Oct. 29, 2015

The University of South Carolina will open the 2016 football season at Vanderbilt on Thursday, September 1, it was announced today, as the league office released the SEC’s entire slate of games.

The season opener in Nashville will mark the 10th time that the Gamecocks will have opened on a Thursday night in 12 years, and the second time they have opened the season at Vanderbilt on a Thursday, as they posted a 17-13 win on August 30, 2012. South Carolina leads the all-time series with the Commodores, 21-4, and has posted wins in each of the last seven meetings between the two schools.

For the first time since 1995, the Gamecocks’ first two regular season games will be conference road tests, as they will travel to Starkville on Saturday, September 10, to face Mississippi State. In 1995, Carolina opened with road losses at Georgia and at Arkansas under head coach Brad Scott en route to a 4-6-1 campaign. The Gamecocks have not lost to Mississippi State in this century, winning seven in a row to take a 9-6 advantage in the series with the Bulldogs. They have won four of the previous seven contests played in Starkville.

The Gamecocks’ 2016 home opener is scheduled for Saturday, September 17, when East Carolina visits Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina has won three straight in the series and holds a 13-5 lead in the all-time series with the Pirates, including a 10-4 mark at home.

The Gamecocks will travel to Lexington on Saturday, September 24, for another road conference battle with the Kentucky Wildcats. That contest will mark the first time since joining the SEC that Carolina will play three conference road games before hosting an SEC opponent. South Carolina has won 13 of the last 16 meetings with Kentucky and now holds a 17-9-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Wildcats, including a 9-5 edge in Lexington.

South Carolina’s conference home opener is set for Saturday, October 1, when Texas A&M comes to Columbia for just the second time. The 2016 battle will mark just the third contest between these two new SEC rivals. That contest will also mark the first of five-straight home games for the Gamecocks over a six-week stretch.

South Carolina and Georgia will renew its border rivalry on Saturday, October 8, at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks have won four of the last six against the Bulldogs, but Georgia holds a 48-18-2 advantage overall, including a 19-10-2 mark when playing in Columbia.

The Gamecocks will enjoy an off week before returning to action with a non-conference home matchup against UMass on Saturday, October 22. It will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the Gamecocks and Minutemen.

Game four of the five-game homestand will feature the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, October 29. Tennessee leads the all-time series, 24-7-2, including a 9-5-2 advantage in Columbia.

The long homestand concludes on Saturday, November 5, when Carolina entertains Missouri in the annual battle of the Columbias. The teams have split the first four meetings with the Tigers evenly since Mizzou joined the SEC Eastern Division.

South Carolina travels to Gainesville to wrap up the SEC slate with a date at Florida on Saturday, November 12. The Gamecocks have won two straight and four of the last five meetings with the Gators, but Florida holds a 24-8-3 lead in the all-time series, including a 13-2 advantage in The Swamp.

The 2016 home finale is set for Saturday, November 19, when the Western Carolina Catamounts visit Williams-Brice Stadium for the first time in this century. South Carolina has won each of the previous four meetings, as the teams got together each year from 1986-89.

The 2016 season concludes with the annual Palmetto State showdown, as the Gamecocks will travel to Clemson on Saturday, November 26. South Carolina has won five of the last six meetings with the Tigers in a series that dates back to 1896.