2016 SEC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
No. 14 Florida xy		6	–	2		9	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee		4	–	4		9	–	4
Georgia		4	–	4		8	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	4		7	–	6
South Carolina		3	–	5		6	–	7
Vanderbilt		3	–	5		6	–	7
Missouri		2	–	6		4	–	8
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^		8	–	0		14	–	1
No. 24 Auburn		5	–	3		8	–	5
No. 13 LSU		5	–	3		8	–	4
Texas A&M		4	–	4		8	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	5		7	–	6
Mississippi State		3	–	5		6	–	7
Ole Miss		2	–	6		5	–	7
Championship: Alabama 54, Florida 16
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 25, 2017; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represents the University of South Carolina in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks play their home games at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, and compete in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gamecocks first-year head coach is Will Muschamp, with Kurt Roper as offensive coordinator and Travaris Robinson as defensive coordinator.

South Carolina announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 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 non–conference games which were against Clemson (from the ACC), East Carolina (from the American), Massachusetts (from the MAC), and Western Carolina (from the Southern Conference).