National reactions to South Carolina football’s improving College Football Playoff chances following a wild weekend
South Carolina football fans had a great Saturday. Not only did their Gamecocks knock off the Wofford Terriers 56-12 (complete with a point spread cover with nine seconds remaining), but much of the “unlikely chaos” needed for USC to have any semblance of a College Football Playoff chance happened. It was a wild weekend of college football, and South Carolina was one of Saturday’s biggest winners.
The No. 18 Gamecocks won handily. No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 14 BYU, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Colorado, and No. 19 Army all lost on Saturday. In fact, Indiana and Alabama got smacked around in their games. Before Saturday, the chances of seeing garnet and black in the CFP were meager. Following what transpired this weekend, that could be changing.
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The insanity across the sport has South Carolina as close to the College Football Playoff as they have been this year. When the updated CFP rankings come out on Tuesday, the Gamecocks should be in the top 15. With a top-15 matchup with Clemson coming this week, upward mobility is possible. Plus, over the next two weeks of ball, several teams ahead of Carolina have to play each other. That means, mathematically speaking, that some of them must lose.
The 12-team CFP field will include at least five conference champions. Notre Dame likely will get in. The 2nd-place team in the BIG Ten seems likely to make it, too. A two-loss Tennessee Volunteers squad that doesn’t have to play in the SEC Championship Game probably cracks the field, too. That leaves four more spots. It seems most likely that the BIG Ten and SEC each will get two additional bids (unless SMU beats Miami in an absolute classic in the ACC Championship Game after both teams win next week). If the SEC gets those four total bids, that means at least one 3-loss group will make the field.
Could it be Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football team?
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According to ESPN’s updated FPI rankings, it could be. As of now, the Gamecocks have a 43.2% chance of beating Clemson on Saturday. According to the FPI, even without any other help, that gives Carolina a 23.1% shot at making the Playoff.
Several prominent names across the country seem to think the Gamecocks could find their way into the field.
As he has for some time, ESPN NFL and college football analyst Dan Orlovsky is beating the Gamecock drum loudly.
Even NBC’s Nicole Auerbach, who also works for the BIG Ten Network, believes the Gamecocks are the top 3-loss team in the land this season. If the College Football Playoff needs a 3-loss team, she believes it should be South Carolina.
CBS and Yahoo college football pundit Adam Breneman thinks the Gamecocks could be a CFP team, regardless.
Former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback and ESPN analyst Aaron Murray argues that Carolina should make the CFP field ahead of 1-loss Indiana thanks to the stark discrepancy between the two teams’ strengths of schedule.
Crain & Company’s Jake Crain also believes USC is better than Indiana.
However, no matter how many strong opinions exist about the Gamecocks and their postseason chances, none of them matter without a win against Clemson.
Because of the potential stakes of a National Championship chance being on the line, the 2024 version of South Carolina-Clemson could be the biggest edition of the Palmetto Bowl in its 100+ year history.
The Gamecocks and Tigers will kick off on ESPN at noon on Saturday.
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