The 2024 season left several teams closely dangling at the bottom of the 12-team playoff games. Among them is a $5.5M NIL-valued SEC team that finished 15th in the final CFP rankings. And to make matters worse, this particular team was hit with the all too familiar transfer portal heartbreak with more outgoing players than incoming players. But even in the midst of this setback, they’re among the top teams that have a shot at snagging a playoff berth in 2025.
South Carolina is a team that hasn’t had a 10+ win season since 2013. Still, ESPN’s Greg McElroy is positive about Shane Beamer’s program for the upcoming season. In a new YouTube episode on ESPN College Football on February 15, he laid out his reasons. “The schedule’s very difficult,” he began. “But you have a great quarterback in LaNorris Sellers. You bring back a lot of pieces along the offensive line, and you bring back a game changer defensively in Dylan Stewart.”
After finishing last season with a 9-4 record, South Carolina witnessed a massive transfer exodus, with 16 players hitting the portal. And to add to their woes, the Gamecocks’ defensive key playmakers like DE Kyle Kennard, DTs TJ Sanders, and Tonka Hemingway are departing for the NFL. But while these veteran defenders will be hard to replace, Shane Beamer made a splash in offensive recruiting to make up for the losses on the offense by bringing in experienced players like Utah State transfer RB Rahsul Faison, who will replace NFL-bound Raheim Rocket Sanders.
The Gamecocks also brought in NC State transfer CB Brandon Cisse, who finished his junior season with 33 tackles, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one FF. As WR, he also racked up 297 yards on 22 receptions for three touchdowns. But as McElroy observed, “Most of the reason why people are bullish on South Carolina is because of LaNorris Sellers.”Sellers recorded just 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season, which pales in comparison to playoff QBs boasting 3,000+ yards.
But there’s a solution. “I think if you can get improved threat of the pass, he becomes a super dynamic borderline unstoppable piece,” McElroy said. “But in order for them to improve throwing the football, they need to have more adequate playmakers on the perimeter. That’s one area where they were very inconsistent last year so if that group can be more consistent to help LaNorris Sellers out, that could be really big.” With Mike Schula coming in as the new OC, McElroy feels better things are coming for LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina as a whole. But there’s still the schedule to be wary about.
South Carolina faces a tough schedule in 2025
Greg McElroy labeled South Carolina’s 2025 game schedule as “extremely difficult.” The SEC schedule is never a walk in the park, but the Gamecocks are about to face four opponents who finished the season ranking in the AP poll. But optimism runs high, with McElroy stating that a “5-0 start for South Carolina is not out of the realm of possibility.” They open with a game against Virginia Tech, a projected easy win to set the season’s foundation, followed by South Carolina State, Vanderbilt, a road game at Missouri, and Kentucky.
But their challenge kicks off with the next LSU game, whom they lost to last season in a controversial 33-36 loss. Oklahoma comes next before another tough SEC matchup against Alabama. Then comes two consecutive SEC road games at Ole Miss and Texas A&M before closing the regular season out with Coastal Carolina and Clemson. “If they can somehow beat LSU which is a tall task, then 7-0 is very much in the mix so 10 wins is definitely possible and 10 wins I think gets the Gamecocks to the postseason,” McElroy said.
The confidence is there. The talent is there. But will they get the favor of luck too? Only time will tell if South Carolina can punch their ticket to the college football playoff and rewrite history.
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