The South Carolina football season is just a week away, and the cheers from Williams-Brice Stadium can almost be heard from here. The Gamecocks kick things off with a September 4th matchup against Eastern Illinois to begin a slate that will be one of the nation’s toughest, and fans are showing their excitement by buying up season tickets in support of Shane Beamer.
While the Gamecocks are eager to see a fresh start under Beamer and his new staff, expectations remain somewhat low for the team in 2021. South Carolina will likely be favored in only a handful of games this year, which has led Vegas oddsmakers to set the bar low at just 3.5 wins for the season.
Can the Gamecocks make a surprise splash in the SEC standings despite these lowly projections?
It’s unlikely that we’ll see the program compete for the top spot in the Eastern division, but there’s enough talent on the roster to see the Gamecocks land somewhere in that middle tier. South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee are all a step behind Georgia in the race, but these are the matchups that will be key to how the final standings pan out. Vanderbilt is the only team predicted to finish below the Gamecocks at the moment.
Here’s our best bet on where South Carolina football will finish in the SEC East as the season creeps closer.