Football . September 13, 2016

2017 Gamecock Football Schedule Announced

Sept. 13, 2016

The 2017 University of South Carolina football schedule was unveiled by the SEC Network on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks will play seven home games, four road games and one neutral site game during the 2017 campaign.

The Gamecocks will open the 2017 season In Charlotte, N.C., for the third time since 2011 when they take on North Carolina State on Saturday, September 2, at Bank of America Stadium. The Gamecocks are 2-0 when opening the season in Charlotte, defeating East Carolina by a 56-37 score in 2011, then topping North Carolina by a 17-13 margin in 2015. The Gamecocks have won each of the last two meetings with the Wolfpack to take a slim 27-26-4 advantage in the all-time series.

Carolina jumps into SEC action in week two when it travels to Columbia, Mo. to face the Missouri Tigers on September 9. Mizzou has won back-to-back games to take a 4-2 advantage in the season series with the winner securing the Mayor’s Cup for another year.

The 2017 home opener is set for Saturday, September 16, when the Kentucky Wildcats visit Williams-Brice Stadium in another SEC Eastern Division showdown. The Wildcats have escaped with wins in each of the last two seasons, but the Gamecocks still hold a comfortable lead in the all-time series with Kentucky, 17-9-1.

The Gamecocks are home again on September 23 as they host Louisiana Tech in a non-conference matchup. The teams met on the gridiron in five consecutive years from 1991-95, but have not played since. Carolina has won each of the last four meetings and owns a 4-0-1 lead in the all-time series.

The Gamecocks wrap up the first month of the season with a September 30 date in College Station with Texas A&M. The Aggies have won each of the first two meetings in a series in which the two schools are tabbed as “permanent” SEC cross-division rivals.

The Gamecocks’ former “permanent” cross-division rival, Arkansas, provides the opposition on October 7 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Razorbacks hold a 13-9 lead in a series in which the teams played every year from 1992-2013. The Gamecocks have won the last two games in the series, most recently a 52-7 rout in Fayetteville in 2013.

The Gamecocks begin the second half of the 2017 slate in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols have won each of the last three meetings after Carolina had won three-straight from 2010-12. Tennessee holds a 25-7-2 lead in the all-time series, including a 16-2 advantage in Knoxville.

After the season’s lone open date on October 21, the Gamecocks return to SEC action on October 28 when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores in Columbia. The Gamecocks opened the 2016 season with a win over the ‘Dores in Nashville, extending their winning streak in the series to eight-straight games. The Gamecocks hold a 22-4 lead in the all-time series.

The Gamecocks final road game of the 2017 season will come on November 4 at Georgia. The Bulldogs own a 48-18-2 advantage in the all-time series, but the Gamecocks have won four of the last six meetings between the two Eastern Division rivals. It’s only the second time since 1980 that the Gamecocks and Bulldogs have met after September (they played on October 6 in 2012), and is the second-latest date in the history of the series that extends back to 1894, surpassed only by the November 18 game in 1939.

The Gamecocks wrap up the 2017 regular season with three-consecutive home games. The SEC slate comes to an end when the Florida Gators visit Columbia on November 11. The Gators lead the all-time series by a 25-8-3 margin, but the Gamecocks have won four of the last six meetings between the two schools.

The Wofford Terriers make their way to Williams-Brice Stadium on November 18 to renew their instate rivalry with the Gamecocks. South Carolina has won each of the last 16 meetings to take a commanding 19-4 lead in the series between the two Palmetto state schools, with the Terriers last win coming in 1917.

The regular season concludes with the annual Palmetto Bowl showdown between South Carolina and Clemson on November 25. The Tigers hold a 67-42-4 lead in the all-time series, but the Gamecocks have won five of the last seven meetings with their instate rivals from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2017 SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 2 vs NC State (Charlotte)

Sept. 9 at Missouri*

Sept. 16 KENTUCKY*

Sept. 23 LOUISIANA TECH

Sept. 30 at Texas A&M*

Oct. 7 ARKANSAS*

Oct. 14 at Tennessee*

Oct. 21 Open Date

Oct. 28 VANDERBILT*

Nov. 4 at Georgia*

Nov. 11 FLORIDA*