPN’s Football Power Index says the next three games are the three likeliest scenarios for the Gamecocks to hit bowl eligibility.
South Carolina has a 46.3 percent chance to beat the Aggies. The FPI gives South Carolin a 66.4 percent chance to beat Missouri at home and a 73.2 percent chance to notch a road win against the Commodores.
ESPN’s FPI gives South Carolina a 37.5 percent chance to beat Florida in the Swamp followed by an 18 percent chance to upset Tennessee and an 11.3 percent chance to beat Clemson.