The South Carolina Gamecocks had a very good 11-2 season last year, which ended with a 10 point win over Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. This year they have back 58 lettermen, including 14 starters and are a real threat to get to the SEC championship game. Preview & schedule are below.
South Carolina put up 34.1 ppg last year and even with Connor Shaw off to the NFL they have a chance to be just as good this year. 8 starters return to this Unit and will be led by Dylan Thompson, who does have experience in this offense. Thompson threw for 783 yards last year and had 4 TDs throwing and 3 TDs rushing. He has a nice corps to throw to with 9 of their top 10 pass catchers back from last year, including Damiere Byrd and Shaq Roland, who combined for 58 receptions, 1030 yards and 9 TDs last year. The running game is all set with the return of Mike Davis, who ran for 1183 yards on 5.8 ypc and 11 TDs, while also catching 35 balls for 352 yards. Overall he will be leading a RB corps that rated 10th in the nation. The OL is the strength of this offense with 4 starters back and some very good depth. This group is rated 5th best in the nation. The Gamecocks pride themselves on defense and they have had good ones the last few years, but might take a slight step back this year, after losing Jadeveon Clowney and Kelcy Quarles. Still this unit has 23 letterman back, including 6 starters. The DL will be one of the weakest in the SEC at the start of the year, but I feel that as the season goes on they will improve greatly. JHaustin Thomas and Abu Lamin are both highly touted Jucos that will step in and contribute right away, plus they add in a #29 DL out of high school in Dante Sawyer. The LB corps has all 3 starters back and is the strength of the defense. It is led by Skai Moore, who had 3.5 TFL and 4 INTs last year, plus they have added the #14 LB out of HS in Bryson Allen-Williams. The secondary is rather young with 3 sophomores starting, but still they are talented and will be a very good group by seasons end.
Steve Spurrier has done a fine job here in taking the Gamecocks to 3 straight 11 win season, but none have resulted in a trip to the SEC title game. I feel that ends this year. The Gamecocks are the 3rd most experienced team in the SEC and brought in the 19th best recruiting class in the nation. While the defense may slip a bit, I feel it won’t be that much. The offense lost Conner Shaw, but Mike Davis is back along with a strong corps of WRs and a powerful offensive line, so they still should be able to top 30 ppg this year. They avoid Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU out of the West, get Texas A&M, Georgia and Tennessee at home and have winnable games vs Vandy, Kentucky and Florida on the road. Road games vs Auburn and Clemson will be a test, but they might be their only losses on the year. Double digit wins and a spot in the SEC Title game are in store for the Gamecocks this year. KEY TREND: 9-1 ATS in their last 10 home games vs Non-conference opponents.
2014 South Carolina Football Schedule
Aug. 28 Texas A&M
Sep. 6 East Carolina
Sep. 13 Georgia
Sep. 20 at Vanderbilt
Sep. 27 Missouri
Oct. 4 at Kentucky
Oct. 11 OPEN DATE
Oct. 18 Furman
Oct. 25 at Auburn
Nov. 1 Tennessee
Nov. 8 OPEN DATE
Nov. 15 at Florida
Nov. 22 South Alabama
Nov. 29 at Clemson
Info gathered From Phil Steele's CFB Preview and Athlon Sports
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