With SEC realignment, here's 3 yearly games South Carolina football fans should be glad to get rid of
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football's 3 yearly games fans should be glad to be rid of:
Georgia Bulldogs
It might sound like blasphemy to the two southern fanbases, but South Carolina football fans should be glad that the 2024 schedule doesn't include the Georgia Bulldogs. They should be even more glad that Georgia is not on the slate as an every-year opponent as they have been for the past 60+ years.
Yes, South Carolina-Georgia is a rivalry. However, it is one in which one party is the best program in college football right now. Playing Georgia every year means playing a top-5 team in the nation every year. Because USC already plays one of the toughest schedules in the country on an annual basis, keeping the Georgia game (a matchup in which Carolina has lost 4 in a row and 8 of 9), isn't needed.
2024 and 2025 will be a good test period to see how much the Gamecocks miss playing the Dawgs, but UGA will be back on the schedule again in 2026 and 2027 if nothing else changes between now and then.
Having the border rivals on the schedule half the time is enough to keep up the historic rivalry (South Carolina football has played Georgia more than any team other than the Clemson Tigers), but not having to play a team in the middle of a dynasty every year is not a bad thing.