Can South Carolina football pull an upset or two this year?
South Carolina football will begin its inaugural season under Shane Beamer in just over two months, kicking off the year in Williams-Brice Stadium on September 4th. The Gamecocks have a tough slate in 2021, likely playing five teams that will be ranked inside the top 15. While that means it could be tough to find wins, it also presents an opportunity to pull off an upset or two.
South Carolina’s been successful at knocking off someone they shouldn’t, notching a couple of major upsets over the past two seasons. Last year, it was a 30-22 win over Auburn. In 2019, the Gamecocks took down No. 3 Georgia in Athens as 24-point underdogs. Can they keep the trend going?
We’ve ranked the Gamecocks’ upset opportunities from least to most likely. We’ve removed toss-up games like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. We’ve also taken out the four games that South Carolina will be favored in, for obvious reasons, which include Eastern Illinois, East Carolina, Troy, and Vanderbilt.
Below are South Carolina football’s five best upset bids, ranked from least to most winnable.
5. @ Texas A&M
South Carolina has yet to beat the Aggies since their joining the SEC back in 2014. In seven tries, the Gamecocks have been dealt seven losses, with the last two seasons being completely uncompetitive. Since 2019, the Gamecocks have been outscored by the Aggies 78-9, after keeping the previous two meetings within a touchdown.
Things are changing in College Station, with Kellen Mond now off to the NFL. The four-year starter leaves the program after nearly leading the Aggies to the College Football Playoff as a senior. Still, Kyle Field will present a hostile environment, and Texas A&M returns one of the league’s top rushing attacks. South Carolina will try to put that seven-game losing streak to an end, but it seems unlikely at this point.