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SEC preseason poll places South Carolina 13th despite one first-place vote from media

According to the media's votes attending SEC Media Days this week, there is quite a divide about how South Carolina football's 2024 season will go.

The Gamecocks were one of seven teams to be picked as a preseason favorite to win the SEC. However, South Carolina finished with 923 total points and a 13th finish out of 16 teams in the SEC for the 2024 season. Georgia is the preseason favorite after finishing with 3,330 points and Texas was second with 3,041 points. The top two teams will face off in the SEC Championship on Dec. 7, the first year the SEC won't send teams to the conference championship based on winning divisions.

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The Gamecocks are entering their fourth season under head coach Shane Beamer and are coming off a 5-7 2023 season. Beamer has a career 20-18 record in his first three seasons with South Carolina but has yet to post a winning record in SEC play, going 10-14.

South Carolina had no players on the first team of the Preseason All-SEC Team, but three players made the second team. Running back Raheim Sanders made the second-team offense, while linebacker Debo Williams was second-team defense, and long-snapper Hunter Rogers made it for special teams. Defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway and defensive back Nick Emmanwori made the third-team defense.

The Gamecocks open the season on Aug. 31 against Old Dominion at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. They open SEC play against rival Kentucky the following week on the road at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

SEC Football Preseason Poll 2024

  • 1. Georgia

  • 2. Texas

  • 3. Alabama

  • 4. Ole Miss

  • 5. LSU

  • 6. Missouri

  • 7. Tennessee

  • 8. Oklahoma

  • 9. Texas A&M

  • 10. Auburn

  • 11. Kentucky

  • 12. Florida

  • 13. South Carolina

  • 14. Arkansas

  • 15. Mississippi State

  • 16. Vanderbilt

SEC Champion

First-place votes in parentheses

  • 1. Georgia (165)

  • 2. Texas (27)

  • 3. Alabama (12)

  • 4. Ole Miss (4)

  • 5. Vanderbilt (2)

  • 6. LSU (2)

  • 7. South Carolina (1)

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football: Where are Gamecocks picked to finish in the SEC?