Don’t sleep on South Carolina in the SEC East this season
Unlike its western counterpart, the SEC East is not cloaked in the shadow of an indomitable foe. Although it’s considered the lesser of the conference’s divisions, the East is often undecided until the final week of the college football season.
Entering 2017, the familiar trio of Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are viewed as the primary contenders for the division crown. Kentucky surprised fans and pundits alike last season and has a talented defense and a potent run game, making the Wildcats a popular dark horse pick this fall.
All four are logical choices, and a good argument could be made for any of them to get to Atlanta. But there is a fifth team that warrants consideration, and it’s one that might be among the top three challengers in the East.
South Carolina is the true sleeper team in the SEC East for 2017.
This notion might not come as a major surprise to a few SEC fans. It’s not the hot-take equivalent of an unseen countertop corner that leaves a hip bruise for weeks, but for many, South Carolina, which finished 6-7 last season, isn’t in the conversation.
Will Muschamp’s first year was truly a tale of two halves. The Gamecocks limped out of the gate to a 2-4 start while averaging just 14 points. Although the defense was a pleasant surprise, allowing just over 20 points per game, a revolving door at quarterback held back the offense significantly.
South Carolina’s fortunes changed when Muschamp changed quarterbacks. Jake Bentley’s steady play, coupled with the return of some key players from injury, helped the Gamecocks end the regular season on a 4-2 run.

Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Skeptics can point to a much easier second-half schedule, which included games against UMass, Missouri and Western Carolina, as the result of the improved record. That helped, but on-field improvement and an easier schedule aren’t mutually exclusive.
Last season is in the past, however, so what makes the Gamecocks a threat in 2017? Bentley, who completed over 65 percent of his passes for 1,420 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions in his first year, should be even better as a sophomore.
Former Alabama quarterback turned analyst Greg McElroy ranked Bentley the best quarterback in the East, ahead of Georgia’s Jacob Eason.
Bentley will have a tremendous set of skill players around him, too.
Sophomore running back Rico Dowdle broke out during the final nine games of his freshman year and will be joined in the backfield by former North Carolina back Ty’Son Williams, who dominated the Gamecocks’ spring game.
Deebo Samuel is a dynamic receiver, and Bryan Edwards possesses the speed to get behind any secondary. True freshmen Shi Smith and OrTre Smith will be added to the mix, and Randrecous Davis can be an impact player after taking a redshirt season in 2016.
What will really set South Carolina’s offense apart is 6-5, 250-pound tight end Hayden Hurst. The former baseball player was a walk-on before becoming one of the top tight ends in the SEC last year. In 2017, Hurst looks poised to become one of the best players in the country at his position.
With that type of offensive firepower, the Gamecocks might have the most complete set of skill players in the SEC East. Finding the end zone should come more easily this fall. Last season, USC averaged a league-low 20 points per game, though they topped 30 four times with Bentley under center. They averaged 30-plus points for five consecutive seasons from 2010-14.
The offensive line will need to be much improved from last season, when it surrendered an SEC-high 41 sacks. Four starters return, however, so perhaps that experience will help improve matters.
Because of the anticipated level of talent on South Carolina’s offense, its defense is the default question mark heading into the fall.
Last year, the Gamecocks improved across the board on defense compared to 2015. Muschamp, who has long been considered one of the best defensive minds in the game, surely had something to do with that.
There is talent, but depth could be an issue, especially at linebacker. Still, with players like Skai Moore, Bryson Allen-Williams and Chris Lammons, the cupboard is far from bare.
Replacing Darius English, who had nine sacks as a senior, will be difficult, but Muschamp deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to building defenses. Florida has enjoyed the residual effect of his recruiting ability over the past couple of years, and Muschamp has recruited well since arriving in Columbia.
Incoming freshmen Javon Kinlaw and Jamyest Williams should push for playing time immediately and could become impact players in their first seasons.
When there are questions on defense, Muschamp is one of the best coaches at figuring out the answers. In his first season as Florida’s head coach, the Gators allowed 20.3 points per game. The following year, they allowed an average of 14.5. If he can help South Carolina shed nearly a touchdown off its average, the Gamecocks will be among the SEC’s elite defenses.
Of course, there’s a lot that can also go wrong for South Carolina. Without the depth that many other SEC East contenders have, the Gamecocks can’t afford to have multiple injuries. They will also depend on several young, albeit talented, players at a few positions.
The SEC East doesn’t have a team that is free of blemishes, however. Based purely on potential, South Carolina is a team that nobody can afford to sleep on.
While I do think UGA should be the favorite to win the East, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they didn’t. Not only are UF and UT serious contenders, but just about every other team in the division is capable of beating anyone in the East. That should make this fun to watch. UK, USC, and Missouri aren’t far off from those top three when it comes to potential. If the find a little consistency, we could have a serious battle on our hands. Vandy may be the team that pulls an upset that helps decide the division. This could get crazy, or UGA could just run the table. Who knows, and that’s what keeps this fun.
Well said. I think a tm from the group of SC, UK and Vandy will be in the hunt on the final weekend. My guess is UK but SC will have an improved D that should keep them in gms. If they can get a couple of splash plays here or there it could be interesting. Can’t wait to see how it goes.
Every team in the East has a chance … That said:
– Offenses are built on the O-line. Last year’s line was a sieve. Hamburger does not transform into filet mignon as it ages.
– Pass rush and pass defense was suspect. They lost their top pass rusher (English) and no one is waiting in the wings.
– Coaching. This is the same Muschamp that led Florida to a forgettable 28-21 record over four years with recruiting classes that regularly ranked in the top 10 and lost to that powerhouse the South Florida Bulls in their bowl game.
I see a higher likelihood of 5-7 than an SEC East title.
the knock against USC is the man in charge. Muschamp had a far more talented roster in Florida and couldn’t get it done
I don’t think the knock is on Muschamp at this point. That squad last year had ZERO reasons to win 6 games… not even with Bentley. The issue now is personnel as our defense, and o-line, are woefully under recruited and not SEC Champion Caliber talent. Not even close.
South Florida finished as a Top 25 team, so yes, they were actually a good team and a little bit of mismatch for a 6-6 team, but the Gamecocks still took them to overtime.
As for the OL, we made a coaching change for the OL that most consider a pretty significant upgrade. We have some decent OL, and one phenomenal one in Zack Bailey. I expect this unit to be improved.
Well this is ill-advised. I mean do ypu even pay attention to recruiting,English is replaceable. And the o line will only get better. I think your gonna be real disappointed at the end of the season my friend. Spurs up
As a lifelong Gamecock fan I’ve been here before. Until I see the final product in the field in September… ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
That’s called being a fair weather fan, and nothing close to being a life long fan.
I think he’s being realistic and not delusional. SC doesn’t have a championship caliber roster, plus I’m sure SC fans have been let down a lot. So I understand his point. Just a realistic fan is all I see.
Says the fair weather, bandwagon Bama fan. You spend more time attempting to troll SC (was your mom or ex getting drilled by a SC fan?) than you do on Bama’s page. Hell, I’ve posted more on Bama’s page. It’s not Saban or the players that everyone hates, it’s the Bama fans that feel like they have actually done something in life. You guys can’t even stay around to watch a game for four quarters, much less claim anything that Bama does as your own. Your own teams coach despises you. Other fan bases respect Saban, they respect what the the football team has done, and even some of the fan base deserves respect, but loser trolls that more than likely fall under every Bama stereotype are simply not respected. So by all means continue to attempt to troll other teams, we will continue to laugh at you for how pathetic you come across and feel pity for how miserable your life must be.
It’s called using your analytical brain.
You can call it that, but you didn’t really analyze anything. Spurrier had three 11 win seasons in a row. Winning is not that distant for SC. The team took a nice step up the second half of last season. Most “fans” feel some hope as they prepare for the start of the season. If you want to give some analysis on why SC can’t win the East, please do. Otherwise, just be honest and say you feel defeated before the season even starts.
Analysis:
Our o-line gave up something stupid like 40+ sacks last year. New coach role not you still need players to block someone so I’m very skeptical of the o-line at this point in time.
Defense was average until the last 3-4 games where we were giving up the kitchen sink! We only had 2 scholarship LB’s throughout the spring. The pass rush is still not there, if you listen to Champ. And our secondary has still yet to prove they can consistently defend a sub-par passing attack.
So once again… as a lifelong Gamecock fan I’ve been here before, most recently before the 2014 (where we were dark horse National Title contenders and the defense just shat the bed), and 2015 (Spurriers redemption year that turned out to be ANYTHING but). So this year I will continue to sleep… until I see a product on the field that wakes me up
Better.
Anyone can win the SEC East in 2017. Why would SC win it ?, yes their quarterback does some things well. but no way can he, or anyone else be pronounced the best QB in the East yet. It just depends on what the play-book asked them to do in 2017. Is someone saying that Muschamp has more talent, or a better coaching staff, or that the SEC East is weaker in 2017 than it was when he was a Florida? South Carolina looked like they played well against Missouri last year but so did West Virginia, Western Kentucky, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and LSU. So the margin against Missouri doesn’t say’ next division champion’ to me. I do think SC will be in the hunt for the division title 2017. And I do think Muschamp is still improving as a head coach, but clearly after Florida, he needed a lot of improvement, and Odom needs to grow even faster. If Odom can put together a top defense this year, he is on his way to the top ranks of SEC coaches. And Muschamp has every right to claim he is moving up after 2016.