South Carolina football: Predicting the Gamecocks final record

Predicting South Carolina football’s final record

Auburn Tigers, Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC

South Carolina snuck up on Auburn last year, which helped lead to the dismissal of Gus Malzahn on the Plains. In comes Bryan Harsin from Boise State, as he looks to get the Tigers back on track. The Gamecocks won last year’s meeting by being opportunistic on defense, picking off Bo Nix three times.

Nix is back, as is running back Tank Bigsby, but they’ll have a new offensive coordinator running the unit. Former South Carolina OC Mike Bobo bolted to Auburn just days after renewing his contract to remain of staff for Shane Beamer, as did assistants Tracy Rocker and Will Friend.

While South Carolina was able to take down the Tigers in 2020, they’ve typically struggled with this cross-divisional opponent, dropping their eight previous meetings in SEC play. We’re not sure the Gamecocks will have enough firepower to take down the Tigers in what should be a matchup of two of the league’s best rushing attacks.

L (6-5)

Clemson Tigers, Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC

The season finale will be one of the Gamecocks’ toughest as they welcome in archrival Clemson. After having to cancel last year’s meeting, the two programs will be eager to get back on the field in 2021, though the Gamecocks’ chances of a win will be slim.

The Tigers bring back a number of contributors on defense, and while they need to replace first overall pick Trevor Lawrence and the ACC’s all-time leading rusher Travis Etienne, they’ll have plenty of firepower on offense.

South Carolina dropped every game to the Tigers under Will Muschamp, with none being decided by less than 21 points. The Gamecocks can show some improvement by keeping the game close, but it’s not a contest that we’re expecting the team to win.

Clemson extends their streak to seven wins.

L (6-6)

Should a six-win season come to fruition, it would show major progress by the new staff. We personally believe that there’s enough talent on the roster to reach bowl eligibility, that talent was just mismanaged by the previous staff.

The journey through the 2021 season begins in just a few short days. Be sure to tune into the SEC Network on Saturday night to watch the Gamecocks take on Eastern Illinois. You can also stream the matchup live on Fubo TV.