South Carolina came within one win of its first College Football Playoff appearance last season.

The Gamecocks closed the 2024 regular season strongly, but they wound up 15th in the final CFP poll -- a few spots removed from what would have been a historic program accomplishment. South Carolina had one Top 25 finish in the past 10 seasons before the breakthrough.

While USC lost a number of key pieces, it returns quite a few from the team that ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak that featured four conquests of ranked opponents.

The Gamecocks begin their chance at redemption 13th in the AP poll, traveling to take on Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Sunday in Atlanta.

It's a special matchup for South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, who played at Virginia Tech

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