South Carolina football is set to kick off the 2025 season on Sunday afternoon when the Gamecocks face Virginia Tech in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The matchup serves as the season opener for both programs and the first meeting between the two schools since 1991, when South Carolina came away with a 28-21 win. The Gamecocks have not dropped a contest to the Hokies since 1974, winning six straight in the series.
Shane Beamer’s squad enters the game with national recognition, checking in at No. 13 in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech begins the year unranked and did not receive votes in either poll.
Uniforms are once again a storyline for South Carolina. Last season, the team mixed and matched their gameday looks, going ten straight weeks before repeating a combination. For Sunday’s opener, the Gamecocks will roll out an all-black look.
The announcement came via the Gamecock Football social media account Sunday morning, which first teased the new black helmets featuring a larger Block C decal, similar to designs worn on the team’s white helmets in 2024. Shortly after, the full uniform reveal showed black jerseys and black pants with white and garnet piping, completing the head-to-toe blackout look.
The program’s media team posted:
“Battle ready.”
Superstitious fans may be pleased: the Gamecocks have enjoyed recent success in all-black uniforms. They defeated Texas A&M last season while wearing the look and also won their last outing in all-black in 2023 against Kentucky under the lights.
As for the Hokies, Virginia Tech announced they will take the field in orange jerseys, orange pants, and white helmets, creating a vibrant contrast against South Carolina’s blackout set.
With a nationally ranked South Carolina team facing off against an unranked but hungry Virginia Tech squad, and with the high-energy uniform battle adding intrigue, Sunday’s opener is shaping up to be a dramatic start to the 2025 season.
