Gator Bowl Betting Odds: Fighting Irish Slight Favorites
Star Players Missing When South Carolina and Notre Dame Meet Up

Gamecocks and Fighting Irish to Play for First Time Since 1984
This would have been an improbable bowl matchup back in mid-September considering that South Carolina lost two of its first three games while Notre Dame dropped its first two contests, including a stunning loss at home to unranked Marshall. Now Notre Dame is favored according to the Gator Bowl betting odds.
There is no truth that the trophy will be redesigned in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz, who coached Notre Dame from 1986-1996 and then was the South Carolina coach from 1999-2004.
Notre Dame has won three of the four meetings with South Carolina. However, the Gamecocks won the most recent matchup 36-32 in South Bend in 1984.
Notre Dame will be without a pair of potential NFL first-round draft picks. Tight end Michael Mayer, who leads the Fighting Irish with 67 catches and 809 receiving yards, and defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey (a team-best 11 sacks and 14 tackles for loss) are both opting out of the game as they prepare for the draft.
Defensive lineman Jacob Lacey joins starting quarterback Drew Pyne in the transfer portal. Pyne landed at Arizona State.
For South Carolina, projected first-round cornerback Cam Smith (27 tackles, five pass breakups) has opted out as has defensive lineman Zacch Pickens (42 tackles, 2.5 sacks).
Leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd, tight ends Jaheim Bell and Austin Stogner and defensive back R.J. Roderick are in the transfer portal. Cornerback Darius Rush (38 tackles, two interceptions) is also expected to miss the game. Keep an eye on the status of running back Christian Beal-Smith and receiver Josh Vann.
South Carolina came in at No. 19 and Notre Dame at No. 21 in the College Football Bowl rankings. In the Associated Press poll, Notre Dame is ranked 19th and South Carolina 20th with the positions flip-flopped in the American Football Coaches Association poll.
Game Information
South Carolina Gamecocks vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Date, Time & Streaming:
Location: TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL
NFL Departures and Outgoing Transfers Reason for Gator Bowl Line Movement
With so many key players not taking part in this game, there has been significant line movement. The line opened with Notre Dame being favored by 5.5 points. Now the Fighting Irish are being listed as the favorite somewhere in the 2-2.5-point range per the Gator Bowl betting odds.
South Carolina offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield left to take the same job at Nebraska. It remains to be seen how that will impact the offensive play calling for a South Carolina offense that went from averaging 337 yards per game last season to 381 in 2022. The Gamecocks averaged 426 yards of offense in the eight wins and just 291 in the four losses.
There’s not much in the way of homecoming stories for Florida natives on the Notre Dame roster. For South Carolina, defensive back Tyrese Ross will be playing in his hometown of Jacksonville, edge rushers Giber Edmond (39 tackles, nine tackles for loss) and Bryan Thomas, receiver Ahmarean Brown (19 catches) and defensive back Kajuan Banks are returning to the Sunshine State.
Rattler Sticking Around
While some prominent players are opting to pass on the bowl experience, South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler is planning to play. Still, South Carolina is listed as the underdog according to the Gator Bowl betting odds.
He didn’t play in the bowl for Oklahoma last season as Caleb Williams had taken over the starting quarterback position. In 2020, he threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-20 win over Florida in the Cotton Bowl and got a little bit of action in a 63-28 loss to eventual national champion Louisiana State in the 2019 Peach Bowl.
Rattler finished the regular season by throwing for 798 yards and eight touchdowns in upsets of Tennessee and Clemson as the Gamecocks knocked both NCAAF teams out of the national championship race.
There are plenty of questions about the running backs and tight ends who will be available. This could be a chance for some of the younger players to get some live-game action.
Who Is Notre Dame’s Quarterback?
There have been some memorable performances by Notre Dame quarterbacks in bowl games. Starter Drew Pyne is in the transfer portal. Tyler Buchner entered the season as the starter before he suffered what was reported to be a season-ending shoulder injury.
However, Buchner has returned to practice on a limited basis and there is a chance he could suit up. If that is not the case, it could be Steve Angeli at QB.
If that is the case, it could be a heavy dose of sophomore running backs Audric Estime and Logan Diggs carrying the ball. They have combined for 1,557 yards and 14 touchdowns and are part of the reason why the South Carolina vs Notre Dame odds favor the Fighting Irish.
While Notre Dame will miss Foskey, many of the other key defensive players are expected to suit up. The Notre Dame defense allowed a season-high 436 yards in the regular-season finale against Southern California.
High-scoring Matchup on Tap in Jacksonville?
Both coaches did an admirable job of refocusing their teams after difficult starts and the winner will finish with a nine-win season. That is standard operating procedure for Notre Dame, but it would be just the second time in the last nine years that South Carolina won nine games.
The total has gone over in each of Notre Dame’s last six games as well as in six of South Carolina’s last nine games. With both teams at 8-4 in the college football standings, this could be one of the more intriguing matchups during the bowl season.
The total is set at 52 for this game. Four of Notre Dame’s last six games would have finished over that total as well as three of the last four contests played by South Carolina.
South Carolina is 0-3 in the Gator Bowl and Notre Dame 0-2.