South Carolina again finds itself oh so close to Top 25 ranking
A disheartening South Carolina football streak extended to 51 weeks on Monday... but just barely.
South Carolina’s football team was unranked Monday when the Associated Press preseason Top 25 was released, marking the 51st consecutive AP poll to be released without the Gamecocks represented. South Carolina opens the 2018 football season when they face Coastal Carolina in the season-opener on Sept. 1 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks appeared first on the poll’s “others receiving votes.” They were 10 points behind No. 25 LSU.
The Gamecocks were ranked for one week last year in the CFB Playoff rankings, but the university uses the AP poll, which dates back to 1936, for its official record keeping. The last time South Carolina was a Top 25 team by that measure was when it was ranked 13th in the nation headed into a Sept. 27, 2014 game against Missouri. The Gamecocks lost that game 21-20 and have not been ranked by the AP since.
South Carolina’s unranked streak is the football team’s longest since it snapped an 87-week drought in 2000.
The Gamecocks are not ranked in the preseason coaches polls but are No. 22 in CBS’s preseason rankings.
Only two of South Carolina’s 2018 opponents are ranked. Clemson, which hosts South Carolina on No. 24, is ranked No. 2, and Georgia, which comes to Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 8, is ranked No. 3.
AP Poll:
1. Bama
2. Clemson
3. UGA
4. Wisconsin
5. Ohio St
6. Washington
7. Oklahoma
8. Miami
9. Auburn
10. Penn St
11. Mich St
12. Notre Dame
13. Stanford
14. Michigan
15. Southern Cal
16. TCU
17. WVU
18. Miss St
19. Florida St
20. Va Tech
21. UCF
22. Boise St
23. Texas
24. Oregon
25. LSU
Others receiving votes: South Carolina 96, Florida 68, Utah 60, Oklahoma St. 51, FAU 38, Arizona 28, NC State 22, Texas A&M 21, Boston College 18, Northwestern 13, Kansas St. 10, Iowa St. 8, Houston 6, Memphis 3, Troy 2, Iowa 2, Kentucky 1, Arkansas St. 1, Fresno St. 1.
This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 12:03 PM.