Most preseason projections for South Carolina pegged the Gamecocks in the middle of the pack in the SEC East, largely behind Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.

One conventional theory was that the Gamecocks overachieved in 2016, that at least some of last year’s breakthrough freshmen might suffer sophomore slumps. Could the young offensive players, most notably at quarterback and running back, maintain the pace that produced nearly 30 points per game in the second half of the season?

Given how so much went right over the final seven games of 2016, many believed the Gamecocks would come back to the pack, that some regression should be expected.

After a 35-28 victory over N.C. State when there were positives from just about every unit, the rest of the season suddenly has a rosier outlook.

A week ago, the Gamecocks might’ve been hard-pressed to argue themselves into a trip to Atlanta in December. They left Week 1 with the best overall outlook in the SEC East. Every other team in the division has questions or problems at either quarterback or on defense. South Carolina has more positives than negatives at virtually every position.

In general, they certainly look better than the 6-7 team from a year ago, and with a roster that still lists the majority of its players as underclassmen in Will Muschamp’s second season.

Saturday’s upset victory wasn’t perfect.

The secondary, most notably Jamarcus King, showed some weakness and holes, and despite the improved pass rush, the pass defense still appears one of the more vulnerable areas at South Carolina. Then again, Muschamp’s never had a problem building a defense.

Historically, the issue with Muschamp’s teams has been offensive struggles, but that side of the ball already appears in better shape than anyone expected. The weak pass rush of 2016 was nowhere to be found, especially in the second half, as the latest version showed plenty of signs of life.

If there were any questions about special teams, Deebo Samuel answered them with his 97-yard season-opening kickoff return. Chris Lammons was solid fielding and returning punts.

The offensive tackles — Malik Young, who won a preseason competition at left tackle, and Zack Bailey on the right side — played well against one of the best defensive lines around. They yielded just two sacks against a unit that featured four seniors and drew comparisons to N.C. State’s 2005 unit, all NFL draft picks, led by Mario Williams.

That offensive line helped quarterback Jake Bentley scramble three times on third down for first downs. And the unit neutralized a four-man pass rush hyped as a preview of what to expect from most SEC defensive lines. In the same vein that he impressed observers a year ago, Bentley added some more moxie to his game and showed instincts beyond what his experience would suggest.

Another area that exceeded expectations was the short passing game led by much-hyped freshman receiver Shi Smith, who converted two third downs, and running back Rico Dowdle out of the backfield.

Overall, N.C. State drew a lot of praise in the preseason as a dark horse contender in the ACC Atlantic, which includes Florida State, Clemson and Louisville. SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic even picked N.C. State to make the College Football Playoff.

The sample size may be small, but South Carolina proved it can measure up favorably with any of the East contenders. South Carolina went 3-3 against the East last season, and the fallout from the N.C. State game gives no indication that 2017 should be any worse. Also in their favor, the Gamecocks don’t play any of the SEC West’s big three. (Their crossover games are at Texas A&M and home against Arkansas.)

On the flip side, South Carolina made several 50/50 plays on Saturday. The defense stopped the Wolfpack twice on fourth down in South Carolina territory — including the last play of the game, a tipped pass at the goal line. A Bentley-to-Samuel touchdown pass had some good fortune on both ends — Bentley rolling out and avoiding a sack, and Samuel making a one-handed grab.

The law of averages suggests those plays won’t go the way of the Gamecocks the entire season.

On his postgame show, Muschamp admitted that the Bentley roll-out to Samuel for the one-handed touchdown catch play cannot be coached.

“Let players be players,” he said. “Don’t try to over-coach them.”

That was never more the case than with the four sacks collected by the Gamecocks and the remarkable second-half adjustments on defense. Add in two forced fumbles, both by defensive end Dante Sawyer, and the Gamecocks got a huge shot in the arm, most notably with quarterback pressure by Keir Thomas.

“Our players on defense did a fantastic job of stripping the ball and creating some momentum for our offense,” Muschamp said on the coach’s show.

On offense, one thing to watch is how defenses adjust to Bentley, who wasn’t as accurate in the second half as he was in the first half. While overall he appeared to show guile to escape pressure closing in around him, his accuracy slipped as N.C. State brought more pressure.

There were some blemishes holding off a mid-tier ACC team, but make no mistake, the Muschamp rebuilding process is well ahead of schedule.