The 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks played their home games at WilliamsâÂÂBrice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gamecocks' first-year head coach was Will Muschamp, with Kurt Roper as offensive coordinator and Travaris Robinson as defensive coordinator. They finished the season 6âÂÂ7, 3âÂÂ5 in SEC play to finish in fifth place in the East Division. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl, where they lost to No. 25 South Florida in overtime.
Following a 2âÂÂ4 start, freshman Jake Bentley became the starting quarterback and led the Gamecocks to a 4âÂÂ3 finish, including an upset over No. 18 Tennessee. South Carolina had a three-win improvement over the previous year and returned to the postseason, but finished with a second consecutive losing season.
South Carolina announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consisted of seven home and five away games in the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted SEC foes Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, and traveled to Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt.
For the tenth year, the Gamecocks opened their season on a Thursday. The team hosted three out of four of its nonâÂÂconference games which were against Clemson (from the ACC), East Carolina (from the American), Massachusetts (from the MAC), and Western Carolina (from the Southern Conference).