South Carolina Narrowly Misses College Football Playoff — But LaNorris Sellers Fuels High Hopes for 2025
The 2024 college football season delivered plenty of surprises, with a few unexpected teams earning spots in the debut of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Among those just missing the cut were the South Carolina Gamecocks, who nonetheless had their best season in over a decade.
Finishing with a 9-4 record and landing at No. 15 in the final CFP rankings, the Gamecocks showed serious promise. Much of that success came thanks to LaNorris Sellers, the redshirt freshman quarterback who made a massive impact in his first full season. Sellers threw for 2,534 yards, notched 18 touchdowns, and had just seven interceptions. On the ground, he added 674 rushing yards and seven more touchdowns, solidifying his role as one of the SEC’s most dynamic dual-threat QBs.
His standout performance didn’t go unnoticed. On his show, “The Paul Finebaum Show,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum shared high expectations for South Carolina’s future.
“I think they’re going to do really well,” Finebaum said. “I think they have an elite quarterback in Norris. I think they have a lot of compliments around him. They also have a schedule that’s maybe challenging but a little bit more managing even than last year when they had to go to Clemson and to Alabama … so, I really like what I see from this program.“
Despite the optimism, challenges remain. The Gamecocks return only 56% of their total production from last season, ranking No. 71 nationally in that category. Offensively, they bring back 65%, a relatively encouraging figure. Still, ESPN has tagged them as one of the teams “most likely to regress” in 2025.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly pointed out the potential trouble spots—most notably, the offensive line, where South Carolina loses three starters and nearly all of its front six, with the exception of standout freshman Dylan Stewart. On defense, only six of the 15 players who logged over 200 snaps in 2024 are set to return.
The road ahead begins on August 31, when South Carolina kicks off their 2025 campaign against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Despite roster turnover, the buzz surrounding LaNorris Sellers and the momentum from a breakthrough season suggest the Gamecocks aren’t done making noise.
