The South Carolina Gamecocks improved to 4-3 on the season with the Gamecocks' 27-24 upset win over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.
With the victory, South Carolina is officially just two games away from reaching bowl eligibility. If the Gamecocks make a bowl, it'll mark the first time since 2024 that South Carolina reaches a bowl game.
As such, several bowl projections have been released following the Week 8 slate of games. One well-respected predictor of bowls is On3 Sports' Brett McMurphy, who has the Gamecocks playing a surprising team, given where it started at the beginning of the season.
McMurphy has South Carolina playing in the Las Vegas Bowl, taking on the USC Trojans. USC, despite looking like a Big Ten contender in recent weeks, dropped to 6-2 on the season with a 24-7 blowout loss to Wisconsin on the road.
At six wins, the Trojans have already reached bowl eligibility. USC still has to play Ohio State and Indiana, as well as Maryland and UCLA. Given how tough three out of those four opponents will likely be, USC finishing with seven wins sounds about right.
As for South Carolina, the Gamecocks have remaining games against Oklahoma on the road this week, followed by contests at home vs. Texas A&M and Georgia. South Carolina will also go on the road to face Arkansas and Clemson at the end of the season.
The two likely wins on that remaining slate are likely against Arkansas and Texas A&M, but South Carolina reaching six wins will still be a slight challenge.
While there's no telling if McMurphy's prediction will come true, if it does, it will mark just the third overall meeting between the two schools. South Carolina previously played the Trojans in the 1980s. In 1980, USC won 23-13 in Los Angeles. The Gamecocks and Trojans met again in 1983 in Columbia, as the Gamecocks won 38-14.
The game would be a battle of "The Real USC," as both schools are commonly referred to as USC.
South Carolina and USC's women's basketball are playing each other this upcoming 2026-27 season in what's been dubbed "The battle of the real SC."
For now, South Carolina needs two more wins before making a bowl game is a reality. For Shane Beamer, reaching a respectable bowl game would be a best case scenario for his team after the 0-3 start in SEC play.
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