Although South Carolina began competing in intercollegiate football in 1892,[1] the school's official record book does not generally contain entries from before the late 1940s, as records before this time are often incomplete and inconsistent. These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since 1949, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length.
The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers.
Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[2] The Gamecocks have played in 10 bowl games since then, allowing players on these teams an additional game to accumulate statistics.