Ranking OU's 2025 opponents: South Carolina

Editor's note: This is a series previewing each of the Sooners’ opponents in 2025. OUInsider will rank all 12 games by their significance, difficulty, and entertainment value on a 1-10 scale, publishing each installment based on which team is next in the rankings. This installment focuses on South Carolina, the team ranked 7th in this series.

Everything fell apart when the Sooners hosted South Carolina last season.

The Sooners trailed 21-0 at Owen Field just five minutes into the game after three consecutive turnovers from Michael Hawkins Jr. That game ended in 35-9 loss, dropping the Sooners to a 4-3 record on the season. All kinds of changes resulted from that game, including the reinsertion of Jackson Arnold as the starting quarterback and the dismissal of Seth Littrell as offensive coordinator.

The Sooners will certainly hope things are a lot different when the two teams meet this time around.

One key difference? They'll travel to Columbia, South Carolina for the first time in program history. The Sooners went just 1-3 in SEC road games last season, but will look to reverse that trend in a venue that is routinely ranked as one of the toughest in football.

The Gamecocks will be an intriguing team this fall. They went 9-4 last season, with three of their losses coming by four points or fewer. They return starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers and stud defensive end Dylan Stewart. But they rank just 71st in returning production, per ESPN, and they lost key players on both sides of the ball, particularly on the lines of scrimmage.

Here's an overview of the Gamecocks and what the Sooners can expect in Columbia:

When: Oct. 18, 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. CT

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

TV: TBD

Difficulty: 8/10

Entertainment Value: 8/10

Significance: 7/10

Total score: 23/30

2024 OVERVIEW

Record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC)

Scoring offense: 30.5 points per game (48th nationally)

Scoring defense: 18.1 points per game (12th nationally)

Total offense: 407.8 yards per game (45th nationally)

Total defense: 316.6 yards per game (16th nationally)

KEY DEPARTURES

WR Joshua Simon (40 receptions, 519 yards, 7 TD)

RB Raheim Sanders (183 carries, 881 yards, 11 TD)

DB Nick Emmanwori (88 tackles, 3 TFL, 4 INT)

LB Demetrius Wright II (82 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sack, 1 INT)

DE Kyle Kennard (28 tackles, 16 TFL, 11.5 sacks)

DT TJ Sanders (50 tackles, 7 TFL, 4 sacks)

KEY RETURNERS

QB LaNorris Sellers (3,208 total yards, 25 total TDs, 7 INT, 65.6% completion)

WR Mazeo Bennett Jr. (30 receptions, 337 yards, 3 TD)

DE Dylan Stewart (23 tackles, 11 TFL, 6.5 sacks)

KEY ADDITIONS

QB Air Noland (Ohio State)

LB Shawn Murphy (Florida State)

DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Texas A&M)

DL Jaylen Brown (Missouri)

Can LaNorris Sellers hit his ceiling?

The defense was one of the best units in football a year ago. The issue was the offense.

Sellers and the offense had issues with consistency. The Gamecocks scored just three points in a blowout loss to Ole Miss and finished with just 17 points in a bowl game loss to Illinois. The offense went as Sellers went, and while he showed his potential as a dual-threat quarterback — he had nearly 400 total yards and five touchdowns against Missouri — he also struggled to generate anything at different points in the season. There were three games where he finished with under 165 passing yards without throwing a touchdown.

But the expectations are high for Sellers heading into 2025. He's even generating early Heisman Trophy buzz. A lot of that is due to his rushing ability, considering he rushed for 674 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.1 yards per carry a year ago. He'll have to do a lot of heavy lifting for an offense that lost most of its starting offensive line and its starting running back.

But if he can hit his potential, and improve his consistency, there's no doubt that Sellers can be one of the better quarterbacks in football.

Will the defense take a step back?

While there are big question marks with Sellers and the offense, the bigger issue is on the defense. That was the selling point a season ago, when the defensive line terrorized opponents. They finished tied for sixth nationally in sacks and 18th in rushing defense.

But a lot of those key pieces are gone. Only six players that played more than 200 snaps a year ago are returning. Stud defensive end Kyle Kennard is off to the NFL.

The Gamecocks did well enough to land some players in the portal who could play right away. But the defense really can't afford to take any steps back if the Gamecocks hope to stay competitive in the SEC.

Despite the two teams meeting in Week 8, the trip to Columbia will be just the Sooners' second true road game of the season. They struggled mightily on the road last season, and regardless of how good the Gamecocks are in 2025, they will be incredibly tough to beat at home. It'll be a completely new environment for the Sooners, too, which should add a lot of intrigue to the festivities.

But compared to the rest of the schedule, this isn't likely to be one of the most difficult games on the schedule. If the Sooners are serious about competing for an SEC title, this is the type of game they have to win. That's especially true when considering OU also has road trips to Alabama and Tennessee on the schedule. Losing a game like this would completely shrink the margin of error for the Sooners as they look to bounce back from a very disappointing campaign in 2024.

The good news? The Sooners will be in really good shape, as long as they don't turn the ball over on three straight possessions to open the game.

12. Kent State

11. Illinois State

10. Temple

9. Missouri

8. Ole Miss

7. South Carolina

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