This week, college football personality and On3 partner Josh Pate gave an in-depth look at his College Football Playoff contenders for the 2026 season. South Carolina was part of the conversation.
Pate put 28 total teams in the discussion. The Gamecocks were not among his 12 “no-brainer” contenders. Shane Beamer’s team wasn’t part of Pate’s four-team group that required a “brief internal debate.” Carolina didn’t even make the group of four labeled as needing “significant internal debate.”
However, South Carolina was part of an eight-team group that he said was just “outside looking in” from the main bubble discussion. Pate said this group doesn’t instill confidence but could “easily be added” to his CFP bubble.
The Gamecocks’ fringe inclusion stems from the team’s star power. Said Pate:
“South Carolina: you’ve got Dylan Stewart over there, you’ve got LaNorris Sellers over there. Theoretically, it could happen.”
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Being one of 28 teams on or around a hypothetical College Football Playoff bubble is nothing to hang a banner over for South Carolina. However, after a disappointing 4-8 campaign in 2025, being in the perceived top 20% of the sport would represent a significant improvement.
It is also the internal expectation in Columbia.
Several times near the end of the season last year, Shane Beamer even gave pseudo-guarantees that his team would be part of the College Football Playoff conversation in 2026.
One such instance came following a loss to Texas A&M in which the Gamecocks lost a 30-3 lead. “We’re not there right now,” Beamer said at the time, “but I do know next year at this time, we’re going to be sitting here on this Tuesday night watching the playoff rankings to see where we are in the ranking show.”
Josh Pate declaring, “Theoretically, it could happen,” doesn’t prove Beamer right. However, it does show that views from outside of the program can be positive, too, even after last season.
If South Carolina is to make its head coach’s prediction come true, it will be thanks to this offseason.
Beamer made several tweaks to his offensive coaching staff. Most notably, he replaced offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Shula, offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley, and running backs coach Marquel Blackwell with Kendal Briles, Randy Clements, and Stan Drayton, respectively.
When well-respected defensive ends/outside linebackers coach Sterling Lucas left for LSU, Beamer made a strong new hire in Deion Barnes.
The Gamecocks secured their fourth top-20 high school recruiting class in a row this winter. They then signed a strong transfer portal class, headlined by five-star offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak. The personnel tweaks addressed holes on the offensive line, defensive line, and running back position. Those changes also provided USC with some important help at wide receiver, at nickel, and on special teams.
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You can see Pate’s full CFP contention tiers below:
No-Brainers: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Brief Internal Debate: Florida, Michigan, Ole Miss, Southern Cal
Significant Internal Debate: Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee, Penn State
Outside Looking In: South Carolina, BYU, Clemson, Houston, Iowa, Louisville, SMU, Washington