South Carolina football: future matchups the Gamecocks need to schedule
By Jacob Elsey
It would be fun to see South Carolina football set dates with these opponents.
The South Carolina football team has future home and home series set with ACC foes Miami, North Carolina State, and Virginia Tech. There’s also a couple of meetings with Appalachian State, and the annual rivalry meeting with Clemson. Yesterday, it was announced that the Gamecocks would renew a series with North Carolina, and it got us thinking about who else we’d like to see appear on South Carolina’s slate in the coming years.
The Gamecocks have a variety of connections to teams around the country, having played in the ACC and as an Independent before joining the SEC in 1992. Could a rivalry that’s currently on hiatus be renewed? Or would fans like to see some new blood on the schedule?
Below are our six picks for hypothetical opponents that would offer great football, and a fun weekend trip for Gamecock Nation.
NOTRE DAME
The Gamecocks and Fighting Irish have met a total of four times on the gridiron, with Notre Dame winning three of those matchups. All four of those contests came between 1976 and 1984 when both programs played as Independents. Notre Dame is maybe the most storied program in college football, and these matchups often saw close battles against some of South Carolina’s best teams. Always entertaining, three of the outcomes were decided by one score or less.
There’s also a link between the two schools, with that being head coach Lou Holtz. Holtz guided the Irish to a national title before taking over for six seasons in Columbia, where he led the Gamecocks to one of the biggest single season turnarounds in NCAA history. He took a program that had lost 21 consecutive games, and turned it into a top 25 team that won 17 games and a couple of bowl games the years following.
Notre Dame’s campus is one of the nicest in the country, and the football stadium brings a feeling of nostalgia to longtime fans of the sport. It’s also worth noting that South Bend is just a little over an hour from Chicago, which could make for a nice weekend trip to those willing to make the trek to Indiana.