South Carolina football: Will Muschamp needs to beat Auburn
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp has a lot riding on Saturday’s matchup.
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp is in his fifth season roaming the sidelines in Columbia, and he’ll need to show some progress in 2020 to ease some heat off of an extremely hot seat. He did pull out a win in Nashville last Saturday versus an overmanned Vanderbilt team, which provided a week away from the constant talks of his future with the Gamecocks. But one win doesn’t secure his job in 2021.
His next chance for a victory comes against the No. 14 Auburn Tigers, Muschamp’s former employer, and as Saturday creeps closer, the game is shaping up to be one of the biggest in the Muschamp era.
A win gives Muschamp just his third win over a top 25 opponent with the Gamecocks. It also gives him a little breathing room in a tough all-SEC slate moving forward.
A loss will be yet another missed opportunity to knock off a notable program and would represent Muschamp’s sixth loss in his last seven games dating back to 2019.
Is the matchup with Auburn a “must-win” for coach Muschamp? Let’s take a look.
WHY IT IS
We mentioned earlier that Muschamp has missed out on most of his opportunities to knock off ranked foes. He’s already let one chance slip through his fingers this year against Tennessee. In fact, since becoming the South Carolina head coach, his teams have gone just 2-15 versus opponents ranked in the top 25.
The losses are beginning to pile up, and adding another to the list could be the last straw for the South Carolina athletic administration. Especially when considering that this may be the best opportunity of the season to take down a notable program.
The Gamecocks won’t be favored in either of their next two trips, a meeting in Death Valley with LSU, and a home matchup versus Texas A&M. A loss here could mean a 1-6 start for the Gamecocks, with Georgia, Ole Miss, and Kentucky still on the schedule. That certainly wouldn’t sit well with the Carolina fanbase.