Just a day after the South Carolina vs. Georgia game was picked up by CBS, the Gamecocks now know the details behind the first three games on the schedule. South Carolina football will open its season with a neutral site game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, a home contest against Furman, and a road trip to Athens to take on the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
On Wednesday, the official Twitter account for the South Carolina football team (@GamecockFB) announced the game times and tv networks for the first three games of the season.
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) May 31, 2023
Shane Beamer’s team will play North Carolina for the second time in the last three years. The Gamecocks hammered the Tar Heels 38-21 in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The season opener will be played in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium (home of the Carolina Panthers), and the game will be a 7:30 contest on ABC. The game is a leading candidate for College Gameday.
Week 2 will see South Carolina football play their first home game of the 2023 season when they take on the Furman Paladins under the lights at Williams-Brice. Carolina fans are being rewarded for their great support in the 2022 season (a sellout of every home game except for the hurricane-moved Thursday contest against South Carolina State). The game will be on SECNetwork+ at 7:30.
The third game of the year will be Carolina’s toughest contest of the season. The Georgia Bulldogs will host the Gamecocks at 3:30 on CBS for the SEC Game of the Week. Georgia has not lost in Athens since 2019 when South Carolina football handed the Bulldogs their only regular season loss of the year. That is also the last time the Gamecocks have beaten Georgia.
Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks are looking to improve on their 8-5 record from last season. In order to have a realistic chance of pulling off the feat, Carolina will need to start off the year 2-1 or better.
With games on the road against Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Missouri and home games against Florida, Clemson, Mississippi State, and Kentucky, the Carolina schedule is considered the hardest in the country.