COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina football landed at No. 21 when the College Football Playoff selection committee released its first rankings of the season Tuesday night, giving Columbia’s Gamecocks a spot in the initial release for the first time.
It is the eighth time overall that the program has shown up in the playoff rankings. The Gamecocks are 5-3, with a 3-3 mark in conference play, and they are one of 10 SEC teams in this first top 25.
The climb follows a three-game SEC winning streak. South Carolina knocked off Florida 38-19 on Oct. 10, edged Tennessee 27-24 at home on Oct. 24 and then went to Norman and beat Oklahoma 42-25. The Tennessee win gave Shane Beamer nine victories over ranked teams in his first 70 games as head coach, matching the program mark held by Steve Spurrier.
Miami sits at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Utah and Indiana. Florida, one of the teams South Carolina beat in October, is ranked 24th.
The committee looks at who each team played, how teams fared head to head and against shared opponents, and things like injuries to key players. It will meet again Nov. 9-10 and release its next rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Before then, South Carolina returns to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday to face Texas A&M, which is 4-4 and 1-4 in the SEC. Kickoff is at 3 p.m., and gates open two hours before the game.
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