South Carolina football: Gamecocks need to continue ACC rivalries

RECRUITING BATTLES

Recruiting is the bloodline of college football success, and the Gamecocks typically compete with ACC counterparts for high profile prospects in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The Gamecocks obviously battle Clemson for a number of in-state recruits, but they also go head-to-head with NC State, UNC, FSU, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech for players around the southeast.

Competing on the gridiron, and winning, more importantly, can influence a recruit’s decision. These games can provide players outside of the state of South Carolina with exposure to the Gamecock program, and can elevate the team’s standing with prospects in the Atlanta, Charlotte, and Washington DC areas.

HIGH PROFILE GAMES

These matchups provide the fanbase with more exciting matchups. No offense to the Terriers, but a meeting with Virginia Tech is going to create a lot more buzz amongst Gamecock fans than a matchup with Wofford. And the trips to some of the ACC’s most prominent programs are closer than that of South Carolina’s SEC brethren.

Many of these campuses are in close proximity to Columbia, meaning the crossover in fanbases is impossible to avoid. Trips to Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Atlanta, and Durham are just as close as a bus ride to Athens, setting up easy travel to opposing sites.

These meetings can also create the opportunity for neutral site games, as we’ve seen in the past with the Gamecocks playing in Bank of America Stadium against UNC and NC State. It would be awesome to see the Gamecocks play in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium against a team like Georgia Tech or Florida State to kickstart the season. And the athletic department could make a killing off of ticket sales, which can be reinvested into the program.

Obviously most fans in the state of South Carolina are either Gamecocks or Tigers, but there are a great deal of Tar Heels, Wolfpack, and Seminoles in the Palmetto State, too. Keeping these series alive creates buzz and talking points amongst neighbors, produces more entertaining matchups, and sells more tickets for the athletic department.