South Carolina Football Way-Too-Early Schedule Preview: Mississippi State Bulldogs
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina football always plays a tough schedule. Each year, the Gamecocks must attempt to persevere through an SEC East schedule that also includes a permanent (probably ending when Texas and Oklahoma enter the league) matchup with Texas A&M from the SEC West, a rivalry contest with perennial top-10 Clemson, and often an out-of-conference game against one of the North Carolina schools. The 2023 schedule is no different.
After playing North Carolina in Charlotte, having a tune-up against Furman, and then having to travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina will face off against an SEC West opponent in Columbia. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will travel to Columbia on September 23rd.
South Carolina lost the last matchup between the Gamecock and Bulldogs, but that was all the way back in 2016 when Will Muschamp was in his first year as the head coach in Columbia and Dan Mullen and his Jordans were still on the sidelines in Starkville. Before that game, South Carolina had won the previous seven games against State.
Kickoff for the season is 143 days away, and kickoff against Mississippi State is 164 days from now, but week 4 will serve as an important test for both teams.
The Bulldogs are coming off of a 9-4 season but are not expected to be quite that good next season. They tragically lost their Head Coach Mike Leach to a heart attack during the offseason, so new Head Coach Zach Arnett has the unenviable task of following a legend. That task is made even harder because he will be following a legend who passed away and one who was universally loved across college football.
Even beyond the head coach transition, the Bulldogs are a bit of a mystery heading into 2023. Kevin Barbay will be the new play caller this fall, and his system is a pretty big step away from the Air Raid run by the Pirate when he called the plays in Starkville. With a system that will require the team’s running backs to carry the ball more often, it will probably hurt the Bulldogs that they lost one of their top-2 rushers (Dillon Johnson) to the transfer portal. Even though the Bulldogs will return quarterback Will Rogers, a step back offensively seems likely.
Defensively, change is incoming for Mississippi State, as well. Despite being the former defensive coordinator, Arnett will not call the defense next season. Instead, first-time defensive play caller Matt Brock will be at the helm. Only four defensive starters are back for Mississippi State, something that would be difficult to overcome even with continuity at defensive coordinator.
Even on special teams, the Bulldogs will see transition. The team will be searching for a new kicker and a new punter this offseason.
For the Gamecocks, the offensive passing game will be key in this game. New offensive play caller Dowell Loggains will look to utilize Spencer Rattler’s arm to attack a State secondary that is returning just one starter from a season ago. Juice Wells should have a big day, and the top-end speed of receivers like Xavier Legette, Ahmahrean Brown, and Nyck Harbor could be a factor.
Mississippi State was one of the better rush defenses in the SEC a year ago, so South Carolina will face a tough test, especially since the ‘Cocks do not have an established running game heading into the year. DK Joyner, Mario Anderson, and Juju McDowell are expected to be the top-3 backs, and none of them have been a feature back at this level; Joyner has never even played running back, Anderson played Division-II ball last season, and McDowell is a small back that weighs just 180 pounds. DJay Braswell is a talented freshman but won’t be on campus until the summer.
If the South Carolina offense can run the ball at all in this contest, the game should favor the Gamecocks. Carolina should hold the advantage defensively, especially at home, and the offensive matchup leans toward the Gamecocks even though both teams have questions with new coordinators. Special teams easily are stronger for the Gamecocks as Pete Lembo is the best special teams coordinator in America, and he returns his elite trio at kicker, punter, and kick returner.
Both South Carolina and Mississippi State are ranked toward the back end of most preseason polls, and the September 23rd contest between the two should be a good matchup. Both teams will have been tested (Carolina against North Carolina and Georgia, State against Arizona and LSU), and as long as nothing wild happens between now and then, with South Carolina playing at home, the Gamecocks will likely be the favorite when early betting lines drop this summer.