The South Carolina Gamecocks took a major step backwards at 7-6 in 2014 after an unprecedented three straight 11-win seasons in Columbia. The Ole Ball Coach finished under .500 in conference play for the first time since 2009 so I’m sure the urgency to get back to the top of the SEC Eastern Division is palpable around the South Carolina football facilities.
The Gamecocks open the season on the college football’s opening night, Thursday, September 3rd as always but this year instead of opening the season in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium, they will be in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium against ACC opponent North Carolina. The Gamecocks waste no time getting into conference play as the Kentucky Wildcats visit Columbia followed by a road game in Athens against division rival Georgia. Last season the Gamecocks held on by the skin of their beaks & a few interesting calls by the boys in stripes for a three point win at home. South Carolina closes out the month of September with a home game against UCF, a team
who gave South Carolina all they wanted in 2013.
October begins with ‘The Battle of Columbia’ in Columbia, Missouri, against the reigning two time SEC East champion Missouri Tigers who scored two touchdowns in the final seven minutes of last year’s game to win by one point. South Carolina welcomes LSU & Vanderbilt in back-to-back home games followed by their bye week on October 24th. October ends with a road game in College Station, Texas, against the Texas A&M Aggies marking their first ever trip to Kyle Field.
South Carolina begins November with a road trip to Knoxville against an improved Tennessee team who came back from three scores down to beat South Carolina in Columbia in 2014. The next week the Gamecocks are back at home but this time against the Ole Ball Coach’s alma mater and former college team, the Florida Gators. The month of November closes out the regular season for South Carolina with two more home games. The first against FCS opponent The Citadel, who finished with a 5-7 record in the Southern Conference. The final game of the regular season brings the most hated rival of all, Clemson, to Columbia. South Carolina lost the Clemson in 2014 but won the five games before last season.
The good news is that whoever wins the quarterback job in Columbia this fall, they will benefit from talent everywhere and three returning starters on the offensive line. The bad news is that every team in the East, except for Vanderbilt is also loaded with talent and two of those teams have no questions at quarterback. If the Gamecocks make it out of October with a record above .500, that will be a win with this team.
South Carolina 2015 Schedule
Sept 3rd v. North Carolina (Thurs; In Charlotte, NC)
Sept 12th v. Kentucky
Sept 19th at Georgia
Sept 26th v. UCF
Oct 3rd at Missouri
Oct 10th v. LSU
Oct 17th v. Vanderbilt
Oct 24th BYE WEEK
Oct 31st at Texas A&M
Nov 7th at Tennessee
Nov 14th v. Florida
Nov 21st v. The Citadel
Nov 28th v. Clemson
I would be shocked if the gamecocks won more than 5 games this year…