Expect to see South Carolina in next Top 25 polls. Where will the Gamecocks rank?
After three straight wins, including two over Top 25 teams, South Carolina football should find itself ranked when the national polls are updated Sunday afternoon.
The Gamecocks defeated No. 24 Vanderbilt, 28-7, on Saturday using a dominating second half on defense and a big day from running back Rocket Sanders to defeat the Commodores for the 16th straight time.
The win came a week after USC defeated then-No 10 Texas A&M, 44-20, at Williams-Brice Stadium.
South Carolina was just outside The Associated Press Top 25 last week, getting the second-most votes of teams not ranked. In the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll, USC got the third-most votes of teams not ranked in the Top 25.
“The people that do the rankings don’t think we’re worth a crap and that’s fine,” coach Shane Beamer said after Saturday’s game. “Keep crapping on us. That’s the way we like it as well. Don’t rank us this week. We’re good where we are. We like to lay low, work really hard and come out and half fun on Saturdays.”
No. 14 LSU, No. 17 Iowa State, No. 23 Pittsburgh and No. 24 Vanderbilt all lost, paving the way for the Gamecocks to move into the rankings — likely somewhere in the 20s. It will be the first time ranked since 2022, when they were No. 23 after wins over Tennessee and Clemson. USC finished that season at No. 23.
The new USA Today poll typically drops at 1 p.m. Sundays, with the AP Top 25 an hour later at 2 p.m.
The Gamecocks also could move in the College Football Rankings when they are released Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. They weren’t in the initial CFP Top 25 when they were released last week.
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said on his X (formerly Twitter) that Gamecocks should be in the conversation for the playoffs.
“Can either OLE MISS or South Carolina get into the playoff? There is 0 doubt they’re 2 of the best teams in CFB. Congrats to @Lane_Kiffin and @CoachSBeamer They can flat out coach,” Orlovsky wrote.
This story was originally published November 9, 2024 at 8:06 PM.
