South Carolina Football – Vegas Projections for the Gamecocks in 2020
By Jacob Elsey
The odds for the 2020 college football season have been released. Here’s where the experts predict the Gamecocks to finish next year.
DraftKings recently released over/under totals for the number of wins each team will have in the 2020 college football season. They’ve placed the total at 5.5 for Will Muschamp and the Gamecocks.
That ranks 6th in the SEC East, ahead of only Vanderbilt, and ties with Ole Miss for 11th overall in the conference. Some other projections around the league include Florida at 10 wins, Georgia at 10 wins, Tennessee at 7 wins, Texas A&M at 9.5 wins, and defending national champion LSU at 9 wins.
Vegas pegs Alabama and Georgia as the most likely to meet in the SEC Championship game, with the Crimson Tide’s odds of winning the league being placed at 4/5. The Gamecocks’ chances to win the conference currently stand at 125/1.
South Carolina is coming off of a 4-8 season, placing Head Coach Will Muschamp squarely on the hot seat ahead of his 5th season in Columbia. Muschamp brought in Mike Bobo to be his new Offensive Coordinator, in hopes of turning around an offense that ranked 96th in the NCAA last year averaging 371.9 YPG.
The Gamecocks return starting signal caller Ryan Hilinksi, who finished second among SEC freshmen in passing yards and touchdowns in 2019. They also return defenders in key positions, including LB Ernest Jones, CB Jaycee Horn, and sack leader DE Aaron Sterling. The offense will be young following the losses of RBs Rico Dowdle, Tavian Feaster, and Mon Denson, as well as record-breaking WR Bryan Edwards.
The Gamecocks will need some of those younger players to step up as they will, once again, face one of the toughest schedules in America. They’ll square off against playoff contenders LSU, Clemson, and Georgia, all in the month of November, as well as Texas A&M, Florida, and Tennessee.
The Gamecocks will have their work cut out for them if they hope to eclipse the 5.5 win total, but Will Muschamp’s job may depend on the team showing marked improvement from last season and getting back to a bowl game in 2020.