South Carolina football: what a 12-team playoff would’ve looked like in ’11 and ’13

12-team playoff would’ve included South Carolina football.

The NCAA is toying with the idea of expanding the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12, a format that wouldn’t take place until the ’23 season at the earliest. The new bracket would allow for more inclusion, rather than having to see the same programs play in the event year after year. With the proposed changes being presented for the future of the sport, it’s fun to look back at hypothetical matchups that could’ve been.

Max Olsen of The Athletic unveiled what the CFP would’ve looked like under the 12-team format in each of the last 10 seasons, and the South Carolina football program found its name in the bracket twice.

First would’ve been the ’11 team that went 11-2 and finished second in the SEC East. That group won each of its six games versus division foes, but an early season loss to Auburn kept them out of the conference title. The Gamecocks would go on to take down Nebraska by three scores in the Capital One Bowl, but a 12-team CFP would’ve given South Carolina a chance to compete for a national title.

Olsen lists the Gamecocks as a No. 10 seed in the playoff, facing off in a hypothetical matchup with seventh-seeded Arkansas. The Razorbacks were responsible for one of South Carolina’s two losses that season, and a revenge game would’ve been entertaining to watch. The winner would move on to face second-seeded Oklahoma State in the following round.

Two seasons later, another 11-2 South Carolina squad would’ve earned a No. 9 seed in the 12-team format. That would pit the Gamecocks with eighth-seeded Missouri, an opponent that South Carolina beat 27-24 in double overtime earlier in the year. The winner of that matchup would’ve faced top seed and eventual national champion Florida State.

Surprisingly, the 2012 team didn’t make the cut, even though they may have a better resume than both the ’11 and ’13 squads. That season, the Gamecocks again went 11-2, but both losses came on the road to top 10 teams Florida and LSU. South Carolina clobbered Georgia, beat Clemson, won four SEC games by three scores or more, and eventually took down Michigan in the Outback Bowl. Unfortunately, this 12-team projection includes Florida, Georgia, and LSU while snubbing the Gamecocks.

The point remains that an expanded playoff can be beneficial to programs like South Carolina, a team that has never stayed consistently at the top of the polls, but has spikes in talent and production every few years. The Gamecocks are hoping that Shane Beamer can lead this turnaround and get the program back to relevance over the next couple of seasons. If so, maybe a playoff stop sits in the not-so-distant future for South Carolina football.