Where the South Carolina football schedule ranks next season

South Carolina football fans are well-acquainted with the top of the strength of schedule rankings as the Gamecocks are among the teams with the hardest roads ahead of them each season. Playing in the SEC is difficult, but USC's schedule is even harder as it includes an annual rivalry game against Clemson and semi-regular showdowns with schools from North Carolina (17 games against schools from the state since 2007).

Some outlets ranked the South Carolina football schedule as the toughest in the country heading into the 2023 season, and the 2024 slate is difficult once again.

According to 247Sports' Brad Crawford, the Gamecocks slide in with the 4th-hardest schedule in the country for next season.

The SEC has a new custom, division-less schedule in 2024 in which USC does not play several traditional SEC rivals. There will be no Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Volunteers, or Florida Gators on the '24 slate, the first time since Carolina came into the conference that they will not play those schools. The league could be looking to move to a 9-game schedule starting in 2025, so the format could be changing once again after next fall.

With the new schedule, South Carolina football will take on familiar foes in rival Clemson, former SEC East rivals Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Missouri, and Bonham Trophy opponent Texas A&M. They will also face off with former SEC West teams Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss and new SEC addition Oklahoma. The three remaining out-of-conference tests will be against Old Dominion, Akron, and Wofford.

The Gamecocks will get two Bye weeks (the last Saturdays of September and October).

The entire top-15 teams in terms of strength of schedule are listed below:

1. Florida Gators
2. Oklahoma Sooners
3. Arkansas Razorbacks
4. South Carolina Gamecocks
5. UCLA Bruins
6. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
7. Mississippi State
8. Vanderbilt Commodores
9. Southern Cal Trojans
10. Wisconsin Badgers
11. Washington Huskies
12. Kentucky Wildcats
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. Alabama Crimson Tide
15. Georgia Bulldogs