South Carolina Gamecocks College Football Preview 2023 (CFN)
2022 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-4 in SECHead Coach: Shane Beamer, 3rd year, 15-11
- South Carolina 2023 Football Schedule
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Here’s the crazy part when it comes to South Carolina. It’s not like seasons with eight or more wins happen on a regular basis around those parts with just 15 of them in 115 years of Gamecock football. It’s not exactly fair to compare, but Alabama has enjoyed 67 seasons with eight or more wins. Tennessee 58. Georgia 50. Florida 41.
The Vanderbilt University football program has won eight games or more 18 times.
But the 8-5 season of 2022 was different, and you’ll have to forgive USC fans if they had way too much fun with such a - by SEC big boy standards - pedestrian record. Last year 1) was a one-win improvement in Year Two of the Shane Beamer era because 2) the team ruined Tennessee’s College Football Playoff hopes with a jaw-dropping offensive display, only to do that one better by 3) ruining Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes with a mega-powered gut-punch.
Oh there are problems - we’ll get to the defense in a moment - and not getting past Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl sort of chilled everything out a bit, but there’s hope. Maybe it’s not the hope Tennessee fans are feeling after a monster season with a win over Alabama, and maybe it’s not the things-are-working-again hype around LSU, but there’s hope that South Carolina football is on its way to making something special happen. And that all started because …
South Carolina Gamecocks Preview: Offense
The passing game went bananas. It sort of flew under the radar before last season that Spencer Rattler was transferring from Oklahoma to South Carolina - his main problem was that he wasn’t Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, or Caleb Williams - but the talent is undeniable.He has to cut down on the interceptions, and a lot more consistency would be nice, but he’s got a high-powered NFL arm, he’s fantastic when he gets into a groove, and he ended up throwing for over 3,000 yards while showing a flair for the dramatic. Now he’s going into his fifth season, things should slow down, and in a year of massive quarterback turnover in the SEC, he has a chance to do something special.
A few of the top targets are gone, but returning is All-SEC star Antwane Wells - who led the team with 68 catches for 928 yards and six scores - and in comes NFL-caliber pass catching TE Trey Knox in from Arkansas. Rattler will spread it around, but as long as Wells can stay hot after a huge late stretch - he caught 20 passes against Tennessee and Clemson - the offense will be dangerous.
The offensive line has to be far, far better at keeping defenses out of the backfield. The pass protection was bad, the tackles for loss allowed were worse, and the running game was missing for long stretches. The tackles should be okay, but the interior will need some tinkering with the parts. Leading rusher MarShawn Lloyd took his talents to the LA version of USC, and now there will be a rotation around junior Juju McDowell.
South Carolina Gamecocks Preview: Defense
The defense has veterans, but it’ll take a whole lot of work just to be decent. It starts by stopping the run, allowing 200 yards or more seven times with the biggest problem coming on the road. There’s size up front, and there should be an okay rotation around Tonka Hemingway on the inside, but the pass rush has to come from somewhere. Getting Jordan Strachan back from a torn ACL will help, but losing Jordan Burch to Oregon will be a problem.The linebacking corps is okay in the 4-2-5, but it needs to make more impact plays. Debo Williams is a good option on the weakside, and other young options will fill in and get time - Mohamed Kaba is trying to get back from a knee injury to man the middle - but this will be a work in progress.
The secondary didn’t get a lick of help at times from the pass rush, but the tackling is there led by safety Nick Emmanwori’s team-high 85 stops to go along with the versatile DQ Smith. There’s speed, decent size, and potential at corner, and there’s help on the way from the recruiting class and transfer portal to bring a boost.
South Carolina Gamecocks Key To The Season
Turnover margin. The defense didn’t really work, the offense was all over the place, and no one in the SEC gave the ball up more. The 27 turnovers mattered … until they didn’t. The 23 takeaways made up for a whole bunch of mistakes. Once again there are going to be rocky moments, and plenty of parts of the puzzle need help. But to keep it simple, the Gamecocks were 1-4 last season when they lost the turnover battle and 7-1 when they didn’t.South Carolina Gamecocks Top Transfer, Biggest Loss
TE Trey Knox in from Arkansas, Edge Rusher Jordan Burch gone to Oregon. There are a slew of other lost parts through the transfer portal, but Burch was one of the few guys who got into the backfield. He finished third on the team with 60 stops, too. Knox caught 81 passes for 892 yards and nine touchdowns for Arkansas, and now the NFL-caliber target should be a monster in this attack.South Carolina Gamecocks Key Player
Nick Gargiulo, OG Sr. Great, put the pressure on the new guy. The South Carolina offensive line needs to be far more physical, and that starts with finding the five best blockers and putting them on the field in some configuration. Gargiulo is a 6-5, 310-pound transfer from Yale who can play any spot in the interior, likely starting out at guard. If he’s the blaster of a run blocker he was in the Ivy League, all of a sudden the rest of the front five should fall into place.South Carolina Gamecocks Key Game
North Carolina (in Charlotte), Sept. 2. 2017 was the last time South Carolina won its first game of the season over a Power Five program, and that includes the 24-20 thriller against the Tar Heels in Charlotte back in 2019. Obviously every SEC game is a big deal, but with road trips to Georgia and Tennessee up before the end of September, winning this to get off on the right foot might mean everything. Lose, and a 2-3 start before October - assuming a home win over Mississippi State along the way - is likely.South Carolina Gamecocks 10 Best Players
1. Antwane Wells, WR Sr.2. Spencer Rattler, QB Sr.
3. Tonka Hemingway, DT Sr.
4. Trey Knox, TE Sr.
5. Jordan Strachan, DE Sr.
6. Nick Emmanwori, S Soph.
7. DQ Smith, S, Soph.
8. Kai Kroger, P Sr.
9. Marcellas Dial, CB Sr.
10. Mitch Jeter, PK Sr.
South Carolina Gamecocks 2022 Fun Stats
- Fumbles: South Carolina 22 (lost 13) - Opponents 17 (lost 8)- Field Goals: South Carolina 11-of-11 - Opponents 12-of-17
- Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 198 - South Carolina 118.8
South Carolina Gamecocks Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Set The Win Total At: 7How much more consistent can South Carolina be? Did the offense really turn a corner late last year, and is that what we’re going to get from jump this time around? Can the defense do more than take the ball away?
The 2022 version was good enough to beat Tennessee and Clemson, but that came after getting stomped on by Florida. There was little rhyme or reason to season, but it produced, and it might be the way it is again.
There’s too much offensive firepower to keep the Gamecocks from exploding every now and then, but there’s enough missing and enough question marks - let’s start with the lines - to assume much of anything until after the season gets rolling.
Could it really beat Georgia in Athens in the SEC opener? Yeah, maybe. Could it then follow it up with a home loss to Mississippi State? Yeah, maybe. But even with all the concerns about what the team might do week-in-and-week-out, there are at least six wins in there somewhere.
With all four November games in Columbia, it’ll be an amazing season if the Gamecocks could get those six victories before Jacksonville State comes to town to kick off the final run. That might be a stretch, but enough wins will come to give Shane Beamer the honor of coming up with the best three year head coaching start in the history of the program.
