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When you take a trip west of Columbia, South Carolina, down Interstate 20 before merging onto U.S. Route 78 towards Athens, Georgia, you’ll see a color shift from Pantone 202 to Pantone 200. Two proud shades of red just separated by two numbers.
Additionally, the proud marks of two Southeastern Conference institutions that are separated by just under three hours.
The rivalry between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs is fueled by borders. The neighboring states used to face off on the gridiron yearly from 1992, when the Gamecocks joined the SEC, until 2023. However, SEC expansion forced the rivalry off the table.
In November 2026, that rivalry renews for the first time since Oklahoma and Texas joined the SEC. Both coaches of the institutions can’t be happier to see it reignited.
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“From a distance standpoint, [Georgia is] the closest SEC school to us, and I know what a big deal it is all around the region,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “A lot of Georgia people I know live in South Carolina. A lot of South Carolina people I know live in Georgia. I think it’s great.”
Beamer said it was weird not seeing it on the schedule over the last two seasons. The sixth-year head coach has been on both sides of the border battle between Bulldogs and Gamecocks. Beamer served as a tight ends and special teams coordinator for Georgia under Kirby Smart from 2016-17.
“I think it’s great for a certain part of our state … when you look at five states that touch ours, that becomes a lot of rivalries … the people in South Georgia talk about Florida … You got the east part of the state and South Carolina,” Smart said during SEC Media Days. “That rivalry is very pivotal and meaningful to a lot of our fanbase, especially on that side of the state.”
Smart was also complimentary of his former assistant and what he’s done at South Carolina. Beamer enters his sixth season as South Carolina’s head coach with a record of 33-30, sharing seventh most all-time at the program with Lou Holtz (1999-2004).
“Shane’s done an incredible job there. It’s always an incredible environment,” Smart said.
South Carolina’s 2012 matchup against the Bulldogs still ranks as the largest crowd in Williams-Brice Stadium history with 85,199 attendees.
In addition to his time as the Gamecocks’ head coach, Beamer was a member of South Carolina’s staff in 2010, when the Gamecocks won the first of a program-best three straight games over the Bulldogs.
However, Beamer is winless against the Bulldogs as the program’s leading man, suffering three straight double-digit losses from 2021-23.
“It’s been weird not having it on the schedule the last couple seasons, but eager,” Beamer said. ” … Looking forward to getting back out there in November at Williams-Brice.”
