South Carolina’s shot at retaining the Mayor’s Cup slipped away on Saturday, as Missouri handed the Gamecocks a 29-20 defeat in Columbia. The road loss dropped Shane Beamer’s squad to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in SEC play.
Beamer has guided South Carolina to three bowls in his first four seasons, but projections for 2025 are divided. Some analysts still see a postseason trip on the horizon, while others aren’t as convinced.
Bowl Projections Roundup
On3’s Brett McMurphy is keeping South Carolina in the postseason picture. He has the Gamecocks pegged for the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa on December 19, facing the Duke Blue Devils. The bowl typically features SEC teams that barely cross the eligibility threshold, usually with six or seven wins. USC hasn’t played in the Gasparilla Bowl before, though the team was once slated to face UAB there in 2020 before COVID wiped out the game. It’s also notable that South Carolina hasn’t played Duke since 1991, when the two teams battled to a tie.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura also kept the Gamecocks in their predictions this week. Schlabach mirrored McMurphy with a Gasparilla Bowl nod but set up a clash with Virginia, while Bonagura sees USC in the Birmingham Bowl against Old Dominion on December 29. The Birmingham Bowl carries history for the Gamecocks, who lost appearances there in both 2016 (to South Florida) and 2009 (to UConn). South Carolina has faced Virginia more recently, suffering a 2018 Belk Bowl shutout, while the Gamecocks beat Old Dominion to open the 2024 season.
Athlon’s Steven Lassan offered a more optimistic scenario, projecting South Carolina into the Liberty Bowl in Memphis against the Kansas Jayhawks on January 2. The Gamecocks have played in the Liberty Bowl twice before, winning under Steve Spurrier in 2006 and losing under Joe Morrison in 1988.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm also slotted USC into the Liberty Bowl but predicted a first-time meeting with BYU.
Not every analyst sees a bowl in Carolina’s future, though. College Football News has the Gamecocks missing out entirely, which would be a crushing blow considering the preseason chatter that put them on the fringe of the College Football Playoff discussion.
What’s Next
South Carolina has a chance to steady the ship this weekend at Williams-Brice Stadium, where the Kentucky Wildcats come to town for a 7:45 p.m. SEC clash. The game will air on SEC Network and stream on ESPN’s app.
The Gamecocks hold a three-game winning streak in the series, including last year’s dominant 31-6 road win in Lexington.
