South Carolina’s recent surge has bowl season projections pointing in a few different directions, with Las Vegas, Nashville and Memphis all showing up as possible landing spots.
The Gamecocks have won four straight and are still mathematically alive for the College Football Playoff. If that path closes, the latest national bowl guesses suggest USC is headed for a late-December matchup instead.
Clemson, meanwhile, is being linked more and more with Texas after winning its second straight game. Both in-state programs sit at 6-3, and the newest projections give each a range of possible destinations.
For South Carolina, ESPN split its picks. Kyle Bonagura sent the Gamecocks to the Liberty Bowl against UCF on Jan. 2, while Mark Schlabach kept them in the Music City Bowl against Wisconsin on Dec.
- South Carolina has never played in the Music City Bowl, and it has been in the Liberty Bowl twice, most recently in 2006.
The Athletic also has South Carolina in Nashville, projecting a Music City Bowl meeting with Penn State on Dec. 30. The Gamecocks have faced the Nittany Lions twice, both times in the 1940s.
CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated both kept South Carolina in Las Vegas. Brad Crawford’s CBS projection has the Gamecocks facing Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31, while SI has the same matchup and date. South Carolina has never played in the Las Vegas Bowl or against Arizona.
On3 also landed on Nashville, pairing South Carolina with Penn State in the Music City Bowl. Athlon Sports, though, moved the Gamecocks back to Las Vegas, also matching them with Arizona after previously slotting them into the Music City Bowl.
Clemson’s projections are just as varied, though the Sun Bowl keeps coming up.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach both held steady from last week, with Bonagura sending Clemson to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Penn State on Dec. 26 and Schlabach projecting the Sun Bowl against Washington on Dec. 31. Clemson has never played in either bowl, though it did appear in the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte against South Florida.
The Athletic has Clemson headed to the Holiday Bowl against Arizona on Dec. 28. That would put the Tigers in California for the second time this year, and it would also be a first-time matchup with the Wildcats in a bowl Clemson has never played before.
CBS Sports changed its Clemson pick, moving the Tigers from the San Juan Bowl in Puerto Rico to the Sun Bowl against Oregon State on Dec. 31.
The outlet also noted freshman standout WR Jesse Legree in that matchup. Clemson has never faced Oregon State.
Sports Illustrated shifted Clemson from the Holiday Bowl to the Sun Bowl, where it would face Washington on Dec. 31.
On3 also changed course, moving Clemson from the Military Bowl to the Sun Bowl and pairing it with Oregon State. Athlon Sports stayed with the Sun Bowl as well, also matching Clemson with Oregon State on Dec.
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South Carolinas Georgia Showdown Just Got A Bigger Stage
South Carolinas final home game of the 2026 season against Georgia is set for November 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium, with ABC carrying the matchup nationally. It is the kind of late-season spotlight that tends to sharpen everything around it, and it lands with added weight given the recent history between the two programs, their current rankings and the way the rest of each teams schedule is lining up.
For the Gamecocks, the timing makes the visit from Georgia one of the defining nights of the year, especially with the full 2026 slate still unfolding around it. The schedule already has its share of movement and buildup, but this one stands apart because it closes out the home portion of the season and arrives with plenty still to be sorted for both teams before they get there. [Read more 🡒]
LaNorris Sellers Injury Concern Hangs Over South Carolinas Arkansas Trip
LaNorris Sellers left South Carolinas Week 10 win over Texas A&M with the kind of ankle issue that immediately puts a quarterbacks status under a microscope, but the early signs around Columbia have been encouraging. Sellers played through the injury as the Gamecocks moved to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, and Shane Beamer said the tests that followed showed no concerning issues.
Now the focus shifts to Arkansas, where South Carolina will be watching closely to see how Sellers responds in the days ahead. The Gamecocks have reason to feel optimistic about his availability, but with a trip coming up and the quarterback position so central to everything they do, the final answer matters just as much as the medical update. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolinas Road Push Now Rests On One Huge LaNorris Sellers Question
South Carolinas four-game winning streak has put the No. 21 Gamecocks in a much better spot heading into their trip to Arkansas on Nov. 14, and the recent 17-9 win over Texas A&M only sharpened the sense that Shane Beamers team is finding its footing at the right time. The matchup at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium now carries real weight for a team trying to keep its road push moving, with LaNorris Sellers once again at the center of everything South Carolina wants to do on offense and Mazeo Bennett part of the supporting cast that can help stretch the field.
Arkansas comes in off a narrow 26-23 loss to Auburn, so the Razorbacks will be looking to make this one uncomfortable early, especially with Chris Marshall in the passing game and Quincy Rhodes up front. For South Carolina, though, the bigger question is whether Sellers can keep the offense steady away from home and turn a promising stretch into something more durable as the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]