Way-too-early bowl projections for Clemson, South Carolina football teams in 2026
Interested in some bowl projections before spring practice gets underway? On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy has you covered.
The longtime college sports reporter released his 2026 “Way-Too-Early” bowl projections Tuesday and included some interesting landing spots for the Clemson and South Carolina football teams.
McMurphy predicts that Clemson will play Southern Cal in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, which matches up an ACC team and Big Ten team. He has South Carolina playing Houston in the Liberty Bowl, an SEC vs. Big 12 bowl in Memphis.
Those mid-tier bowl assignments reflect the cautious national opinion surrounding both Dabo Swinney’s Clemson program and Shane Beamer’s USC Gamecocks heading into 2026 after they disappointed in 2025.
Clemson, the preseason No. 4 team and reigning ACC champion, finished 7-6 and 4-4 in the ACC and logged its first losing record at home since 1998. Preseason No. 14 South Carolina was 4-8 and 1-7 in the SEC and missed the postseason for the second time in three years under Beamer.
Both schools appeared infrequently in national outlets’ “way too early” top 25 rankings for the 2026 season and will likely both start the season unranked. Clemson hasn’t been unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 since 2011.
McMurphy’s predictions have the Gamecocks traveling to Memphis to play a Houston team that was 10-3 and 6-3 in the Big 12 last year under Willie Fritz. USC has previously appeared in the Liberty Bowl in 2006 and 1988. The game is played at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the home of Memphis football.
Clemson, in McMurphy’s predictions, will hit the West Coast for a game against Lincoln Riley and Southern Cal (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten in 2025). The Tigers have never played in the Holiday Bowl, held at Snapdragon Stadium on San Diego State’s campus.
This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 12:01 PM.
