SDS Roundtable: South Carolina's over/under is 5.5 wins. How many games will the Gamecocks win in 2020?
Each SDS roundtable discussion involves the SDS staff providing individual answers and comments to questions covering a wide range of sports and non-sports topics. In this discussion, we ask the question: After making it to a bowl in back-to-back seasons, South Carolina regressed last season. As the heat turns up on Will Muschamp, can he win enough games to save his job?
A bit of background …
South Carolina’s over/under win projection of 5.5 screams mediocrity. It wasn’t all that long ago that the Gamecocks put together 3 consecutive 11-win seasons. But 11 wins equal their win total from the past 2 seasons combined. Fans are frustrated. Will Muschamp is back on the sideline, in large part because of a large buyout. Will that be enough to save him again, if the Gamecocks don’t reach a bowl game? Or will Ryan Hilinski take the next step and help the Gamecocks clear their modest preseason expectations? If so, by how much? Those are some of the topics we’ve been discussing for a while.
Jon Cooper, SDS co-founder
South Carolina has a tough schedule once again in 2020. Nonconference bouts against Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Wofford and Clemson should yield 3 wins. Along with the regular SEC East slate, the Gamecocks draw Texas A&M and LSU from the West. At this point, I’m taking the under 5.5 wins for South Carolina.
Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are certainly all winnable, but I just don’t have the confidence in Will Muschamp’s offense to deliver 6 wins.
Connor O’Gara, Senior national columnist
I’ll go over and say 6, though I don’t feel great about it.
I say that because the conference schedule is just as brutal as it was last year. Sure, there’s 1 fewer Power 5 game overall, but there are 5 games against preseason top 15 teams. Just because South Carolina stunned Georgia last year doesn’t mean that’s in the cards.
A team that still cannot seem to establish a ground game is concerning, though the Mike Bobo hire was a step in the right direction. There’s a ton of pressure on Ryan Hilinski to make that next step. The game needs to slow down for him, and he needs to develop a rapport with South Carolina wideouts in the post-Bryan Edwards era. Despite the loss of Javon Kinlaw and D.J. Wonnum, there’s a belief that South Carolina should be able to hold up with its front 7 with underclassmen Zacch Pickens and Jordan Burch. I’d still question that.
So how does South Carolina get to 6 wins? Well, there should be 5 wins with Coastal Carolina, Eastern Carolina, Mizzou, at Vanderbilt and vs. Wofford. Between the trip to Kentucky and home games against Texas A&M and Tennessee, I think there’s 1 win there.
The Gamecocks hit 6 wins and get an extremely difficult decision to make about Will Muschamp’s future at season’s end.
Michael Bratton, News editor
This is tough. South Carolina could have used the entire spring to install Mike Bobo’s new system, but at least the Gamecocks got some time in their new system this spring, unlike many other SEC programs that had no opportunity to hit the practice field.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how the offense evolves. As more and more programs transition to the spread, South Carolina is shifting to a more I-formation, pro-style system. Considering so few teams are running this offense, it could prove to be a wise decision — or it could prove to be a disaster.
I’m not a fan of the constant shuffling of the coaching staff, as once the 10-man staff is set, someone new seems to leave. I’m not sure the chemistry is going to be right in Columbia this year.
Considering all that while trying to pick South Carolina’s over/under is even more difficult based on Muschamp’s history of losing games he shouldn’t and winning games as a massive underdog.
I don’t have a great feel for the Gamecocks heading into 2020, but I’m going to lean toward the under considering the staff turnover and the way 2019 ended. South Carolina’s November schedule is a murderer’s row of games, which makes the October schedule of at Florida, vs. Tennessee and vs. Texas A&M look easy.
Neil Blackmon, Florida columnist
I’m going over as I think they get to 6 wins.
The question for me is whether 6-6 and a bowl game would save Muschamp’s job. I’m not sure it does.
Still, the schedule here is brutal but two of the three biggest swing games are at Williams-Brice: Tennessee and Missouri. The trip to Kentucky is a loss but they should grab a win at Vanderbilt and then all they need is one more– maybe Texas A & M, who they always play tough??– to go bowling. WIth growth at the quarterback position and improved health defensively, I like Muschamp to at least make the administration’s decision complicated.
Chris Wright, Executive editor
You are what your record says you are, right? Muschamp is a .500 coach. (Technically, he’s a .510 coach, 26-25, after 4 seasons at South Carolina.)
I’m not even sure he’s that this season.
I think the tipping point comes early for the Gamecocks, in Week 4 at Kentucky. That is an absolute must-win game because if they lose, they are staring at a likely 4-game slide. Considering November practically promises a 1-3 finish, the math quickly stacks against them.
If they beat Kentucky, however, there’s a good chance they are 4-0 heading into Florida-Tennessee-Texas A&M. Even if they lose all 3, they only need to beat Vanderbilt and Wofford to get to 6 wins, clear the over and reach a bowl game.
Can they beat Kentucky? I think they fall short and stumble to a 5-7 season.
PREVIOUSLY
- LSU’s over/under is 9.5 wins. How many games will Tigers win?
- Alabama’s over/under is 10.5 wins. How many games will Tide win?
- Auburn’s over/under is 8.5 wins. How many games will Tigers win?
- Texas A&M’s over/under is 9.5 wins. How many games will Aggies win?
- Who wins more games in 2020: Ole Miss or Mississippi State?
- Florida’s over/under is 9.5 wins. How many games will Gators win?
- Georgia’s over/under is 10.5 wins. How many games will Dawgs win?
- Tennessee’s over/under is 7.5 wins. How many games will Vols win?
- Missouri’s over/under is 5.5 wins. How many games will Tigers win?
- Kentucky’s over/under is 6.5 wins. How many games will Cats win?
I believe Five(5) Wins is the Cock’s Ceiling in 2020. As far as saving Will’s Job…..His only salvation to be around in 2021 is that Massive Buyout. When you fail as a Head Coach at Florida(?) & at South Carolina…Well, what else can be said ? One thing…he became Wealthy by being a Failed Head Coach. Sorry Cock Fans, but it’s the truth.
Bottom line, Muschamp was an “oh $hit” hire at the time with a proven pedigree as a loser. The sooner SC cuts ties the sooner they can get back to 6-6 rather than 4-8.
After his disastrous stint at UF, the hire made no sense to me when it happened. I’m even more confused as to how he’s kept his job at SC for so long.
I wouldn’t call Muschamps’ FL tenure “disastrous”. It was underwhelming. Chad Morris was “disastrous”. Obviously the only reason Muschamp is still there is the buyout. I see 5-7 here, 6-6 at best.
Considering the heights at which UF had been immediately preceding Champ and that Meyer left him with a #1 recruiting class that included stud top 10 DL (Ronald Powell, Dom Easily, Shariff Floyd), it was pretty underwhelming. I agree not Chad Morris bad but it was pretty rough.
Over at 6-6, with a chance to go 7-5 if they can stop Tennessee’s running game in Columbia. South Carolina faces the same uphill battle installing a new offense as Georgia, but I think Muschamp will always field a decent defense, and I am more bullish on Hilinski and Bobo than I am on Newman and Monken.
I also think South Carolina will stay healthier this season with a new S&C coach (although there may be an increase in soft tissue injuries across college football with the lockdown).
It will be interesting to see if Jordan Burch can be the instant impact player he looks like he can be.
Awww the butt hurt she doth run deep for those yapping Dawgs true NashvilleGator?
Jordan Burch looks like the real thing….BUT that Offensive Line’s got to open a few holes for him…gotta wait-n-see. I have no idea why a Highly-Recruited back like Jordan Burch would have even considered South Carolina, from a Football Point of View ?
Burch is a defensive tackle.
My Oops ! I confused him for the New Running Back.
Not like you could win a Heisman or anything here, right?
Over. The ‘Cocks will win 6, maybe 7.
Under, I’m expecting 5-7 if we even play our selected schedule.
Coastal: W
ECU: W
Mizzou: toss up leaning towards W
Kentucky: toss up leaning towards L
Florida: L
Tennessee: toss up leaning towards L
A&M: L, L’s forever until the cocks can prove otherwise
Vandy: W
UGA: L
LSU: L
Wofford: W
Clemson: Hard L
An improvement over 2019 but hopefully it won’t be enough to retain him for another season.
Mike Bobo will not save this offense.
Most folks in SC conveniently forget that Mike Bobo was fired as HC from CSU after going 3-9 and 4-8 in the mountain west.
The only way this team will get better is to have another miserable season that at best will force Will Muschamp and Ray Tanner out the door.
I say you split with UT and UK to hit 6 wins. Though I agree with your key points.
I-95…I agree with you concerning Ray Tanner(a very good baseball coach)… but he is the A.D. that agreed to Will’s H.U.G.E buyout…gotta wonder about that decision ?
I don’t think we really have to wonder about that decision. It was terrible
Tanner is the issue at the heart of SC athletics. He needs to go back to coaching the baseball team, at least that way we’ll be relevant in one sport… with a better chance of actually making a competent hire for football.
Then what is holding South Carolina back to do that?
How long before you are in a very clutch situation with a chance to win an important game and Bobo has to make the decision and is lost in space, point in case, the last play of the 2012 UGA-Bama game when Murray wanted to spike the ball and got no response from the sideline or the squib kick vs GA Tech. Just wait, it’s coming. Then Bobo becomes BooBoo.
Were those mistakes/decisions on Bobo or Richt?
I would say neither! It was on Georgia fans! LOL!
I thought before reading the article and looking at the schedule that I would go over. They are certainly capable of pulling an upset, but they won’t be favored in more than five games.
Neil is a$$hole.
There is talent to work with but there is just so much negative surrounding muschamp I’m afraid as soon as soon as things start going south it will snowball out of control. Seems most sc fans prefer that to get rid of him so it will be hard to hit the over.
He is hearing/seeing a dark shadow hoovering over his shoulder!
The Grim-Reaper Approaches..and he is feeling it. But let’s face it…It’s about time.
I think South Carolina gets to 6 wins. Bobo and Hilinski should produce better results than last year.
South Carolina is not UGA.
Bobo doesn’t have the talent pool he had at UGA to work with.
I say Bobo does not produce a stellar offense since Muschamp will always be in the way but maybe he can develop Hilinski to be an okay QB.
The South Carolina fan base is the most negative in the SEC (Vandy fans just don’t care). It’s like you guys want Muschamp to fail. Be careful what you wish for.
It’s deserved when you have a team that hasn’t scored a touchdown since November 9th 2019.
Has players that are 1st round draft picks.
Has the ability to beat the best team in the SEC East on the road but lose to a non-P5 school at home.
But above all else you have to watch your in state rival ascend to national playoff success every season and there’s no sign of them slowing down.
South Carolina has all the pieces to be a good team, except it’s leadership and coaches.
Don’t take the comments on here as representation of the fan base. I’m always optimistic, as most of my fellow fans are. Take a look at how Willy B rocks even when we’re in the middle of a losing season. Cocks fans love their team.
The Cock Fans that I know love their Football Team, but they Do Not Love Will Muschamp. *Most did not like the hire. They still Remember Three(3) Consecutive Seasons with a Record of Eleven(11) Wins & Two(2) Losses, but there was a guy named Steve Spurrier coaching back then. The S.C. Fans Just Want to Win.
I agree AFan. We’ve tasted the 11 season wins and like it. Spurrier definitely raised the bar. Muschamp can’t seem to get half way to the bar and we are hobbled by an unintelligent contract decision. We will always love our Gamecocks, win or lose. Williams Brice will always rock.
An okay QB will not solved the general offense problems!
TrueLefty….You are right. Will’s micro-management of every aspect of the program is what limits any team that he coaches having success. You have to Allow the Coordinators to Do their Jobs. At Florida…Poor Offense(with all that in-state talent !) Same thing at South Carolina. Same Coach=Same Results.
Over
Just how many teams IN THE NATION could win six games with our schedule? If we win six that is very good, seven – great, eight – Coach of the YEAR! We just need to win the games WE SHOULD and play great and maybe pull an upset or two!
Most of the SEC West could handle SC’s schedule and come out with 7-8 wins easy.
UGA, Florida, Tennessee could handle SC’s schedule and come out with 7-8 wins easy.
OSU, UT, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Baylor and a slew of other teams outside the mighty SEC could pull 7-8 or more wins wins out of SC’s schedule.
Stop using a tough schedule as an excuse to suck, you’re sounding like Muschamp during a postgame.
I used to have that hope you have back in the day(exception 2011,12,13). As you age you will find yourself being a scenic like the rest of us.
Does a scenic fan just watch or are you trying to say cynic.
Ha, I guess I’m a good example of a Univ South Carolina education. I guess you went to klempson?
No sir. I have an extremely intelligent friend who mixes up words. Gambit & gamut, rapport & repertoire are some examples. I just found it amusing which is why I tried to make a humorous reply. I also agree with the sentiment. Oh, UNA for undergrad & UA for graduate. Can’t stand that other team in your state.
Over. Hilinski will improve under Bobo and Champ will have a stingy defense
Ha I’ve waiting for ours. Simple 4 at best. I’m planning to go to the East Carolina game and hope Pirate Nation kicks their ass. It’s been done before! All the other games I could care less. Go Pirates! Arrrrg!!
Well, I take that back I do care on the terms of me winning money. If you’re a betting person USC is the easiest game in town. I’ve really enjoyed my King Ranch Carolina provided me last year!
Glad to know you have priorities.
Honestly, outside of Wofford, i cant see a true automatic win. I think they will win at least 5, but IMO they always trip up in years like these, in a game that you would think they would win on paper (last year’s App St game doesnt count because App St is a premier GO5 school). I remember them losing to the Citadel a couple years ago. I think they beat Wofford, Coastal, ECU, Vandy, and probably Mizzou, and i think they have enough talent to get a win or maybe two versus the other teams on their schedule. But personally, I would stay away from this one.
SC fans get some pride in your team tho. it will turn around eventually, with or without Muschamp and Bobo. only in the rarest of circumstances do teams consistently have repeated success. in fact in my memory only Alabama has been consistently great for the past 6-7 years. cheer up, it will turn around
Why you think Mizzou will win against South Carolina? Oh that is right the head coach came from Appalachian State and he did beat south Carolina and North Carolina! So he is at a better school with better players! He is an upgrade from Barry Odom!
look i think its a tossup but i want to be consistent and i said SC would beat Mizzou on yesterday’s post. im sticking with it. I think SC will have a better offense and Muschamp will have a good defense. Drinkiwitz had 1 yr at App St with possibly a more talented team than Satterfield ever had. i think drink has potential but idk if he’s better than Odom in his first year. App St wasn’t exactly playing in a great conference last year either. i say SC beats Mizzou but it will be close. And as you can see, most people would agree with that point of view
TrueLefty…In that game…I Will Be rooting For Mizzou. Go For It Drink !
This sure is a negative comment section. I for one think there should be optimism for South Carolina heading into the 2020 season. Mike Bobo is a great OC hire, the defense should be fairly good with Muschamp coaching, and Hilinski, who impressed me early against us last year, will have a chance to take the next step under a proven QB-whisperer. Will it translate to wins? I’m not sure, but you guys will be much better than you were last season.
Will it translate to wins? I’m not sure, but you guys will be much better than you were last season.
That is the only thing that matters at this point, everything else is irrelevant.
If this were an earlier year I would forgive a hard fought loss with great offensive and defensive stats but this is year 5 and that ship has sailed.
Hilinski could pass for 300 yards a game but if they don’t come out with a W it won’t matter.
Muschamp knows what time it is.
The fanbase HATES him and now he’s banking on another failed HC and a slew of high school students to come in and save his job/reputation.
He knows that he won’t coach again if he fails here.
The desperation is palpable and I cannot wait to see how this season turns out just for the drama it’s going to produce.
I-95…It is definitely going to be an interesting year for Gamecock Football. Will made all the coaching changes, to try to plug some big holes in His-Sinking-Ship, but that water was already pretty deep. We’ve all seen that scenario before. And yes…He knows what time it is. He definitely will not ever be a Head Coach anywhere of importance, after S.C. I believe S.C. hired him because they had so many turn-downs prior to interviewing him.
Under. 3-9 only beating Vanderbilt, ECU, and CCU
Oops, meant 4-8, also beating Wofford
I’ve lived almost my whole life in SC, so I probably follow them the closest of any team in the SEC besides Tennessee. USC fans are some of the most faithful fans you will ever meet. I remember even during the 0-11 year they still showed up, and there was still plenty of Gamecock gear to be seen. The reason USC fans are so negative right now is they got a small taste of being good during the Spurrier years, and now it feels like it’s slipping back towards the pre-Holtz years. On top of that Clemson looks like they are going to be great for a minimum of five more years and that is salt in the wound for USC fans.
In terms of this year I think this is the easiest under on the board. They should get three non conference wins and beat Vanderbilt. That leaves two more wins, and I don’t think they get them. They might beat Missouri, but I don’t see them getting another win.
I’m not buying the Helinski and Bobo hype. All the stuff people are saying about Helinski they said about Bentley after his freshman year, and he eventually got ran out of town by the fan base.
Not a bad assessment. I even thought we had finally turned it around when we beat klempson 5 years in a row, had all the SEC money, building new and upgrading our facilities. We were rolling with recruits. I thought having the SEC brand would help sustain it. We’re the only SEC school who routinely gets their butts kicked by acc schools and it’s shameful. We’re like someone who is weak and sickly. We want to go out and win games and do stuff but we just can’t.
Will “Micro-Manager” Muschamp just might be the reason for those Losses. He just cannot seem to Allow His Coordinators/Assistants to do their jobs. As a Good Head Coach..You Hire Quality Coaches and Let Them Coach & Recruit. *Note: Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee.
The negativity is almost entirely to do with Clemson and UGA flying past SC on a rocket ship while we’re stuck in between both going nowhere.
Actually we’re not even going nowhere.
We’re sinking into the ground.
agreed…You might get 4 wins.
Into Quicksand.
I think SC is the biggest wildcard this year in the East. On one hand, I think Hilinkski is talented and could be better than Bentley, and I’m sure SC will have a solid defense. But they’ve just been so inconsistent under Muschamp. I feel like UK and UT will both take a small step forward this year, while SC might stay stuck where they’ve been the last few years. I think they’ll beat Mizzou and Vandy, but that’s it for SEC wins. I’ll take the under at 5.
I’m not sure this is a make or break season for Champ no matter the results. Looking realistically at the economic factors, there may be less fans in the seats and less revenue . . . a whole lot less revenue for games. SC will still have to pay the visiting schools and will have to rely on television revenue which means the football program will likely be in the red. Not sure giving the boot to Champ and paying him not to coach football in these bizarre times is the right move financially, despite what many think.
Balkwyll…It’s sad to keep a guy who has failed as a Head Coach because the University cannot afford his Buyout. There’s gotta be some way to get him out of the building.
Smart money would bet the over, although slightly. This crowd is likely to slip up and win a couple they shouldn’t. I think they’ll win 6.
I think anything above 6-6 would be a huge step forward for them. Shaky at QB, no real threats at WR and no proven running game. They’ll need improvement all around on O to start generating wins. The D should be sufficient but nothing special.