South Carolina Football: Gamecocks' all-time records against every 2024 opponent

South Carolina Football 2024 Schedule History:
SEC Opponents

As usual, the Southeastern Conference schedule is slated for eight games in the league and four non-conference opponents (at least one must be an opponent from a power conference). The first two SEC contests already have had their kickoff times and television information revealed.

This year, the Gamecocks play an SEC slate that includes games:
@ Kentucky Wildcats
LSU Tigers
Ole Miss Rebels
@ Alabama Crimson Tide
@ Oklahoma Sooners
Texas A&M Aggies
@ Vanderbilt Commodores
Missouri Tigers

History vs. Kentucky Wildcats

In the custom schedule, USC has not lost all of its matchups against former SEC East squads. In the second week of the season, the Gamecocks will play against the rival Kentucky Wildcats on September 7th. Kickoff time has been set for 3:30 PM ET, and the game will be shown on ABC and the ESPN app.

In recent years, the game has been very competitive as the last three games have been within 10 points. USC has won two in a row in the series, perhaps starting another run of wins in a series that has been built on dominant stretches from one team. Kentucky had won 7 of 8 prior the Shane Beamer winning two in a row, and Carolina had won 13 of 14 before that.

This year's game will be a big test for each team as bowl eligibility could be hard to come by without setting the tone with a win in the SEC opener.

Gamecocks lead series 20-14-1
Last game: 17-14 Gamecock victory at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2023

History vs. LSU Tigers

One of the most difficult teams to beat for Carolina has been the LSU Tigers. The Gamecocks boast two 1-point victories in the series and a tie, but LSU has won all the rest of the matchups between the two teams and has won by an average margin of 14 points. The Bayou Bengals have won seven in a row in the series and have only lost once since the Gamecocks joined the SEC.

A loss to LSU was one of just two for South Carolina football in 2012, and if Steve Spurrier's team could have pulled off a victory in either contest, they would have played in the SEC Championship Game with a spot in the National Championship Game on the line.

This year's September 14th game (the game is set for Noon ET and will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on the ESPN app) will be in Columbia for the first time since 2008 as three in a row have been played in Baton Rouge (the 2015 game was moved to Louisiana after flooding in Columbia made playing impossible).

Tigers lead series 2-19-1
Last game: 52-24 Tiger victory at Tiger Stadium in 2020

History vs. Ole Miss Rebels

In an odd bit of scheduling, South Carolina and Mississippi have only played 8 times since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992, the fewest of any SEC opponent other than the newly-added Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. Carolina has won 3 of the last 4 meetings, including games in both Columbia and Oxford. However, Ole Miss won the most recent game in 2020 (Will Muschamp's final game as head coach).

The 2024 version of the game will have a bit of an added punch to it as former Gamecock All-SEC wide receiver Juice Wells is now a member of the Ole Miss football program after an ugly breakup that included Wells electing not to play part of the 2023 season despite being healthy. Former USC running back Rashad Amos also is in Oxford now, but he spent the '23 campaign with Miami (OH).

Ole Miss is a realistic College Football Playoff contender this fall, and head coach Lane Kiffin has never lost to South Carolina. The Gamecocks will be looking to shift both of those narratives when the Rebels come to Columbia on October 5th.

Rebels lead series 9-8
Last game: Rebel victory 59-42 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in 2020

History vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

For the longest time, South Carolina football held the title of being the last SEC East team to beat the Nick Saban-led Alabama Crimson Tide. The Stephen Garcia-led 2010 victory over #1 'Bama held until Georgia's 2021 National Championship win, and it remained the last SEC East regular season win over the Tide until 2022 when Tennessee won.

Carolina has beaten Alabama three times since 2001, knocking off head coaches Dennis Franchione, Mike Shula, and Nick Saban one time each. In that same stretch, Alabama has also won three times, but one of the games (2005) was vacated.

2024 will be the Crimson Tide's first year without Nick Saban at the helm in nearly 20 seasons, so some are expecting Alabama to be "not Alabama" this fall. Those expectations likely are too premature as new coach Kalen DeBoer will field one of the best teams in the SEC.

This showdown on October 12th will be right in the middle of a tough stretch in which the Gamecocks play four teams in a row with College Football Playoff aspirations (Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M). It also will be Carolina's first trip to Tuscaloosa since 2009.

Crimson Tide leads series 11-4
Last game: Crimson Tide victory 47-23 at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2019

History vs. Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners are one of just a handful of non-West Coast power programs that have never played against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The 2024 matchup on October 19th will be in Norman, Oklahoma, and it will be the first major men's sporting event between the two since Carolina eliminated OU from the 2010 College World Series en route to their first national title.

The two teams haven't played, but there is still some familiarity between the two programs. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was the long-time defensive coordinator for the rival Clemson Tigers, and Gamecock headman Shane Beamer was the associate head coach and tight ends coach under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. The Gamecocks also have brought in several transfers (most notably quarterback Spencer Rattler) from the Sooners.

History vs. Texas A&M Aggies

South Carolina had never played Texas A&M until the first-ever game broadcast on SEC Network in 2014. Most Gamecock fans would like to pretend that game never existed because it was the first sign that the Steve Spurrier mountaintop of success in Columbia was cracking.

The SEC-manufactured "rivalry" between the Gamecocks and Aggies (there's a trophy!) was completely one-sided until Carolina won at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2022. Texas A&M bounced back with a win in 2023, but with the game's return to Columbia in 2024, USC fans are hopeful that Shane Beamer's team will be improved enough this fall to pull off another win for the Bonham Trophy.

Kickoff for the latest installment between two of the geographically furthest-apart SEC opponents will be on November 2nd after South Carolina's Bye week.

Aggies lead series 9-1
Last game: Aggie victory 30-17 at Kyle Field in 2023

History vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

Of SEC teams with more than three matchups against the Vanderbilt Commodores, none have beaten the 'Dores more than the South Carolina Gamecocks. Carolina has two, two-game losing streaks to Vandy (1998-1999 and 2007-2008) but has all the other games between the two teams. The 29-4 record USC holds over Vanderbilt is only bettered by the Michigan Wolverines (10-1) among teams that have played them more than three times.

Carolina has won 15 in a row in the series, and there is no reason to expect that the streak won't extend to 16 this fall. Those 15 losses in a row are the longest active streak for Vanderbilt and the 3rd-longest in their program history.

The 2024 game will return to Nashville, but that hasn't mattered much in this series as Vanderbilt has split their four wins over the Gamecocks evenly (two each) between Columbia and Nashville. Played on November 9th this season, the Vandy game comes between two big games for Carolina against Texas A&M and Missouri.

Gamecocks lead series 29-4
Last game: Gamecock victory 47-6 at Williams-Brice Stadium in 2023

History vs. Missouri Tigers

The South Carolina-Missouri series was pretty one-sided in favor of the Gamecocks since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012. USC had won 5 of 7 (including one of the greatest games of all-time in 2013) until things shifted. Even with comparable teams during most of the next five years, South Carolina football couldn't pull off a victory over Mizzou and now find themselves on the wrong side of a 5-game losing streak in the series.

Missouri headman Eli Drinkwitz is undefeated as a head coach against the Gamecocks as he has won four games with the Tigers and one when he was the head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Missouri should be good again in 2024, so the November 16th contest will be a tough test, even with the series returning to "the real Columbia" this fall.

Tigers lead series 9-5
Last game: Tiger victory 34-12 at Memorial Stadium in 2023