South Carolina bowl projections: Any more clarity between three options?

Will Bank of American Stadium continue to be South Carolina football’s new second home? Or will the Gamecocks head far away to a bowl they haven’t played in for years?

Those are the questions facing USC fans as most of college football wrapped up its regular season on Saturday and Will Muschamp’s squad left Clemson with a 56-35 loss, and there’s still not much clarity as to the answers.

Throughout the latter half of the season, many national media outlets have continued to predict South Carolina will play the postseason in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte at the home of the Carolina Panthers, despite the facts that the Gamecocks opened the 2017 season and will play their 2019 and 2023 openers there and that a short drive to Charlotte would likely mean a dip in hotel room sales.

But just as the slim majority has continued to insist USC will face off against an ACC school in the Belk Bowl, other outlets have resolutely projected Muschamp’s team to go elsewhere. That trend continued after the Clemson defeat, with CBS Sports holding Carolina in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, SB Nation keeping the Gamecocks in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl and 247Sports’ Brad Crawford citing a source claiming that a Miami-USC Gator Bowl was “highly possible.”

South Carolina has never played in the Belk Bowl. The Gamecocks have an 0-4 record in the Gator Bowl, last playing there in 1987. USC has played in the Liberty Bowl twice, most recently in 2006.

Carolina must still play Akron this upcoming Saturday to make up for its canceled game with Marshall at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Below is a full list of major national media outlet’s bowl projections and where they have South Carolina going. This list will be updated throughout the week as more projections are released.

SOUTH CAROLINA BOWL PROJECTIONS

▪ ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura — Liberty Bowl (Memphis) vs. Baylor, Dec. 31

▪ ESPN’s Mitch Sherman — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Pitt, Dec. 29

▪ Sports Illustrated — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Duke, Dec. 29

▪ CBS Sports — Liberty Bowl (Memphis) vs. TCU, Dec. 31

▪ SB Nation — Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) vs. Michigan State, Dec. 31

▪ 247Sports — Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) vs. Purdue, Dec. 31

▪ College Football News — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. North Carolina State, Dec. 29

▪ Sporting News — Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) vs. Northwestern, Dec. 31

▪ Saturday Down South — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. North Carolina State, Dec. 29

▪ Bleacher Report — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Pittsburgh, Dec. 29

▪ NBC Sports — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Georgia Tech, Dec. 29

▪ The Athletic — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Virginia, Dec. 29

▪ USA Today — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Virginia, Dec. 29

▪ Athlon Sports — Music City Bowl (Nashville) vs. Michigan State, Dec. 28

▪ Stadium — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Virginia, Dec. 29

▪ Yahoo Sports — Belk Bowl (Charlotte) vs. Georgia Tech, Dec. 29

This story was originally published November 25, 2018 at 3:22 PM.