Shane Beamer reveals which four games will be the toughest for South Carolina in 2025

With their 2025 schedule officially in hand, the South Carolina Gamecocks know their road to the College Football Playoff next season, but it won't be an easy one. South Carolina will have the advantage of playing eight home games vs four away games next season, but those away games are going to be some of their toughest games in general.

The Gamecocks will have to go to play at Missouri, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Head coach Shane Beamer has never gone to play at Tiger Stadium or Vaught Hemingway Stadium to play against LSU and Ole Miss, at least as a head coach.

However, looking at the 2025 schedule, Beamer identified which stretch of four games will be the toughest for the Gamecocks next season.

"It’s Ole Miss, LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, four in a row there in the middle of the season as well," Beamer said on the schedule reveal on SEC Network.

This stretch of games is very similar to the same rough patch of game the Gamecocks played in this season. However, there was another game in there that South Carolina was able to get a win against when they played Akron.

Honestly, Beamer could have easily said a tough stretch of five games if you add Texas A&M in there after the Ole Miss game. What makes that game tough is that the Gamecocks will have to travel to play at Kyle Field and face the 12th Man. Beamer knows going on the road to all these hostile environments like LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M will be the toughest part of the season.

"I know both those places are challenging, Texas A&M (later in the schedule) — their stadium speaks for itself as well. What a great environment and a great stadium," Beamer said "For me, it’s just the first one."

Out of those four or five games, three of those opponents came very close to getting into the College Football Playoff, like South Carolina. Alabama was the first team out, and Ole Miss was right behind them, with South Carolina right behind both. Oklahoma is going to get its feet under them in the SEC, and once it gets the right guys in there, it will also be a very scary opponent.

South Carolina will have a tough schedule in 2025, but that means if they win, they should have the resume to be one of those Top 12 teams at the end of the season playing for a National Championship.