South Carolina football, Shane Beamer receive 10 votes in preseason coaches poll
COLUMBIA — South Carolina football did not land a spot in the Top 25 in the USA TODAY Sports US LBM preseason coaches poll released Monday but the Gamecocks did receive 10 votes.
In 2023, the Gamecocks were two spots shy of making the list before finishing a disappointing 5-7.
The SEC is now a 16-team conference with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma. The SEC had nine schools in preseason poll, a record high for the conference. Georgia was ranked No. 1 with 1,364 points and 46 first-place votes. The Gamecocks do not play the Bulldogs this season but did in 2023, losing 24-14 in Athens.
Texas finished fourth with 1,223 points but the Longhorns do not play South Carolina in 2024 either. However the Gamecocks do face No. 5 Alabama (1,077 points), No. 6 Ole Miss (1,019 points), No. 11 Missouri (808 points), No. 12 LSU (742 points), No. 14 Clemson (657 points), No. 16 Oklahoma (609 points), and No. 20 Texas A&M (273 points) this season.
The Gamecocks will face Kentucky for their first SEC game this season. The Wildcats received 12 votes in the poll after finishing 7-6 in 2023.
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This is coach Shane Beamer's fourth year with the Gamecocks and won't have star quarterback Spencer Rattler, who is now in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. Redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers is projected as the starting quarterback.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football gets 10 votes in preseason coaches poll
