Ok, campers. We are at T-minus six days and counting to the kickoff of the South Carolina Gamecocks 2014 season. As I've done in years past, I'm going to give you a game-by-game prediction for the entire season before it starts.
However, before I get into this year, I'm going to recap my previous predictions, just so you can see how they shook out. All numbers exclude the bowl game. I'm just talking about the regular season.
2011: My prediction was 11-1 . Actual result was 10-2.
2012: My prediction 10-2. Actual result was 10-2.
2013: My prediction was 11-1. Actual result was 10-2.
So, with the exception of 2012, I have a track record of being one game too many too optimistic. I guess that's probably true, as I freely admit my bias towards the Gamecocks. Anyway, here's my 2014 season prediction, for whatever it's worth.
8/28 Texas A&M vs. South Carolina
This game will be the kickoff of the entire college football season. It's a Thursday night game, so the entire college football world will have it's eyes on this game. TAMU will come in ranked at #21, and the Gamecocks will come in ranked #9. This will be a great test right out of the gate for both teams. It's a conference game, so there isn't any tune-up game in week one to work out the kinks. Both teams need to hit the ground running to be successful.
We know that TAMU will have a good offense. Coach Sumlin likes to throw the ball around a lot, so we'll really see how good our secondary is (or isn't) in the first game. Having said that, I think this is going to be a game that has become somewhat of a normal recipie for a Gamecock victory under Spurrier. When confronted with an opponent who likes to throw the ball most of the time and use tempo, look for the South Carolina offense to really grind the clock with a heavy dose of running the ball. I think South Carolina will win the time of possession battle, keep the TAMU offense off the field, and wear down the TAMU defense. The rushing attack will be interspersed with Dylan Thompson throwing some deep balls to keep the Aggie defense honest, but in the end, I see this being a solid win for South Carolina. A&M will be starting a new QB, so look for our defense to try and force some mistakes.
South Carolina 1-0
9/6 East Carolina vs. South Carolina
Once again, the Gamecocks will face a team that likes to thrown the ball a lot, however there will be less talent on the ECU compared to TAMU. I think the Gamecocks will play fairly conservatively, keeping the ball on the ground and controlling the tempo of the game.
South Carolina 2-0
9/13 Georgia vs. South Carolina
This game. It's always big. Barring some crazy injuries to one of the teams, this game will be a dead heat in Vegas. Big implications here. Both teams will probably come in undefeated, which makes it a top ten match-up. ESPN College Gameday will probably be here for this game.
Both teams will try to run the ball, and Georgia will certainly have success doing so with their big horse in the backfield. This is already set for the 3:30 CBS game, so it's going to be a day game. I'd prefer a night game, but the atmosphere will be electric anyway. I think this one is going to come down to a turnover or two, because these teams are so evenly matched. You could really pick this one either way, but since the game is being played in Columbia, I'm going to take the home team in a very close game.
South Carolina 3-0
9/20 South Carolina at Vanderbilt
This will be the first road game of the season for South Carolina, and this I'll actually be making this trip. I've been meaning to cross Vanderbilt off my list of SEC stadiums to visit, so I'll be doing that for this game. (Only Knoxville and Missouri will remain on my list in the SEC East.) Vanderbilt is plucky, has gotten better over the years, but so has South Carolina. I think South Carolina will go into their first road game with some confidence having edged past Georgia (or alternatively, fired up having lost to Georgia). Either way, I think South Carolina wins by two scores in Nashville.
South Carolina 4-0
9/27 Missouri vs. South Carolina
Revenge will be on the minds of the Missouri Tigers, since South Carolina absolutely broke their heart last year in a 2OT game, that culminated in a missed Missouri field goal. I don't know how good Mizzou will be this year. No one really predicted them to be good last year, but they were. I think that maybe Mizzou will come down to earth a little, and I think that the South Carolina defense will get the best of Matty Mauk. I predict two INTs for the Gamecock defense to set up short fields for the offense.
South Carolina 5-0
10/4 South Carolina at Kentucky
The second road game takes the Gamecocks to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Wildcats. This ain't basketball, so South Carolina wins easily.
South Carolina 6-0
10/18 Furman vs. South Carolina
Spurrier won't let the team lose focus against Furman. He's undefeated in his career against FCS teams for a reason - he treats every game the same. Furman won't be any different. Look for USC to get an early lead, and then take out all the starters in an effort to avoid any injuries. Big game next week on The Plains.
South Carolina 7-0
10/25 South Carolina at Auburn
This will be the toughest game of the year so far. I would rank Auburn on par (or slightly better than Georgia) and when you throw in the fact that it will be on The Plains, this game has trouble written all over it. South Carolina has never beaten Auburn since joining the SEC, and I don't think this will be the game that snaps that streak. I think the Auburn rushing attack will be relentless, and ultimately, too much for the Gamecocks to handle. Unless Auburn makes some big mistakes they win this one.
South Carolina 7-1
11/1 Tennessee vs. South Carolina
This will be a revenge game for South Carolina. Had the Gameocks not lost to Tennessee last year, they would have gone to Atlanta. However, the clunker of a game in Knoxille last year had the Gamecocks watching the SEC championship game like the rest of us - on TV. Now, I look for the Gamecocks to pounce on Tennessee and extract vengeance.
South Carolina 8-1
11/15 South Carolina at Florida
I think Georgia will still only have one loss at this point (to South Carolina), so this will be the chance for the Gamecocks to punch their ticket to Atlanta with a win. We did exactly that in 2010 behind Lattimore and Garcia. I don't know what this Florida team is really going to look like, but I know the Florida defense is going to be nasty. This could be a low-scoring slugfest, which suits Muschamp just fine. While I'd really like to pick this as a win, my head says that Florida will hold serve at home behind the Gator faithful. I think South Carolina will make a few crucial mistakes and lose by one score.
South Carolina 8-2
11/22 South Alabama vs. South Carolina
The Gamecocks come home for a game against an FBS opponent this week. Coming off a loss to Florida and looking ahead to Clemson, they'll need it. A workmanlike win that should see lots of time for the backups.
South Carolina 9-2
11/29 South Carolina vs. Clemson
Look y'all. Clemson had the best chance to beat us (for a long while) last year and the year before that. Two years ago, Carolina started Thomson as a backup (without Lattimore), and beat Clemson up in Death Valley. Last year, Clemson had a great team, but still couldn't win. This year, Dylan Thompson returns to Death Valley to see if he can be one of the few Gamecock QBs to win two games in Death Valley.
He will. The streak will continue. Six in a row.
South Carolina 10-2
Post-Season/Final Thoughts
I'm not sure if 6-2 will be enough to win the East. I could see Georgia losing only one game. Heck, I could see Florida losing only one conference game. All I can tell you is that which ever team wins seven games will take the division title. I think seven is the magic number. If South Carolina finds a way to slip past Auburn or Florida on the road, then I think we'll get to Atlanta. I just don't think we can lose both of those games and make it to the Georgia Dome at the end of the year. That will be somewhat disappointing, but 10-2 with a sixth straight win over Clemson is enough to keep this Gamecock fan very happy.
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