Analyzing South Carolina's Recent Performances In October

South Carolina's Football team has developed a reputation for the chaos they create in the month of October. Does the recent past validate that reputation?

This past Fall, I was watching Late Kick With Josh Pate, a show that's become arguably one of the most, if not the most popular, year-long shows in the college football sphere. If you aren't familiar with the host of the show, Josh Pate, here's a quick summary describing him; he's a host driven by logic and analytics who likes to use what I'll call "Pateisms," words or phrases that have become synonymous with his delivery and approach.

I'm giving all of this context about Josh Pate because on the night I was listening to this particular show last Fall, I heard the host say a word referencing a recent win for South Carolina: 'It's Cocktober.' Forget the fact that you just read the word 'Cocktober' and focus on why this word is used to describe South Carolina football in October: they create either conference-wide or nationwide chaos in the sport of college football.

The other day, I saw this phrase reemerge on social media and decided to do some research and see whether or not there was actual validity for the use of the word 'Cocktober,' and what I found is that South Carolina, one way or another, does tend to cause havoc in the month synonymous with the Fall season. Taking out the COVID season, since 2016, South Carolina has only had a losing record in October twice. One of those occurrences was in 2019, a season that saw the Gamecocks knock off the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens. In 2016, South Carolina was .500 in October but upset No. 18 Tennessee in Columbia.

In 2017, 2018, and 2022, the Gamecocks had a winning record, and this past Fall, they won on the road against the No. 13 Kentucky Wildcats and ended their all-time winless skid against the Texas A&M Aggies. This October, the Gamecocks are taking on the Florida Gators, Missouri Tigers, and Texas A&M Aggies, with the latter two matchups taking place on the road. If October has taught us anything over the past seven years, it's that, more than likely, chaos is coming in the SEC, and South Carolina will be the instigator of said chaos. So grab your favorite Pumpkin Spice flavored drink, and look at the Fall Foliage while you can. Cocktober is officially here.

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