It’s happening: USC Gamecocks to face others Gamecocks as part of 2023 schedule change
South Carolina’s 2023 football schedule is getting a switch.
USC announced in a news release on Wednesday that it will replace a previously scheduled game against Liberty with a contest against Jacksonville State on Nov. 4, 2023 in Columbia.
The change, according to South Carolina, comes as Jacksonville State needed to add another nonconference FBS game as part of its transition from the FCS and into Conference USA.
Liberty, which competes as an independent and will also join C-USA, also needed to free up games from its previously planned 2023 slate to fall in line with its new conference schedule, USC said in its release Wednesday.
The meeting between South Carolina and Jacksonville State will mark the first such game between two schools that both use “Gamecocks” as their athletic teams’ moniker.
The JSU game will be the third of South Carolina’s four nonconference games in 2023 along with contests against North Carolina in Charlotte (Sept. 2), Furman (Sept. 9) and Clemson (Nov. 25).
USC is also slated to play Mississippi State at home and Texas A&M on the road, along with its six annual SEC East games — though those dates have yet to be announced — per the news release.
It’s not altogether clear whether the logistics of the 2023 season could completely change should Texas and Oklahoma transition to the SEC a year sooner than currently scheduled. If so, it’s expected the league will adopt a new scheduling system outside of the current division structure.
South Carolina finished its first season under head coach Shane Beamer 7-6 with a win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 31.
Beamer became just the second head coach in school history to win a bowl game in his first season at the helm, while USC also notched victories over Florida and Auburn in 2021.
South Carolina 2023 Schedule
North Carolina (Sept. 2) — Charlotte, NC
Furman (Sept. 9) — Columbia, SC
Clemson (Nov. 25) — Columbia, SC
Mississippi State (TBD) —Columbia, SC
Texas A&M (TBD) — College Station, Texas
Kentucky (TBD) — Columbia, SC
Florida (TBD) — Columbia, SC
Tennessee (TBD) — Knoxville, Tenn.
Georgia (TBD) — Athens, Ga.
Vanderbilt (TBD) — Columbia, SC
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 3:34 PM with the headline "It’s happening: USC Gamecocks to face others Gamecocks as part of 2023 schedule change."
