Welcome to part two of our series breaking down where new South Carolina offensive coordinator Kendal Briles' systems have finished ranked. In part one, we took a look at how his offenses at Baylor, Florida Atlantic, Houston and Florida State finished from 2015-2019.
For part two, we will take a look at how his offenses with Arkansas and TCU performed. He was with the Razorbacks for three seasons from 2020-2022, and was with the Horned Frogs for three years, 2023-2025.
2020: Arkansas offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: No. 86 overall (25.7 PPG)
- Total offense: No. 66 overall (391.5 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 52 overall (240.2 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 78 overall (151.3 YPG)
Arkansas' 2020 season during first-year head coach Sam Pittman wasn't pretty. The Razorbacks finished 3-7 as the offense sputtered under starting quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Wide receiver Treylon Burks was a bright spot however, as he had 51 receptions for 820 yards and seven touchdowns.
2021: Arkansas offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: No. 48 overall (30.9 PPG)
- Total offense: No. 27 overall (441.7 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 86 overall (213.9 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 7 overall (227.8 YPG)
The Razorbacks had a huge bounceback season in 2021, and it was mostly thanks to how well quarterback KJ Jefferson played. He led Arkansas in total offense, amassing 3,340 total yards with 27 total touchdowns.
Arkansas had upset wins over No. 15 Texas, No. 7 Texas A&M, and beat LSU on the road 16-13 in overtime. The Razorbacks finished 9-4 on the season, capped off with a 24-10 victory over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
2022: Arkansas offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: No. 35 overall (32.5 PPG)
- Total offense: No. 15 overall (471.2 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 63 overall (234.7 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 7 overall (236.8 YPG)
Arkansas finished 7-6 in 2022, and the offense improved in virtually every offensive metric from 2021. Jefferson elevated his passing game, throwing for 2,648 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Razorbacks finished the season with a thrilling triple-overtime 55-53 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in the Liberty Bowl, Jefferson rushed for a season-high 130 yards with two touchdowns. The game itself broke Liberty Bowl records in total points, and it was the first-ever triple-OT game in Liberty Bowl history.
2023: TCU offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: T-No. 41 overall (31.3 PPG)
- Total offense: No. 11 overall (466.7 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 7 overall (312.2 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 71 overall (154.5 YPG)
Three years ago, TCU hired Briles to replace Garrett Riley after leading the Horned Frogs to a surprise berth in the CFP national championship game. The Horned Frogs finished 5-7 in 2023, but the offense was steady, even navigating a midseason quarterback change after Chandler Morris suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Josh Hoover threw for 2,206 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions and averaged 7.4 yards per throw. Running back Emani Bailey had 1,209 yards with eight touchdowns on the year, as well.
2024: TCU offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: T-No. 23 overall (33.5 PPG)
- Total offense: T-No. 31 overall (426.8 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 8 overall (312.9 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 113 overall (113.92)
TCU had a great season in 2024, finishing 9-4 with a 6-3 record in conference play. Returning quarterback Josh Hoover had his best season in Fort Worth, throwing for a career-high 3,949 yards with 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, completing 66.5% of his passes. Jack Bech was his leading receiver, as he finished with 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns on the season.
The Horned Frogs ended the season with a 34-3 victory over Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl. signature wins over capped off
2025: TCU offensive coordinator
- Scoring offense: No. 40 overall (30.7 PPG)
- Total offense: No. 27 overall (421.5 YPG)
- Passing offense: No. 9 overall (290.1 YPG)
- Rushing offense: No. 100 overall (131.38 YPG)
Josh Hoover's productivity dipped just slightly at TCU last season, as he threw for 3,472 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. But impressively, the Horned Frogs finished with top-10 passing offenses in each of Briles' last two seasons there.
Although Bech declared for the NFL Draft after the 2024 season, receiver Eric McAlister was his favorite target, getting 72 receptions for 1,190 yards and 10 touchdowns.
What these numbers mean for South Carolina in 2026
Obviously no one has a crystal ball, so there's no way to know just how well the offense will gel in Briles' first season. But at the very least, the Gamecocks are expected to drastically improve from where they finished ranked last season.
South Carolina finished 2025 ranked 104th in scoring offense (22.7 PPG), 109th in total offense (336.3 YPG), 67th in passing offense (225.3 YPG) and 119th in rushing offense (111.08 YPG). The offense was so bad that Shane Beamer fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula before the season was over, and quarterback LaNorris Sellers was sacked a career-high 43 times.
Personnel-wise, Briles will love the talent he has in Columbia, too. It features Sellers, as well as his leading receiver in Nyck Harbor and a talented running back corps in Matt Fuller, Christian Clark and Jabree Coleman.
One of the biggest improvements the Gamecocks will have is along the offensive line. It is headlined by All-ACC offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak, as well as East Carolina transfer Emmanuel Poku.
Sellers is expected to have one of the biggest seasons of his South Carolina career under the rebuilt offensive line. It sounds like Briles is excited about his quarterback's playmaking ability, as well.
“He’s got the X factor,” Briles said of Sellers via The State newspaper last week. “I can call something that doesn’t necessarily line up good against a defense and what they’re playing, and he can go make it work.
“He’s got those traits and that ability to be able to use his feet and his legs and his mind to be able to make plays work,” he continued. “And I’m really excited about the confidence he has right now.”
The big question for South Carolina is whether or not the improvements offensively can be enough to navigate the Gamecocks' tough schedule. It features games against six teams ranked inside the initial Coaches Poll, including three inside the Top-10 in Georgia, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
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