If South Carolina wasn’t having an odd enough season, heavy rains brought severe flooding to Columbia and pushed a would-be home game for the Gamecocks to Baton Rouge this weekend (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Vegas line opened with LSU as a 13.5-point favorite and, with the change of venue, that number has jumped to 19. And with the Leonard Fournette Heisman campaign in full swing, I wouldn’t be surprised if that number was closer to 21 by kickoff.

So, will South Carolina rally in the face of adversity — both on the field and off — and put up a season-redeeming effort, or will the Gamecocks’ slide continue, sending an already troubled season deeper into the abyss?

No matter which way it goes, this game feels like a pivot point for South Carolina. An upset win, or a hard-fought loss, could spark a revival. A blowout loss, and it’s open season on all things Gamecock.

Let’s look at the glass half-full — and then imagine it shattered in pieces on the floor:

BEST CASE SCENARIO

Slowing down No. 7 — Fournette’s season-low yardage total was 159 in the season-opening win over Mississippi State. So, hoping for the ninth-ranked rushing defense in the SEC to hold him way short of that might be a bridge too far. But in this scenario, the Gamecocks limit his big runs and keep him to a more reasonable 120 yards or so.

Make Brandon Harris win the game — Because of Fournette’s success, LSU hasn’t needed to throw the ball much. The numbers bear that out as the Tigers are last by some margin in passing yardage and attempts. Harris hasn’t been called upon to make a lot of plays for the LSU offense, and in this scenario, Harris has to make some plays in the passing game and proves to be unable to do so.

Crank up the running game — The most optimistic Gamecock fan probably can’t imagine Lorenzo Nunez coming out Saturday and putting up 300 yards through the air. It is far more likely that the true freshman rushes for 100 yards or so, and with a little help from the running backs, tries to tame the Tigers at their own game.

Play a clean game — This is the easiest thing on this list to achieve. To stay in this game, South Carolina will need to avoid silly penalties, be sound on special teams and not turn the ball over.

WORST CASE SCENARIO

Stuck in quicksand — My wife is a big fan of the movie “The Replacements,” and in that movie, quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves) describes things going wrong in a game like quicksand.

“You’re playing and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can’t move … you can’t breathe… because you’re in over your head. Like quicksand.”

While not exactly Oscar-worthy stuff, the theory applies. The worst thing for South Carolina this week is for something to go wrong early. Fournette tears off a 75-yard touchdown run, or even worse, Harris hits a deep, play-action pass for a score. If something like that happens, this game will get ugly fast.

SportsCenter, for all the wrong reasons — LSU is giving the proceeds from this game to South Carolina, and the Tiger band is learning the South Carolina alma mater. The Tigers are being very gracious in this bizarre situation. That hospitality stops when toe meets leather at about 2:31 p.m. local time. Fournette is trying to win the Heisman Trophy, so if he has the chance to run for 300 yards and 5 touchdowns, he’s going to do it. LSU’s star running back going into Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson mode is the ultimate nightmare scenario for the Gamecocks.

The end of an era? — Steve Spurrier’s future is always a hot topic of conversation, and can you imagine the line of questioning if he’s on the wrong end of an embarrassing score on Saturday? What will his “enemies” say then? Is it outside of the realm of possibility that he just throws up his hands and walks away? I’m not suggesting that’s going to happen, but I think it’s part of the apocalyptic scenario for South Carolina.