Early prediction has South Carolina football playing in another Florida bowl game

South Carolina football has played in a bowl in two of Shane Beamer's three years at the helm of the program. After the 2021 season, the Gamecocks knocked off the rival North Carolina Tar Heels in dominating fashion. After 2022, Carolina traveled down to Florida to play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Gator Bowl but lost in a close game.

Unfortunately, the 2023 Gamecocks missed a bowl after a disappointing 5-7 finish, but the 2024 version of the South Carolina football team is looking to right the ship. Projections for USC's season are all over the place, but at least one national analyst believes the Gamecocks will do enough to play in another bowl game.

247Sports' Brad Crawford released his early preseason bowl projections, and South Carolina made the cut. According to Crawford, the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Boston College Eagles will battle for avian supremacy in the Gasparilla Bowl in December in Tampa, Florida's Raymond James Stadium (home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

If selected for the Gasparilla Bowl, it would be Carolina's 14th bowl game in the state of Florida (five trips to the Outback Bowl, five trips to the Gator Bowl, and three trips to the Tangerine Bowl/Citrus Bowl/Capital One Bowl). It would also be the team's 6th bowl in Tampa, following the five Outback Bowls. USC previously was invited to play against the UAB Blazers in the 2020 Gasparilla Bowl, but the game was canceled due to Covid-19 issues.

Formerly named the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef O'Brady's, the Beef O'Brady's Bowl, the Bitcoin St. Petersburgh Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl, the Bad Boys Mowers Gasparilla Bowl before settling with its current name of Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, the Tampa/St. Pete-based bowl game has been in existence since 2008.

Crawford did not give a record prediction with his projection, but based on past years a 6-6 mark would seem most likely for the Gamecocks if they were to play in the Tampa-based bowl.

Two SEC teams have played in the Gasparilla Bowl before as the 2016 Mississippi State Bulldogs made the game despite a 5-7 record, and the 2021 Florida Gators made the game with a 6-6 mark. Ironically, both teams were coached by Dan Mullen, but only Mississippi State has won the Gasparilla Bowl from the SEC.