South Carolina football bowl projections: Liberty, Vegas bowls in lead after Florida loss
COLUMBIA — South Carolina football's hopes for a seventh win were all but dashed in last week's 38-6 loss at Florida, but the Gamecocks already reached bowl eligibility with their sixth win over Vanderbilt.
South Carolina's projections are all over the map after Week 11 — literally. The two most common destinations are the Liberty Bowl, played Dec. 28 in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Las Vegas Bowl, played Dec. 17. There is no consistent opponent being predicted for either bowl, but the Liberty Bowl would feature a Big 12 team while the Las Vegas opponent would come from the Pac-12.
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The other high-probability option is the Texas Bowl, another Big 12 tie-in played Dec. 28 in Houston. Action Network and Sporting News both project the Gamecocks could face Baylor (6-4) in the postseason, though they place the matchup in the Texas Bowl and Liberty Bowl, respectively. Oklahoma (5-5) also remains a possible opponent in the Liberty Bowl according to USA TODAY, which would give Sooners quarterback transfer Spencer Rattler the chance for a revenge game against his former team.
The Gamecocks (6-4, 3-4) face a difficult end to the regular season after getting bowl eligibility for the second straight year under coach Shane Beamer. No. 5 Tennessee (9-1, 5-1) comes to Williams-Brice Stadium for South Carolina's senior day on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN) on the heels of a 66-24 rout of Missouri last week.
South Carolina then finishes at No. 9 Clemson (9-1), which has won seven straight matchups in the Palmetto Bowl rivalry. Last year, the Gamecocks ended the regular season 6-6, then went on to beat North Carolina 38-21 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Bowl projections:
Action Network: Texas Bowl vs. Baylor
Athlon Sports: Music City Bowl vs. Iowa (Dec. 31)
CBS Sports: Las Vegas Bowl vs. UCLA
College Football News: Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Las Vegas Bowl vs. Oregon
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Gator Bowl vs. Florida State (Dec. 30)
Pro Football Network: Liberty Bowl vs. Texas Tech
Saturday Down South: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Oregon State
Sporting News: Liberty Bowl vs. Baylor
The Athletic: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Iowa (Jan. 2)
USA TODAY: Liberty Bowl vs. Oklahoma
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football bowl projections after Week 11 loss to Florida
