These three bowl games make the most sense for South Carolina

As bowl season inches closer, the memories of South Carolina’s 30-0 loss to Clemson last week drift further from view.

Despite a rough finale to the regular season, Shane Beamer has sparked the Gamecocks to an impressive turnaround with a 6-6 campaign. There’s a genuine buzz around what’s been built in Year 1 under Beamer in Columbia that could factor into which bowls take a swing at the Gamecocks.

The final bow to be tied on the 2021 season will come into fuller view on Sunday afternoon when USC’s bowl destination is announced.

Where might that be? We have some ideas.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl — Dec. 30 (Charlotte, NC)

The general vibe around South Carolina circles is a trip to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Bowl would be ideal.

The game would incorporate USC’s large alumni base in the Charlotte area and keep the Gamecocks in a region more easily navigable for fans compared to, say, Memphis or the Texas bowls the SEC has tie-ins with.

South Carolina, of course, has plenty of history in Charlotte. USC lost the 2018 Belk Bowl to Virginia at Bank of America Stadium the last time the Gamecocks reached the six-win bowl eligibility threshold. It has also played neutral site games in the Queen City four times since 2010.

Bowl insider Brett McMurphy’s latest round of projections on Thursday morning slotted USC against North Carolina in this year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel projected the same matchup.

Coincidentally, the Gamecocks and Tar Heels are scheduled to meet in Charlotte in 2023 for a regular season game as well.

The Southeastern Conference Championship Game on Saturday between No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama stands to have a trickle down effect on where South Carolina ends up. A drive right up Interstate 77 for a postseason contest would be perfect for those ready to don garnet and black this holiday season.

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl — Dec. 23 (Tampa, Florida)

South Carolina hasn’t played in a Florida bowl game since the Outback Bowl after the 2017 season. Could 2021 be the year to return?

The Gamecocks were slated to play in the Gasparilla Bowl a season ago before COVID-19 issues within the program forced its cancellation. South Carolina could simply opt to prefer the Gasparilla Bowl again as part of the bowl selection process.

USC won three consecutive Florida bowls between 2011 and 2013 at the height of the Steve Spurrier era. It has also only been to the Sunshine State once in its last four bowl trips.

Mandel reported on Thursday that UCF is almost certainly headed here for its bowl game and that organizers would like to bring Florida on board. If that’s the case, South Carolina may slide a bit down the SEC’s list of bowl tie-ins. (More on that in a second.)

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl — Dec. 28 (Birmingham, Alabama)

Where things get tricky for South Carolina’s bowl projections is where the Gamecocks fall in the SEC pecking order with a record number of teams having hit that six-win threshold.

The league has tie-ins to 12 bowl games for this season. The problem? Thirteen SEC teams are bowl-eligible.

With teams like LSU, Florida and Auburn all sitting at 6-6, it’s possible each of those squads would get chosen for a game ahead of South Carolina given their bigger brand names and television appeal.

The Birmingham Bowl would get among the last picks at whatever SEC schools remain on the docket as games above it — Citrus Bowl, Music City Bowl, etc. — get filled. Thus, if South Carolina slides down the board, this feels like a logical landing spot.

The drive from Birmingham to Columbia is doable for a weekend and the Gamecocks have played in this game twice in their last 10 bowl trips. It’d also be a chance for a bit of a further trek than Charlotte.

It feels more likely that South Carolina lands in one of the two options above, but there’s a decent enough chance the Gamecocks could be headed for Alabama this bowl season.