2017 South Carolina Football Preview

SEC football is just days away. Before toe meets pigskin on August 31st, The Wheelhouse crew has compiled our preseason SEC power rankings and a preview of each team. As we release our team previews, we’ll release them in the order of which each team is ranked in our preseason rankings to help the days until kickoff go by quicker.
The South Carolina Gamecocks check in at №. 9 in our preseason SEC power rankings.
The South Carolina Gamecocks squeaked out a 6–7 record last year, going 3–5 in conference play. They ended the season with a near 50-point loss to rival Clemson — and then a crushing 39–46 overtime defeat to South Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.
Will Muschamp’s highlight of the 2016 campaign came in week eight in the form of a home win versus No. 18 Tennessee, who was coming off of a bye week. South Carolina has been able to consistently pull top 20 recruiting classes under Muschamp so far, and that doesn’t look to stop now as they are currently the 20th best in the nation and number six in the SEC for 2018.
The first half of the 2016 South Carolina season can be summarized with three words: lack of offense. South Carolina’s defense carried them through the first half of the season, and I use the word “carried” carefully. The team clearly struggled through the first six games, but the offense was lackluster at best. South Carolina only scored 20 or more points in one of its first six games.
South Carolina got off to a 2–4 start in Muschamp’s second year, but the defensive guru stayed true to his name by holding all, but two opponents to under 30 points last year in the regular season.
Offensive Preview:
As mentioned earlier, South Carolina averaged just 14 points per game through their first six games before Jake Bentley took over. Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper pulled the strings and burned Bentley’s redshirt in a sort of panic moment last season after their 2–4 start.
South Carolina still didn’t look very impressive, but they did average almost 28 points a game after Bentley’s redshirt was burned. The bad thing about the 28-point average is those games mainly included Western Carolina, UMass and an injury depleted Tennessee Volunteers defense.
Youth is the key word for the outlook of South Carolina’s offense. Everybody knows Bentley, the gun slinging freshman who skipped a grade to take out the Volunteers in his coming out party. However, almost the entire Gamecocks backfield were freshman. A.J. Turner and Rico Dowdle, the top running backs for South Carolina, were both freshman.
Dowdle and Turner combined for almost 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns for the Gamecocks in 2016. Bentley threw for 1,420 yards and nine touchdowns all while accurately throwing the ball as well. Bentley completed 66% of his passes, which is a very good statistic for a redshirt freshman quarterback who was thrown into an offense that was stuck in mud their first six games last year.
Defensive Preview:
The defense held strong in these contests as well, allowing only two 30-point games all year and not a single opponent in their first 10 games. Returning six starters looks a little skeptical for the Gamecocks, but having brought in yet another top-20 recruiting class certainly helps.
Four of the five four-star recruits for the Gamecocks are on the defensive side of the ball, which is a good sign. Muschamp certainly can not be knocked for his ability to recruit on the defensive side of the ball. South Carolina’s defense dragged the team through the first half of the year before Bentley stepped on to the field in week seven versus UMass. The defense should not slow down this year, as the recruiting classes are staying steady and the offense will only improve, putting the defense in less sticky situations.
The run defense was the main problem for the Gamecocks a year ago, but that will improve as the top recruits for the 2017 year are all on defense. Not only are these recruits on the defensive side of the ball, but three of them are on the defensive line. Muschamp might be on to something here.
Special Teams Preview:
Deebo Samuel will be returning the majority of punts this year for the Gamecocks. Anytime Samuel (one receiving touchdown, six rushing touchdowns) is on the field, defensive coordinators will have their eyes on him. Oh, and Samuel also had 100 rushing yards on 15 carries along with almost 800 receiving yards.
The punting situation is up in the air this year, as Michael Almond will be back there trying to pin teams in the 20-yard line. The only thing is, Almond only has two career punts. As for the kicking game, all four of the place kickers on the roster are either freshman or sophomores. This position is still up in the air as well.
Newcomer to watch:
Javon Kinlaw is the easy answer here. According to 247 sports, Kinlaw is the second best at his position for the 2017 class, and was the 10th best player in the class. Kinlaw, the JUCO transfer, is exactly what the Gamecocks need this fall: a tall, stout, defensive lineman.
Kinlaw stands 6–6, and is listed at 340 pounds. A transfer from Jones County Community College in Mississippi, Kinlaw recorded five sacks and 26 tackles a season ago. The sacks would certainly help in terms of getting to the quarterback, but Kinlaw will need to play a huge part in plugging the middle and stopping the run.
Games to watch:
Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Clemson.
If South Carolina wants to prove they can hang around atop the SEC East, they will have to do so from week seven on. The Gamecocks will play Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida in three out of four weeks. Mix in a gritty Vanderbilt team that lost by only three points last year at home to the Gamecocks and that stretch should be one of the toughest in college football.
Keys to a successful season:
Jake Bentley is the obvious key to the 2017 football season with the Gamecocks, but with help from key offensive playmakers like Deebo Samuel and Rico Dowdle, the team could have a chance to muddle up the SEC East. Samuel is an electric player on offense, scoring receiving, rushing, return and passing touchdowns a year ago. The offense will need to do its job, but the defense also has an area to improve.
The offense needs to be successful for the Gamecocks to win games this year. Muschamp has come to be known better for his unproductive offenses rather than his defensive mind. For South Carolina to make a push for the SEC East title, the offense needs to show up and show out.
For only allowing two 30-point games on defense in the regular season last year, this team should surpass their win total of six if they can manage to repeat their defensive prowess from the 2016 year. As good as the defense was, the run needs to be stopped. South Carolina’s defense was torched for 290 yards rushing against Mississippi State, 326 against Georgia, and 250 against rival Clemson in a blowout loss.
Final say:
Look for South Carolina’s defense to drag the team through the gruesome part of the schedule and the offense to do just enough to keep them in it. If Bentley can make a big leap in his sophomore campaign like many expect him to, then South Carolina should surpass last year's win total of six games. With 10 returning starters on offense, this offense should make a big leap in 2017. The Gamecocks should win seven regular season games and make a bowl game. If the offense doesn’t improve under Will Muschamp, maybe Lane Kiffin will be looking for a new defensive coordinator down at Florida Atlantic.
