The SEC has been the elite conference in college football over the past two decades. Eight different SEC teams have claimed an national championship since 2000 including multiple by Alabama, Georgia and LSU.
Their are currently five programs who don't have a claim to a National Championship. Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State have yet to win the big one but with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff could their time be coming sooner then we all expected.
SEC Teams Last College Football National Championship🏆 pic.twitter.com/6KoFOqSCWt
— On3 (@On3sports) July 13, 2025
I believe that any of these teams are capable of getting to the point of winning a national championship but I think the one who could make it their first is South Carolina.
The Gamecocks were knocking on the door of the CFP last season but a controversial home loss to LSU and a heart breaking loss on the road against Alabama kept them outside of the playoff picture.
Shane Beamer has been the head coach in Columbia since 2021. Last season was the best season of Beamer's tenure to this point but he has bigger goals in mind.
South Carolina has slowly risen back to a similar level to where they were under Steve Spurrier. The biggest reason is Coach Beamer. He has reenergized the program and brought life back into the fan base.
The Gamecocks have stacked a couple top 30 recruiting classes together and used the transfer portal and NIL to fill any leftover weaknesses on the roster and put themselves in an excellent position going forward.
They have the fan support, booster support, a coach who loves where he is and a highly talented team who hopes to make the College Football Playoff for the very first time and build for a new era of success.
So don't be surprised if the Gamecocks become one of top programs in all of college football over the next couple of years.
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