South Carolina Football vs. The Big 12
The Big 12 was formerly known as the Big 6, Big 7, and Big 8 when there were 6, 7, and 8 teams in the league, respectively, but it is good that the conference stopped changing its name after “12” as the league has had a dizzying amount of teams come and go from its ranks. Carolina is undefeated against current Big 12 members Texas, Iowa State, UCF, and Cincinnati.
BYU: Two long-time independents, South Carolina football and BYU football never met each other on the football field. Both programs are some of the most aggressive in scheduling Power-5 competition in out-of-conference play, but most of the Gamecocks’ opponents are regional games (North Carolina, NC State, East Carolina, Virginia, and UCF have all been played multiple times over the last 20 years).
Kansas: South Carolina played Kansas State multiple times in the 1980s but did not play their in-state rival. In fact, they’ve never played the Jayhawks. A matchup seems unlikely in the out-of-conference, and a bowl game matchup is just as improbable as Kansas has made just one postseason appearance in the last 14 seasons.
Oklahoma: This will change in 2024, but the Sooners have never played the Gamecocks. South Carolina football is slated to make the long trip out to Norman, Oklahoma, but the game won’t be as unfamiliar as many may think. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was the long-time defensive coordinator at Clemson, and Carolina head coach Shane Beamer spent three seasons as an assistant at OU before returning to Columbia.
TCU: South Carolina and TCU have never played. Much of that is due to the Horned Frogs being outside of the Power-5 for most of the program’s history. Now that they play in the Big 12 and have had sustained success over the last 25 years or so, TCU is a regular player in bowl season, so perhaps the Gamecocks and Frogs will one day meet in the Texas Bowl or Liberty Bowl.
Texas Tech: Scarlet and black vs. garnet and black could get confusing on a television broadcast if the Red Raiders and Gamecocks ever mix it up on the gridiron. The uniforms were difficult enough to distinguish between when the two teams met on the hardwood in 2018 (a Texas Tech win), but the crowd energy in Columbia was great, something that would repeat in a football matchup.