Superlatives For South Carolina's 2023 Football Schedule
When looking ahead to South Carolina's 2023 football schedule, there are plenty of intriguing matchups they'll have to endure if they want to take another step under Shane Beamer with their final record. The Gamecocks will only play four road games, as opposed to the usual allotment of five, due to their neutral site contest against North Carolina in week one.
- September 2: vs. North Carolina (Charlotte, NC)
- September 9: vs. Furman
- September 16: @ Georgia
- September 23: vs. Mississippi State
- September 30: @ Tennessee
- October 14: vs. Florida
- October 21: @ Missouri
- October 28: @ Texas A&M
- November 4: vs. Jacksonville State
- November 11: vs. Vanderbilt
- November 18: vs. Kentucky
- November 25: vs. Clemson
When looking at these games, what are the most reasonable superlatives we can doll out?
Toughest Matchup: Georgia
This is a perfect case where there's no need for an overly sophisticated train of thought, as Georgia is the defending back-to-back national champion. While the Bulldogs lose some critical pieces, they've become a well-oiled machine in Athens, where their depth is just as good as their starting group.
Throw in the fact that this game is on the road in mid-September, and the Gamecocks could be in for a rough outing if ill-prepared.
Biggest Trap Game: Kentucky
There are admittedly multiple routes you could take this one, but in my opinion, the Wildcats match the criteria here for many reasons. The Wildcats pride themselves on their physical play style, and Mark Stoops is looking to remind the rest of the league of his coaching acumen after suffering a down year in 2022.
The trickiest part about this matchup for the Gamecocks is that this game takes place before the Palmetto Bowl against Clemson. When you add in the addition of quarterback Devin Leary, the Cats could easily catch South Carolina by surprise.
Most Likely Upset: Tennessee
This list of games is much shorter than it would've been for South Carolina last fall, which is a credit to the program's progress. Despite their dominant showing last November, the media will likely gravitate to the Volunteers' high-flying offense and strictly label last year's win for the Gamecocks as an outlier.
While that might be true regarding the margin, South Carolina won for a reason. With Spencer Rattler returning next season, Tennessee could relive its nightmares of that nationally televised, cold autumn night.
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