Poll of the week: Can the Gamecocks reach the 7-win plateau for 2022?

[FeatheredCock]

Can the Gamecocks reach the 7-win plateau for 2022?

Gamecocks have two very winnable games in the next two to put the Gamecock at 3-2 before heading on the road to Lexington to face off against Number 8 Kentucky then a by-week than a home game against top 25 opponent A&M & 25 Florida. Then still have to Face other top-quality opponents most likely by then a top 10 Tennessee and already top 5 Clemson sandwich in between Missouri and Vanderbilt.

The question can it be done? Answer yes but will take a lot of hard work and come lucky bounces going the Gamecocks' way. Ok, folks let's see your votes raise your hand and why or why not answer here.

Yes
No
Gone Fishing

 

[ConwayGamecock]

Yes we can, but most likely it will be equal to last season's results, which needed the bowl win for the 7th win.....

We have 1 win already. We have winnable games coming up against Charlotte and SC State = that's 3 wins. We have Texas A&M and Missouri at home, and Vanderbilt on the road. All are toss-ups at best, but all three teams have not impressed me thus far. Still a month away for them. Sadly I do not think we'll beat Kentucky in Lexington - their staff has gotten that program to unprecedented levels, at least in recent generations.

So we have a decent chance at being 6-3 after Vanderbilt. That's a pretty tight margin for error. If we lose any of those 3 of TAMU, MO, and VU, then we'll need to beat one of Florida, Tennessee, or Clemson to reach bowl eligibility. Florida seems the most shaky right now, while UTjr. needed overtime to beat ACC Pittsburgh, although the win was on the road against a top-25 opponent. Tennessee and Florida play each other in Knoxville next Saturday, so we'll get a better gauge of both teams then.

SO, we have a chance to go 7-6 on the season with a bowl win. But there's tons of improvements needed along the season's way to be done to get there. We'll see....

 

[CockyinVa]

We need “a probably not for the regular season” option here.

 

[Spur's Addiction]

We will hit 7 with the bowl game. I see 6-6 for the reg season.

 

[markymark550]

No. I think we're headed for 5-7. I hope I'm wrong, but nothing I've seen this season makes me think we're a bowl team.

 

[kingofnerf]

Shane has never been a HC before and he's in a conference where even more-experienced HCs have struggled to be competitive.

So there's going to be some growing pains for sure.

He will either figure it out and we will improve, or it will be worse than last year. I believe Shane will succeed, but it just hasn't happened yet.

So until we improve at the fundamentals, my answer is "No".

 

[Longhaul]

I thought 6 would be about it at the beginning of this year and still feel we can get 6 but not expecting a lot more. Until we get some offensive lineman with some attitude I think we will struggle. Combine that with the injuries on an already thin defense and I think we have an uphill battle.

 

[kingofnerf]

If we improve and beat UK, then we can take down anyone else left on the schedule and do pretty well.

The much-needed improvement hasn't happened yet, though.

 

[gamecock88]

Maybe but it will be tough but based on what I've seen so far I'm skeptical. We won't know much over the next two weeks unless there is no improvement on both sides of the ball. We struggle in the trenches on both sides, that's not going away. Depth issues in the secondary and DL. To get to 6 and beyond, we have to win some of the toss up games.

• GA State W
• Arky L
• UGA L
• Charlotte W
• SC State W
• @UK Toss up. Currently 3-0, could be 5-0 when we visit. They handled Florida and have a big game at Ole Miss the week after us. Most likely an L.
• TAMU Toss up Currently at 2-1. Lost to App State but just beat #13 Miami. Most likely an L.
• Mizzou Toss up. Currently at 2-1. Lost bad to Kansas State, wins over La Tech (scored more than clemson) and Abilene Christian. Most likely a W.
• @Vandy W
• @UF Toss Up Currently at 2-1. Mobile QBs give us fits. Most likely an L.
• UT Toss up. Currently 3-0. Looked good vs Pitt. They play a tough stretch with Bama, UK, UGA over a 4 week stretch. Then host Mizzou before visiting us. Tempo offense will wear our D down quickly. Most likely an L based on what I've seen so far. .
• @CU L. Defensive front will be similar to UGA. If we can get the ball away we can score but doesn't look good. They don't scare me on O but they might figure some things out by then. They have a couple good RBs and will probably gut us.