The South Carolina Gamecocks have no shortage of difficult games in 2024 and will likely be the underdog in eight of these matchups. They are no stranger to the upset, however, and have found ways over the years to come out victorious against opponents heavily favored to win.
Is it likely that South Carolina will be on the right side of an upset this year? And, if so, which team will they take down?
The term “upset” can be taken a few different ways. Technically, if the team that is not favored to win does in fact win the game that can be defined as an upset. That said, it wouldn’t send ripples through the sports world or make any national headlines.
That is why I think for a game to truly be considered an upset not only does the underdog have to win but the win has to send shockwaves across the college football world. This type of upset and its corresponding reaction implies that the two programs are in entirely different positions, and the one that no one gave a shot to defeat the superior program did in fact come out on top.
I believe there are some games on South Carolina’s schedule that would easily fit this description of an upset including Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma. There is no doubt that the Gamecocks will be the underdog in all of these matchups, and if they do in fact win, there would be a massive reaction across the sports world.
That said, I would not put my money on USC winning these games. Never say never, though. There is always a chance, and we have seen them do it before. I just don’t think winning any one of these games is likely.
Similar to the clear upset opportunities, I think there are a few games that the Gamecocks will be underdogs in that if they were to win would not exactly surprise anyone. This includes matchups against Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Clemson. Throw logic, records, and analytics out the window in rivalry games. Anything is possible, and I don’t think Clemson is as high and mighty as they once were.
I put Texas A&M here because every year they’re a little bit of an enigma. Loaded with talent, the expectations are always exceedingly high for them, but they rarely seem to achieve them. So, in essence, beating them would be a “huge” upset, but given their proclivity for underachieving, it’s hard to define this as an upset of epic proportions.
The two remaining games that suffice the truest definition of an upset are LSU and Missouri.
I have talked about how playing a team like LSU early in the season can play to your advantage. The Gamecocks will have several questions and concerns possibly still looming at this point in the season, but I feel that LSU will as well. South Carolina will undoubtedly be giving up a little in terms of talent to the Tigers, but I believe this game will come down to which team has less questions remaining.
Similar to the Gamecocks, LSU will have uncertainties at QB and WR entering this season as well as to their defense. The Tigers are bringing in Missouri’s defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, to fix their disaster of a defense. Will they have the defense figured out by then? What about the QB and WR positions? They certainly have a lot of talent to help fill in the gaps, but if the Gamecocks have these positions figured out to a greater extent than LSU, this is a game South Carolina can win.
Factor in that it’s not only played early in the season, but it’s kicking off at noon in the heat of Columbia which plays right into the hands of USC.
South Carolina plays Missouri in November in 2024, and unlike LSU, they maintain a decent amount of their nucleus from last season. Starting QB Brady Cook and star WR Luther Burden both return for the Tigers, and even though their DC left for (ironically) LSU, this is a defensive unit that has been pretty solid the last few seasons. This will be another home game for the Gamecocks with a time TBA.
Missouri has owned the Gamecocks, winning the last 4 matchups. But streaks are meant to be broken, and despite their dominance against USC, I don’t believe Missouri has an extreme talent advantage. In the past, South Carolina has looked sluggish in this game and has gotten off to extremely slow starts. I think that has to change at some point, and I believe that year four of Shame Beamer could be that year.
I think both of these games are great opportunities for the Gamecocks to pull off an upset against solid programs. The game against LSU has more to do with LSU. South Carolina could go out and play a great game, but if LSU has answers to their biggest question marks and are clicking that early in the season, they’ll be tough to defeat. If South Carolina can catch them at the right time and right place with concerns still lingering, anything is possible.
The matchup against Missouri is, I believe, totally about the Gamecocks. If they show up and can get off to a quick start at home and avoid falling behind like the last 4 years, they have a great shot. They will know who they are at this point in the season, and if they have answered most of their questions and strike first in this game, I like their chances.
If I had to choose which game is more likely to play out in favor of South Carolina, I would lean toward Missouri and this point. It is incredibly early and nearly impossible to predict at this point, but if the Gamecocks were to pull off an upset this upcoming season, I believe it will be the Missouri Tigers.