The South Carolina football team will begin its ten game schedule late next month. How many games will the Gamecocks win?
ESPN has updated its projections for the Southeastern Conference’s condensed 2020 season, now that each institution’s full schedule has been released. For its projections, ESPN uses a system called the FPI, which is a mathematical tool that measures a team’s strength and attempts to forecast how they’ll fare against the foes on its schedule.
Originally, the sports network had South Carolina ranked as the 39th best team in the nation, with the team finishing 6-6 against the opponents on the slate. Now, the Gamecocks replace games against Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Wofford, and Clemson with matchups versus Auburn and Ole Miss.
Here’s how the team’s FPI profile looks now.
"FPI (RK): 6.7 (39) Projected W-L: 3.7 – 6.3 (113) Chance of winning out: 0.0% Chance of winning conference: 0.0% SOS Remaining RK: 3"
South Carolina still ranks as the 39th best team in the country according to the site, but there are some notable differences from ESPN’s original predictions. Firstly, the win total goes from just under six wins to less than four. Secondly, the strength of schedule shoots up from 18th most difficult to 3rd hardest in college football, with the Gamecocks playing six opponents ranked in the Associated Press’s preseason poll. Five of those foes rank inside the top 15.
Let’s go game by game and evaluate the Gamecocks’ chances in each matchup, starting with the opener against Tennessee.