South Carolina Favored To Open Season
South Carolina is 0-0 and off the Clemson loss that closed last season, and the Gamecocks open 2026 as favorites at home.
Last season is officially the past
South Carolina finished last season with a 14-28 home loss to Clemson on November 29, the last entry on a closing stretch that also included a 22-29 loss to Alabama, a 14-30 loss at Ole Miss and a 30-31 defeat at Texas A&M. The one bright spot in that run was a 51-7 win over Coastal Carolina, but the Gamecocks closed out 2025 having dropped four of their final five.
None of that carries into the record book now. South Carolina sits at 0-0 with the 2026 season still ahead of it, and the opener is set for Kent State, described in the schedule as coming up "on September 5 vs. Kent State" at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
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Covers' aggregated injury tracker lists two Gamecocks already ruled out for the year. Wide receiver J. Sellers is dealing with a lower-body injury and has been shut down for the remainder of the season, and fellow receiver J. Gibson is in the same boat with a lower-body issue that will keep him out the rest of the way.
Defensive lineman D. Stewart carries a lighter designation. He's listed as Questionable with a foot injury, reported earlier this week, and his availability for the Kent State opener is still unresolved rather than in doubt of missing extended time — a Questionable tag, not a ruled-out one.
Upcoming
South Carolina opens the season on September 5 vs. Kent State at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, and the market has the Gamecocks as favorites with the scoring expected to run middling. Kent State enters at 0-0 this season, with its most recent result a 35-31 win at Northern Illinois to close out last season.
A week later, on September 12, Towson comes to Columbia as the home slate continues, though no line has been set on that one yet. Towson sits at 0-1 in 2026 after an 18-21 loss to Maine, its only game logged so far this season.