South Carolina Football Enjoyed Success That Escaped North Carolina Programs

The South Carolina contingent of college football programs enjoyed seasons largely devoid of the distractions that plagued the programs in neighboring North Carolina. They were fortunate that their biggest disappointments were that Dado Swinney hadn’t changed his ways, South Carolina just missed out on a College Football bid, and East Carolina’s last minute upset over NC State was known more for the shenanigans occurring after plays than the highlights that were produced during play. By comparison to North Carolina, South Carolina teams’ seasons were a big success.

Since the start of the 21st century, Clemson has been the standard bearer for South Carolina and consistently the most successful team in the Carolinas. For years, the Gamecocks have played the role of little brother. East Carolina has become the little program that could and is now taken very seriously. Three teams, three different conferences, three programs that left 2024 feeling positive about how their seasons transpired.

Concerns that were raised that Clemson might finally be drifting towards mediocrity with their opening game blowout by Georgia, 34-3. The usual suspects were blamed, primarily Head Coach Dabo Swinney’s stubbornness and old school mentality. Swinney did not suddenly forget how to coach and while all about Clemson football were losing their heads, Swinney kept his firmly together. The Tigers won nine of their final 11 games to finish the regular season 10-3 overall and with a 7-1 conference record. While nobody was looking, Clemson not only made it to the ACC Championship game, but they also knocked off newcomer SMU, who was unbeaten in their inaugural ACC season, to claim the title. Swinney’s team earned a berth in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers put up a valiant effort against heavily favored Texas, 38-14. If fans and alumni are to be honest and objective, this season was very successful.

Like Clemson, South Carolina suffered an early season defeat, to LSU, 36-33. Unlike Clemson, that loss did not produce feelings of doom and gloom among the Gamecock faithful. It is SEC play after all, and each week can be unpredictable. Panic was reserved for the next two games when South Carolina dropped consecutive bouts to Ole’ Miss, 27-3, and Alabama, 27-25. Like Swinney, Head Coach Shane Beamer did not let the season slip away from him. His team won its final six contests, including a 17-14 win over Clemson, to finish at 9-3. By the end of November, the Gamecocks were one of the teams nobody wanted to face and used that perception to stake their claim to a CFP at-large bid. Ultimately, things did not work out in securing South Carolina’s playoff aspirations. They will have a chance to reach double digit wins when they play Illinois in the Citrus Bowl.

ECU is not one of the more well-known Carolina based teams. When people think of a “smaller” Carolina team, App State is the program that leaps to mind. They made a case to change that perception in 2024. The Pirates finished 2024 with a 8-5 record. In AAC play, their 5-3 record was good enough for fifth in the conference. ECU finished on the right side of the victory ledger, but it was far from smooth sailing. They were a model of consistent inconsistency. The Pirates never won more than two in a row through October. The uneven play eventually cost former Head Coach Mike Houston his job, the one he held since 2019. Blake Harrell was named interim head coach and the team responded with four straight wins. After dropping their regular season finale to Navy, 34-20, the Pirates put an exclamation point to the year and delivered a decisive blow to their rivals in North Carolina by scoring a touchdown with 1:33 left in the Military Bowl to down NC State. Their path to a successful season wasn’t the prettiest of the South Carolina teams but it might have been the most satisfying. They way the Pirates closed the season resulted in Harrell earning the full-time head coaching position.

There is no trophy for which state outperformed the other. If there were, it may have been awarded before Halloween to South Carolina. Those teams operated smoothly and consistently posted wins. One season’s performance is not predictive of the next season’s accomplishments. However, for the teams from South Carolina, they will enjoy their trajectory into 2025 and be thankful their 2024 was not more like their rivals up north.