An unlikely bowl trip fueled by a midseason offensive resurgence is the key storyline in Will Muschamp’s first season in Columbia. Time to hand out awards to the Gamecocks who made the most difference this season as they prepare to play South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.

Offensive MVP

In a season full of first-year quarterbacks across the SEC, especially in the East, no one surprised the league more than Jake Bentley, who arrived during what would have been his senior season in high school. 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 turned to September, he made his first start after the bye week, six games into the season. And he couldn’t have done much better. In his first three games — wins over UMass, Tennessee and Missouri — Bentley completed 73 percent of his passes for 622 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.

Bentley’s first start was the first time this season South Carolina scored more than 20 points. He didn’t throw an interception until his fourth game. What’s more, he dodged an injury scare last week when an MRI revealed no structural damage to a knee that was injured in the Clemson loss.

Defensive MVP

Entering the Clemson game, the Gamecocks had the 10th best red zone defense in the country, and at the heart of that was linebacker T.J. Holloman.

While Darius English provided a consistent pass rush, there were questions before and during the season about the defense without last year’s leading tackler, Skai Moore, and multiple ejections in the secondary.

But Holloman tied for the team lead with three interceptions, and was third on the team with 64 tackles.

Rookie of the Year

Bentley could have also filled this role, but after an absence of more than a month, running back Rico Dowdle became a key element in the offense.

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, with a touchdown in each game, against Tennessee and Missouri.

Against Western Carolina, he averaged 10.8 yards per carry and finished with 226 yards, the sixth-best single-game effort in program history.

Assistant Coach of the Year

Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper on the surface might not be the obvious selection for an end-of-the-year superlative. But how he led the offense, most notably with freshmen at quarterback and running back virtually the entire season, should be commended. After the well-documented early season scoring drought, the Gamecocks scored at least 31 points in three games in the second half of the season.

Dowdle, A.J. Turner and David Williams all improved the production from last season’s rushing output. Not to mention that Hayden Hurst set the program’s single-season record for catches by a tight end with 42.

While before this season, Roper may be most remembered for his struggling offense at Florida, his varied experience across his career coaching mobile quarterbacks with the ability to make necessary throws helped him this season with Bentley and Brandon McIlwain.