South Carolina football: Grading the Gamecocks position by position
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina football gets a failing grade following two-win season.
The Gamecocks, for the most part in 2020, struggled with consistency on either side of the ball, which resulted in a 2-8 record in its SEC-only campaign. There were a few bright spots, like a top 15 win over Auburn early in the year, but a six game season ending losing streak is what fans remember.
That losing skid resulted in head coach Will Muschamp being fired in the middle of the year, despite financial losses in the athletic department due to COVID. Mike Bobo would fill in for the season’s final three games, but South Carolina was not competitive for the majority of that stretch.
The Gamecocks’ last chance to get back on track and end the year on a positive not never came to fruition, as South Carolina’s bowl game was canceled amid a COVID outbreak within the coaching staff. The two wins were the lowest in a season since the winless 1999 campaign.
With that said, there were obviously position areas that exceeded expectation, and a few that fell far short. The Gamecocks saw relatively unknown running back explode to lead the league in rushing, a secondary that didn’t quite live up to the hype, and a quarterback room that was up and down all season long. There were certainly some great individual performances, but the team could never quite pull it together week in and week out.
Let’s take a look at each position, grading where the South Carolina football team excelled and where it needs marked improvement heading into 2021.