Imagine having a college football schedule in which Clemson is viewed among the easier assignments.
Welcome to South Carolina’s world.
Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks are 3-2 through five games this season, with the losses coming to Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Commodores are ranked No. 20 in this week’s Associated Press poll, while the Tigers are No. 14.
That’s been the manageable part, as South Carolina’s next five games are at No. 11 LSU, home against No. 6 Oklahoma, home against No. 8 Alabama, at No. 4 Ole Miss and at No. 5 Texas A&M.
“One at a time,” Beamer said this week in a news conference when asked about the impending gauntlet. “I told our players, ‘Y’all chose the wrong conference to come play in and the wrong school to come to if you don’t want to play that schedule. I mean, that’s just life in this league. Don’t tell me in recruiting and when we brought you in the portal that you want to compete and you want to play against the best in the SEC, and, all of a sudden, shy away from it. There are plenty of other conferences where you don’t play in front of 100,000 people every Saturday, and there are plenty of other conferences where you don’t play against NFL draft picks all over the field every single Saturday.’