South Carolina Football named College Football Playoff darkhorse

Of all the teams in college football, the South Carolina football program could have some of the highest variance in outcome during the 2023 college football season. Because of the ridiculously difficult schedule the Gamecocks play (USC has the toughest strength of schedule in the nation), a good season could still include more than a couple of losses for the Garnet and Black.

Most betting lines and college football analysts have South Carolina football situated between six and eight wins this fall. However, most also believe that year three of the Shane Beamer era in Columbia will be a good one. The aforementioned schedule, however, has scared many away from bolder predictions.

Bleacher Report’s Adam Kramer is one who believes the Gamecocks have a chance at something special in 2023.

This week, Kramer named Carolina one of eight unranked teams that he believes could crash the College Football Playoff party. To be clear, Kramer did not say that it was likely that USC would make its way to the CFP, but he did say that the Gamecocks are capable of that type of performance if everything goes well for the team this fall.

As Kramer notes in his article, the flame of longshot possibilities either will be extinguished or a full-on hype inferno after the season’s first month or so as the Gamecocks play North Carolina (in Charlotte), @Tennessee, and @Georgia in the first five weeks of the season). If the Gamecocks can start 5-0 or even 4-1, the dream will still be alive.

The Gamecocks’ tough road also includes road trips to College Station to take on Texas A&M and to the other Columbia to face Missouri. Difficult home games against rival Clemson, Kentucky, Florida, and Mississippi State won’t make things any easier.

With a schedule as tough as this one, even at 10-2 in the regular season, South Carolina football could be in the discussion to make the playoff as the first-ever 2-loss team to make the 4-team tournament.