Fernando Mendoza took the snap, looking to get himself out of the end zone before getting pushed to the ground by a Miami defender. When he did, the Indiana sideline erupted. The clock hit zero soon afterward, prompting a few of Mendoza’s teammates to dump a cooler of Gatorade over Curt Cignetti‘s head as he strode towards the center of the field.
Indiana had just completed a turnaround previously unseen in the history of college football. Two years after logging a 3-9 record, the Hoosiers went a perfect 16-0 and claimed their first national championship in their 100-plus years of existence. They also became the sport’s first first-time national champions since Florida did so in 1996.
Indiana’s run through the College Football Playoff signaled a dramatic shift in how teams across the country gauged their own national championship chances. That begged the question: In this new era of college football, which team will be next?
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According to USA Today’s Paul Myerberg, South Carolina is among the crop of elite up-and-coming teams with championship aspirations. In his list of the 10 programs “most likely to join Indiana as first-time champs,” he placed the Gamecocks in seventh.
South Carolina finds itself behind Oregon (No. 1), Texas Tech (No. 2), Baylor (No. 3), Arkansas (No. 4), Kentucky (No. 5) and Virginia Tech (No. 6), while sitting ahead of SMU (No. 8), Louisville (No. 9) and Houston (No. 10).
“Like Arkansas, South Carolina faces the challenge of scaling the SEC. The Gamecocks nearly earned an at-large bid in 2024, however, and have done a good job under Shane Beamer of landing the sort of difference-making players (LaNorris Sellers, Dylan Stewart, Nick Emmanwori) who can carry a team to the playoff,” Myerberg wrote. “Building the depth needed to win three of four playoff games will be the Gamecocks’ biggest challenge.”
After finishing the 2025 campaign 4-8, South Carolina made a number of moves this offseason to help them return to the national championship conversation. By retaining Sellers, Stewart and Nyck Harbor, they kept three of the sport’s most dynamic playmakers in Columbia for another season. South Carolina also made an effort to build a sturdy offensive line around Sellers, bringing in the likes of Jacarrius Peak (who On3 rated as the top offensive tackle in the transfer portal) and Emmanuel Poku, among others.
South Carolina’s first chance to improve on last year’s performance will come on Sept. 5 against Kent State. A kickoff time will be announced closer to the date of the game.