GCF Notre Dame vs South Carolina TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Game Preview
Dec. 27, 2022
Notre Dame vs South Carolina How To Watch
Date: Friday, December 30
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: TIAA Bank Stadium, Jacksonville, FL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Notre Dame (8-4), South Carolina (8-4)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+
Notre Dame vs South Carolina TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Things To Know
– Notre Dame’s season started badly, got weird, and closes strong before the loss to Carolina. Call it the Marcus Freeman growing pain campaign. The team was able to figure it out and rocked eventual ACC champion Clemson, and it got a nice bowl even though it lost to Marshall and Stanford along the way. After all the weird moments, getting to nine wins and closing out with a bowl would be terrific. There’s a problem, though …
The Irish are losing way too many important players. The pass rush took a major hit through the transfer portal and opt-outs, losing TE Michael Mayer to the NFL is big, and the quarterback situation is potentially a mess. On the flip side …
– Spencer Rattler is still in place for South Carolina. But who will he throw to? Star WR Josh Vann is questionable, a ton of tight ends are gone, and lowing RB Marshawn Lloyd to the transfer portal is tough. Throw in the losses in the secondary, and both teams will be throwing way too many unknown starters out there.
No matter what, it was an outstanding season for the Gamecocks. They ruined Clemson’s hope for the College Football Playoff. They ruined Tennessee’s hope for the College Football Playoff. They won seven of their last nine and had a tremendous passing game, but again, someone has to catch the ball.
– South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer won last year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl over North Carolina. That made it six bowl wins in the last eight tries for the program going back to 2010. This doesn’t matter that much one way or another to take away from the season, but beating the Fighting Irish would still be a big deal.
– Notre Dame started going to bowl games in 1925. It took a while off and went back in 1970, and it’s been a mixed bag ever since – to be nice.
After beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the 1993 season, the Irish are just 6-15 in bowls including losing the last two, three of the last four, and four of the last six. After the way they collapsed in the Fiesta last year against Oklahoma State, winning this would be a huge deal for Freeman.
– The historic game that started in 1946 has been hit-or-miss lately. Rutgers was a late fill-in last year, and it showed in an ugly 38-10 loss to Wake Forest. Texas A&M annihilated NC State in 2018.
Between those two games, the Tennessee 23-22 win over Indiana at the end of the 2019 season and Kentucky’s 23-21 win over NC State at the end of the 2020 campaign were two of the best bowls of the respective seasons.
The latest line
Line: Notre Dame -2.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Dec. 27, 2022
Notre Dame vs South Carolina How To Watch
Date: Friday, December 30
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: TIAA Bank Stadium, Jacksonville, FL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Notre Dame (8-4), South Carolina (8-4)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+
Notre Dame vs South Carolina TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Things To Know
– Notre Dame’s season started badly, got weird, and closes strong before the loss to Carolina. Call it the Marcus Freeman growing pain campaign. The team was able to figure it out and rocked eventual ACC champion Clemson, and it got a nice bowl even though it lost to Marshall and Stanford along the way. After all the weird moments, getting to nine wins and closing out with a bowl would be terrific. There’s a problem, though …
The Irish are losing way too many important players. The pass rush took a major hit through the transfer portal and opt-outs, losing TE Michael Mayer to the NFL is big, and the quarterback situation is potentially a mess. On the flip side …
– Spencer Rattler is still in place for South Carolina. But who will he throw to? Star WR Josh Vann is questionable, a ton of tight ends are gone, and lowing RB Marshawn Lloyd to the transfer portal is tough. Throw in the losses in the secondary, and both teams will be throwing way too many unknown starters out there.
No matter what, it was an outstanding season for the Gamecocks. They ruined Clemson’s hope for the College Football Playoff. They ruined Tennessee’s hope for the College Football Playoff. They won seven of their last nine and had a tremendous passing game, but again, someone has to catch the ball.
– South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer won last year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl over North Carolina. That made it six bowl wins in the last eight tries for the program going back to 2010. This doesn’t matter that much one way or another to take away from the season, but beating the Fighting Irish would still be a big deal.
– Notre Dame started going to bowl games in 1925. It took a while off and went back in 1970, and it’s been a mixed bag ever since – to be nice.
After beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the 1993 season, the Irish are just 6-15 in bowls including losing the last two, three of the last four, and four of the last six. After the way they collapsed in the Fiesta last year against Oklahoma State, winning this would be a huge deal for Freeman.
– The historic game that started in 1946 has been hit-or-miss lately. Rutgers was a late fill-in last year, and it showed in an ugly 38-10 loss to Wake Forest. Texas A&M annihilated NC State in 2018.
Between those two games, the Tennessee 23-22 win over Indiana at the end of the 2019 season and Kentucky’s 23-21 win over NC State at the end of the 2020 campaign were two of the best bowls of the respective seasons.
The latest line
Line: Notre Dame -2.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
