2019 was rough, but there were 5 tougher schedules in South Carolina football history
The 2019 South Carolina football team came into the season with questions surrounding a schedule that looked brutal.
It turned out to be as tough as advertised, with 11 FBS opponents that averaged better than nine wins overall.
That slate came in as the fourth-toughest nationally by sports-reference.com’s strength of schedule metric. But it didn’t even make the top five toughest schedules all time for a Gamecocks team.
The 2019 Gamecocks’ SOS was listed as the school’s sixth toughest, crowded out by some of the early SEC years as well as a few independent slates. Last season was the toughest since 1999, and it’s worth looking at the five that ranked ahead.
No. 5: 1981
This season, Jim Carlen’s Gamecocks powered their way to 6-6 the year after George Rogers left. They ended up playing two ACC teams that finished in the top-10, including national champion Clemson. From the SEC, they faced a 10-2 Georgia team. They lost a shootout to Dan Marino’s 11-1 Pitt team and drew a 9-2 Hawaii squad out of the WAC. That USC team opened at 6-3, even handing undefeated UNC a loss, but a shocking upset to Pacific started a three-game skid to end the season.
No. 4: 1999
There’s no good excuse for losing every game, but facing the second-hardest schedule in the country didn’t help. Of the SEC’s seven ranked teams, the Gamecocks faced six. Of eight conference opponents, only two were worse than 8-4 (6-6 Kentucky and 5-6 Vandy). In non-conference play, Lou Holtz’s first team had to face two ACC teams in Clemson and N.C. State, plus a 9-3 East Carolina team.
No. 3: 1979
George Rogers’ junior year saw the program break through after a few rough seasons. But it wasn’t easy. The Gamecocks (8-4) beat a Georgia team that finished second in the SEC despite five losses. They beat two of the top three teams in the ACC in Clemson and N.C. State. They also faced two seven-win teams from the Big 8 in Missouri and Oklahoma State, splitting those contests. And in the realm of other independents, they also took on Notre Dame and a Florida State squads that went 11-1. The only opponent not currently in a Power 5 conference was Western Michigan.
No. 2: 1997
Brad Scott’s second-to-last season saw the Gamecocks finish 5-6. Perhaps he deserved a little more credit for even getting that far. The SEC East produced three top-10 teams that season — Florida, Tennesee and Georgia — and they swept the Gamecocks. South Carolina also drew a matchup with SEC West champ Auburn and a seven-win Mississippi State team. Clemson was at least Peach Bowl quality. Neither ECU nor UCF bowled, but neither was a pushover and the Knights had future first-round draft pick Dante Culpepper at the helm.
No. 1: 1966
Former national championship coach Paul Dietzel did not have an easy task his first season in Columbia, with a schedule that ranked as the third toughest in the land and hardest in school history. The ACC was not very good, but with only a partial conference schedule, the Gamecocks caught the top three teams in the league. A set of SEC games included two top-four teams in Alabama and Georgia (combined 21-1), plus an 8-3 Tennessee team. Eight of USC’s opponents were better than .500, and the Gamecocks finished 1-9.
