ESPN names ‘archvillain’ for South Carolina football in 2025
By Andrew Olson
Published:
In the dog days of summer for college sports fans, ESPN is identifying the “archvillain” for every team in its post-spring top 25.
ESPN defines the “archvillains” as “the coaches, players and teams that have the chance to make the whole season go south.” So who’s the “archvillain” for South Carolina? David Hale went with LSU:
South Carolina has its share of hated rivals — Georgia, Clemson, anyone else who plays “Sandstorm” during timeouts — but as the Gamecocks look to make a playoff run in 2025, enemy No. 1 might well be LSU. The Bayou Bengals have dominated South Carolina over the years, holding an 18-2 all-time record and winning eight straight matchups dating to 1995. More recently, LSU escaped Columbia with a 36-33 win last season in which the Gamecocks blew a four-point lead with less than 2 minutes to play. That loss ultimately cost South Carolina a playoff bid, but the Gamecocks feel certain they’re a far better team than they were then. If they can exact some revenge this time, it’ll be a big step toward reaching those lofty goals.
The Gamecocks may be set on getting revenge in 2025, but it won’t come easy. South Carolina and LSU will play in Baton Rouge this season. The kickoff time currently has a “Flex” window, meaning it could be an afternoon or night game.
South Carolina’s last win against LSU was in Baton Rouge, but it was more than 30 years ago, an 18-17 victory in 1994.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
