South Carolina 2026 Football Game Time Windows Set

Game time windows have been announced for South Carolina’s 2026 football games, the Southeastern Conference announced today.

Television start time windows are defined as follows:

• Early – Between noon – 1 pm ET
• Afternoon – Between 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET
• Night – Between 6 – 8 pm ET
• Flex – Between 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET OR 6 – 8 pm ET

Game times and networks for the first three games of the season were announced previously. South Carolina opens the 2026 season with three-straight home contests. The opener against Kent State on Sept. 5 is slated for a 12:45 pm kick on SEC Network. The Sept. 12 contest against Towson will be streamed on SECN+ at 7 pm. The Sept. 19 SEC opener versus Mississippi State will be carried on SEC Network beginning at 4:15 pm.

South Carolina’s first road test of the 2026 campaign will be a night game in Tuscaloosa against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 26. It will mark the third-consecutive season that Carolina and Alabama have squared off, with the Tide narrowly winning the previous two – 27-25 in Tuscaloosa in 2024 and 29-22 in Columbia in 2025.

The Gamecocks open the month of October at home against Kentucky on Oct. 3. That game has been pegged as a Flex game, the first of four contests with that designation. The teams last met in Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 27, 2025, with Carolina prevailing by a 35-13 score, its fourth-straight win in a series they lead 22-14-1.

Carolina will have an early kick on Oct. 10 as they travel to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. The Gamecocks and Gators met every year on the gridiron from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Florida holds a commanding 31-10-3 lead in the all-time series including a 17-2 advantage when playing in “The Swamp”. Carolina’s last win in Gainesville came in overtime in the 2014 season.

After an open week, Tennessee comes to Columbia for an afternoon contest at Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 24. Like Florida, the Gamecocks and Vols met every year from 1992-2023 but have not played in either of the last two seasons. Tennessee leads the all-time series by a 29-13-2 count including a narrow 10-8-2 advantage when the game has been played in Columbia.

The Gamecocks will spend Halloween in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners. That contest has been tagged as the second Flex game of the season. The teams had never met prior to OU joining the SEC but have played each of the past two seasons with each team winning on the other’s home field.

The Bonham Trophy will be at stake when Texas A&M makes its way to Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 7 for an afternoon contest. The Gamecocks and Aggies have met every year since A&M joined the SEC in 2014. The Aggies hold a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series, but the Gamecocks have won each of the last two meetings in Columbia.

South Carolina travels to Arkansas for the first time since 2022 when they play in Fayetteville on Nov. 14. That game, along with the Georgia game the following week, Nov. 21, in Columbia have both been designated as Flex games. South Carolina has won three of the last four games with the Hogs, but Arkansas clings to a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series, while Georgia has won 55 of the previous 76 meetings between the flagship schools from neighboring states.

The Gamecocks will wrap up the 2026 regular season slate at Clemson on Nov. 28. That game is part of the ACC television package with the game time and network to be announced at a later date. the Gamecocks have won each of the last two times they visited Memorial Stadium in Clemson.

Designating windows for all games after Week 3 prior to the start of the season is a benefit of the conference rights agreement between the Southeastern Conference and ESPN. For all listed windows (Early, Afternoon, Night, Flex), the exact start time within such window(s) and the television network will be confirmed no later than six days prior to the game.

Gamecock season tickets are still available and start as low as $65 per game. Fans interested in season tickets should request more information from our team via this form to request more information. To check out what’s planned for the 2026 season, including theme days, visit the 2026 Football Hub.