The first half of the season was dreadful for South Carolina as a shortage of talent, a lack of experience and the adjustment to a new coach combined as a seemingly worst-case scenario. The team was 2-4 including consecutive losses to Kentucky, Texas A&M and Georgia.

But then the bye week arrived, a three-game winning streak ensued and, against all odds, the Gamecocks became bowl eligible.

There is a bowl destination to look forward to next week, but first the coaches, players and fans must get over Saturday’s humbling 56-7 loss to Clemson.

5 things that went right

A quarterback emerges: Jake Bentley arrived ahead of schedule, forgoing his senior season and graduating early from his high school outside Auburn. He enrolled at USC in January after gaining approval from the NCAA, SEC and the Gamecocks to be eligible to play in the fall.

Third on the depth chart when the calendar flipped to September, he made his first start after the bye week, six games into the season. He finished 17-for-26 for 201 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 34-28 win over UMass. The numbers could have been better, but receivers dropped several passes. It was the first time this season South Carolina scored more than 20 points. He then led the team to three more wins, beating Tennessee and Missouri, and didn’t throw an interception until his fourth game.

Musical chairs at running back settles on Rico Dowdle: It took more than a month, but Rico Dowdle emerged as a key cog in the offense for the Gamecocks. Dowdle made his way into the starting lineup following time off after offseason hernia surgery. Dowdle returned against Texas A&M  in Week 5, and truly hit his stride three weeks later against UMass with 16 carries, 87 yards and a TD. He also had 127 yards and 149 yards rushing and a touchdown each against Tennessee and Missouri.

A signature win: The 24-21 upset of Tennessee was South Carolina’s first win over a ranked opponent since it downed No. 6 Georgia on Sept. 13, 2014. It snapped a seven-game losing streak to ranked foes, as Will Muschamp continued his dominance over the Vols as a head coach — he’s now 5-0 against them. In what was a theme throughout the season with one of the youngest teams in the country, 10 freshmen played in the Tennessee game.

Elliot Fry sets record: With an extra point against Missouri, kicker Elliott Fry passed Collin Mackie, who had 330 points, on the all-time career scoring list. He was the Gamecocks’ only all-SEC player in the preseason, and the former walk-on at the time was one of the team’s few bright spots early on this year. He made 12 of 16 field goal attempts this season and all  27 extra point tries, giving him 352 career points going into USC’s bowl game.

Secondary exceeds expectation: When Rico McWilliams, a starter at cornerback, left the program in August, it dropped the Gamecocks to three scholarship corners. But South Carolina finished fifth in the SEC in passing defense, with 14 interceptions, including multiple picks in four games. While the offense struggled to start the season, the defense was largely solid throughout. Pass rusher Darius English helped the secondary with nine sacks, which was tied for third in the SEC. And linebacker T.J. Holloman and defensive backs Chris Lammons and Jamarcus King all had three interceptions.

3 that didn’t go right

The Clemson loss wasn’t even competitive: Whatever momentum South Carolina had entering the Clemson game quickly evaporated against Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams and Wayne Gallman. The 56-7 domination was Clemson’s largest margin of victory in the rivalry since a 51-0 win in 1900. Watson tied his career high with six touchdowns passes, three to Williams, in Clemson’s latest step toward the College Football Playoff. The loss is a reminder of the talent gap between the rivals and puts more pressure on in-state recruiting, if not recruiting overall.

Extra-curricular chippiness: The Gamecocks had at least two games where they ran into problems with officials. Against Tennessee, Chris Lammons and D.J. Smith were ejected for throwing a punch and targeting, respectively. A week later against Missouri, Lammons was again ejected, that time for targeting. The Gamecocks also got into it against Clemson players in the pregame, and later reportedly said it was on racial grounds.

Perry Orth/Brandon McIlwain-led offense: The first two starters at quarterback led an offense that ranked last nationally in scoring (14 points per game) and 124th in third-down conversions (27 percent). In the first six games, South Carolina had only thrown two touchdown passes. While Orth will soon graduate, McIlwain’s role going forward, as long as Bentley is healthy and productive, is somewhat up in the air. It could be situational given his running threat, or he could move to another position as long as Bentley remains dependable.