South Carolina football: ranking the Gamecocks’ potential ACC matchups in 2020

7 LEAST LIKELY

North Carolina

The Tar Heels and Gamecocks met just last season, with North Carolina earning a 24-20 come-from-behind victory in Charlotte. A 2020 matchup would give South Carolina an opportunity for revenge against its border rival.

Unfortunately, the next meeting may have to wait a few years. Although the trip would make a lot of sense in regards to travel, the two are currently slated to meet in the 2023 season opener, which may put UNC a little lower on the totem pole when scheduling South Carolina’s ACC opponents.

There’s a growing feeling that Gamecock fans would like to see a UNC-USC rivalry series become more prevalent, as the two schools are close in proximity and have a history that dates back to the Gamecocks’ time in the ACC. In fact, the out-of-conference foes have met a total of 56 times on the gridiron, tied for third-most amongst Gamecock opponents.

That 57th matchup may have to wait, but it’s clear that administration is doing its part to keep the series alive. UNC holds a 33-19-4 advantage, and last year’s victory ended a three-game South Carolina winning streak.

Notre Dame

This game would present Lou Holtz with the most difficult pregame pick of his lifetime, as he’s roamed the sidelines in both Columbia and South Bend.

Though not officially an ACC member, the league has announced that it will add the partial-affiliate to the 2020 schedule in order to give the Fighting Irish a full slate. Don’t expect Notre Dame to match up against the Gamecocks, though.

The trip from Columbia to South Bend is 750 miles, the third-longest for the Gamecocks of any team on this list. It would be fun to renew a series that dates back to South Carolina’s Black Magic team, as the teams met four times between 1976-1984 as Independents, but it just isn’t happening this season.

Boston College

Columbia to Boston is a 900+ mile trip that would require hopping on a plane rather than riding the bus. The longest possible trip for the Gamecocks in regards to ACC opponents, this one is highly unlikely to occur in the 2020 season.

The drive to Massachusetts would take more than half a day, leaving this as one of the least desirable potential matchups between the two conferences. The Gamecocks and Eagles have never met on the football field, meaning there’s no historical significance that would push administrators to seek out this meeting.

Pittsburgh

Like Boston College, this trip is just too far to consider. The two schools do have history dating back to the playing days of Dan Marino and George Rogers, but they’ve not met since 1985.

With Pittsburgh being located nearly 550 miles from Columbia, we’re not likely to see this matchup in a pandemic-shortened season.

Syracuse

Syracuse is located over 800 miles from the South Carolina campus, meaning plane flight would be the only reasonable mode of transportation. With universities attempting to reduce travel costs, this meeting is very unlikely to happen.

The two schools have met on the hardwood, but never on the gridiron. Syracuse came from the Big East in 2014, a conference that South Carolina has had no previous ties to.

Due to travel alone, this matchup won’t happen.

Miami

The trip to Miami from Columbia is nearly 650 miles, which alone may have nixed a potential meeting between the two. Add that to the fact that Miami and South Carolina are set to meet in both 2026 and 2027, and this meeting seems more and more unlikely in 2020.

The two do have history, as they’ve met on the gridiron a total of 16 times, but it’s far from recent. Miami holds a slim series lead at 8-6-2. There was a bowl meeting between the two in 2014, but most of the previous matchups took place in the 30s and 40s.

It’s certainly exciting to see Miami on future schedules, as they’re a premier brand in the college football landscape, but we’re not likely to see the Hurricanes on the 2020 slate.

Louisville

The Cardinals’ campus sits over 500 miles from Columbia, and there’s no previous history between the two schools.

They’ve never met on the field, and the Gamecocks have no past hatred stemming from ACC affiliation. The Cardinals just recently moved to the ACC from the Big East in 2014.

The meeting doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on the level of travel or tradition, meaning it is unlikely to occur on the 2020 slate.