College Football Analyst Leaves South Carolina Gamecocks Off Preseason AP Poll

College football analyst Brett McMurphy left the South Carolina Gamecocks off his preseason AP poll ballot.

The expectations are high in Columbia, South Carolina, heading into the 2025 college football season. The South Carolina Gamecocks are coming off a season in which they finished 9-4 and nearly made the college football playoffs. However, one college football analyst doesn't view the Gamecocks as a top 25 team.

ON3's Brett McMurphy revealed his preseason AP poll ballot, and the Gamecocks were nowhere to be found in the rankings. Nine SEC teams made the cut, but South Carolina was not one of them.

A bit of a surprise, as many analysts are high on the Gamecocks thanks to quarterback LaNorris Sellers returning as the starter. It is worth noting that South Carolina lost some valuable names on defense to the NFL draft this offseason. Names like Nick Emmanwori, TJ Sanders, Demetrius Knight, Kyle Kennard and Tonka Hemingway.

That's not to say that South Carolina doesn't still have a lot of talent on the roster. Dylan Stewart, Jalon Kilgore and DQ Smith are expected to be defense leaders for the program this year and offensively, Josiah Thompson, Nyck Harbor and Mazeo Bennett will be the names they lean on alongside Sellers.

The praise for South Carolina this preseason is warranted but based on McMurphy's preseason ballot, they are still going to have to earn their respect if they are indeed going to be one of the better teams in the SEC this year.

South Carolina will open their season against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Atlanta, Georgia.