The South Carolina football team is back in the College Football Playoff top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2022 season and for the fourth week ever.
The Gamecocks checked in at No. 21 in the second week of the CFP rankings for the 2024 season. The Gamecocks are similarly ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press poll at No. 23. It is the Gamecocks’ earliest appearance in the committee's rankings history.
The Gamecocks’ last appearance in the CFB top 25 was in November 2022 when the team spent back-to-back weeks ranked No. 19 after upsetting then-No 5. Tennessee and then-No. 8 Clemson to close out its regular season that year. South Carolina was also ranked in 2017 at No. 24 in Week 11 heading into that season’s game against Clemson.
“South Carolina’s been one of the great stories of the season,” ESPN analyst Rece Davis said during the CFP ranking show on ESPN. “They are so close to having a better record than 6-3.”
South Carolina picked up its first statement win of the season on Nov. 2 against then-No. 10 Texas A&M at home for the program's first ranked win since 2022. The Gamecocks had been close in previous attempts this season, falling to then-No. 16 LSU and then-No. 7 Alabama by three and two points, respectively.
Head coach Shane Beamer said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday that he wants his team to ignore the new positive noise surrounding the program.
“It's easier said than done,” Beamer said. “Let’s be real, last time we got ranked, we didn’t play worth a crap the next week.”
Beamer’s comment comes in reference to a similar situation to this week’s matchup where after being ranked No. 25 in that week’s AP top 25, the Gamecocks lost at home 23-10 to the Missouri Tigers.
The newly-ranked Gamecocks will again play its first game after re-entering the polls against the No. 23 Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium in what will be South Carolina’s first ranked matchup since 2018. The game will kick off at 4:15 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.