South Carolina debuts prominently in USAToday preseason coaches poll

Fall camps all around the country are underway, and for fans in South Carolina, the weather is unseasonably cool. It feels like football outside, and the season is just around the corner.

With that, preseason lists and rankings are flying in each day. On Monday, the USA Today coaches poll dropped its official 2025 preseason rankings. South Carolina football featured prominently. According to an aggregate poll from 67 current collegiate head coaches, the Gamecocks are the No. 13 team in the nation this preseason.

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You can see the entire top 25 below (first-place votes also in parentheses).

1. Texas Longhorns (28)
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (20)
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (14)
4. Georgia Bulldogs (3)
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Clemson Tigers (2)
7. Oregon Ducks
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
9. LSU Tigers
10. Miami Hurricanes
11. Arizona State Sun Devils
12. Illinois Fighting Illini
13. South Carolina Gamecocks
14. Michigan Wolverines
15. Ole Miss Rebels
16. SMU Mustangs
17. Florida Gators
18. Tennessee Volunteers
19. Indiana Hoosiers
20. Kansas State Wildcats
T-21. Texas A&M Aggies
T-21. Iowa State Cyclones
23. BYU Cougars
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders
25. Boise State Broncos

The Oklahoma Sooners, Missouri Tigers, Louisville Cardinals, Southern Cal Trojans, Utah Utes, Baylor Bears, Auburn Tigers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Memphis Tigers, Army-West Point Black Knights, Tulane Green Wave, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, TCU Horned Frogs, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Syracuse Orange, Washington Huskies, Navy Midshipmen, Arkansas Razorbacks, Duke Blue Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, Minnesota Golden Gophers, UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, Florida State Seminoles, Kansas Jayhawks, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Buffalo Bulls also received votes.

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South Carolina’s strong place in the coaches poll comes on the same day veteran sportswriter Brett McMurphy left the Gamecocks off of his official ballot for the preseason Associate Press top 25 (which comes out next week).

Most preseason assessments of Shane Beamer’s team have been closer to the coaches poll than McMurphy’s. The Gamecocks have been situated between 12 and 18 in most polls, with some pundits even predicting South Carolina to make the College Football Playoff for the first time.

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