There might not be a bulletin board large enough to fit all of the material that ranked the Gamecocks in the basement of any preseason list around.

Looking for South Carolina on any preseason ranking meant scrolling, and scrolling and scrolling.

In fact, Athlon ranked the Gamecocks No. 63 in its rankings, while ESPN listed them dead last in the SEC. USA TODAY pegged the Gamecocks at No. 84, which happened to be 11 spots higher than 2015, but lower than ESPN’s Football Power Index, which posted them at No. 52.

In Athlon’s description, it said coach “Will Muschamp has plenty of question marks to address in his second stint as a head coach in the SEC. The Gamecocks probably have more talent in the program than last year’s 3-9 record would suggest, but only eight starters are back and both sides of the ball have significant holes to fill.”

Athlon went on to say, “This is a team that very well could be starting a true freshman quarterback, has very little proven talent at wide receiver, an unproven defensive line and a shaky secondary. A 6-6 season would mark substantial progress, and anything between 4-8 and 7-5 is where realistic fans should set their goals.”

Recurring themes were that Steve Spurrier left the cupboard bare, the team was without its best defensive player, Skai Moore, who missed the season, and any young talent, such as quarterback Brandon McIlwain had ways to go before it reached its potential.

The media that cover the SEC didn’t list them any higher. SDS’s preseason Crystal Ball series predicted the Gamecocks would finish 2-10.

An all-time high 331 media members participated in this year’s vote. But despite two first place votes, South Carolina was predicted to finish dead last in the East.

That didn’t seem to bother Muschamp, who told reporters, “You guys are wrong every year.”

So if Muschamp needs a rallying cry this week against Clemson, or preparing for the bowl game, the simple message is not only did hardly anyone predict a bowl berth, most prognosticators had South Carolina dead last in the SEC, and even in the middle third of the country.

Phil Steele struck a more realistic — ultimately accurate — tone for the eventual 6-5 season with a game to go before a bowl.

“They will still top last year’s three-win total, and most of my power ratings have them at five wins, which means they are one upset away from a bowl,” Steele wrote.

South Carolina got its upset — stunning Tennessee.

Can they pull off another, even bigger one Saturday at Clemson? A 24-point underdog, nobody’s giving the Gamecocks a chance, which is par for the course in 2016.