Hey, did you want more South Carolina football for Christmas? Because you’re doing it anyway!
For reasons largely due to an excess of seats in the SEC bowl, as well as other teams deciding to withdraw this year, the 2-8 Gamecocks found a ticket to the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, held in Tampa, Florida, where they meet with UAB at noon on December 26th.
By all metrics, the Blazers had a good season, going from 6 to 3 overall on the way to winning the US Conference conference on Marshall. Gamecocks have already opened up as 5.5 point underdogs, in case you’re wondering.
If you’re looking for a silver lining, here are a few that I can offer: a) We’ll see Kevin Harris in action again, and b) maybe that will give new coach Shane Beamer a good opportunity to evaluate this team, now that his obligations to Oklahoma ended – although he wasn’t going to train in the bowl.
South Carolina won their last clash with UAB 49-6, which was in 2012. This will be the fourth ever clash between programs, with Gamecocks holding a 3-0 lead.