Week 2 SEC predictions
(09/09/16 3:41pm)
Week 2 SEC Predictions
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Week 2 SEC Predictions
Just two weeks ago, I was published saying what most rational football fans were thinking coming into this season. I wrote about how the SEC was still the best conference and left very little room for any other argument to be made. I went as far as to end my article by concluding, “No conference is as good from top to bottom, or able to consistently compete head to head with the best the SEC has to offer. The reason? Well blatantly put, the SEC has been, and still is, the best conference in college football.”
It was a tale of two halves in South Carolina's season-opening victory over Vanderbilt, as Will Muschamp's Gamecocks trailed 10-0 at the break before charging back in the final 30 minutes for a 13-10 victory. Now, South Carolina has another SEC road test ahead.
Throughout fall camp, head coach Will Muschamp preached three things to his young football team: effort, toughness and discipline. In the first half Thursday night, South Carolina struggled with the third.
Heading into the season opener, the word "inexperienced" was tossed around frequently when discussing the South Carolina wide receivers. After Thursday night's win over Vanderbilt, "talented" may be thrown into the mix as well.
The South Carolina offense was out of sorts in the first half of the new season by failing to log 90 yards of total offense. Senior Perry Orth got the start, and the offense struggled with penalties, backing the Gamecocks up deep in their own territory.
Head coach Will Muschamp and his coaching staff said they were confident in senior kicker Elliott Fry up to 56 yards with the wind leading up to opening kickoff.
Thursday Sept. 1
Head coach Will Muschamp hasn’t hidden the fact that he’s been underwhelmed with what he’s seen at the secondary position, and based on how they played last season, he’s got a right to be. Back in spring, he gave a short sentence that summed up his concerns as well as the concerns of Gamecock fans.
In the upcoming season for South Carolina, one of the biggest question marks coming in is how the hole left by Skai Moore’s injury will be filled, and in particular, how the linebacking core will perform without their star.
After last year's 3-9 season, South Carolina's stretch of three straight 11-win seasons from 2011-2013 seems like a distant memory. Steve Spurrier has ridden off into the proverbial sunset, and the Gamecocks have certainly experienced a fall from grace. These circumstances left athletic director Ray Tanner with a huge decision to make regarding the direction of the program.
Ahead of tonight's game against Vanderbilt, The Daily Gamecock's sports staff got in touch with Vanderbilt Hustler sports editor Robbie Weinstein to discuss the Gamecocks' first opponent.
South Carolina will have a chance to match last season's conference win total when they open the season with Vanderbilt in Week 1. Meanwhile, a win for the Commodores would mean they would be halfway to their 2015 total. Wins are always at a premium in the SEC, but for these two programs, a chance to get an early win on their resume presents itself as a truly rare opportunity.
Starting tonight, South Carolina begins a new era as a program under new head coach Will Muschamp. Not only will the Gamecocks introduce a new head coach, but they’ll also introduce a new cast of characters on both sides of the ball.
The arrival of head coach Will Muschamp signaled a change in momentum for the Gamecocks.
While Gamecock football season's opening stretch of away games means you'll have to wait a few more weeks to get crazy with 80,000 of your closest friends at Williams-Brice Stadium, there's no reason you can't still take in the team's 2016 debut alongside your Carolina brethren.
Author's Note: The winnability rating is not meant to represent the actual probability of South Carolina winning each game. It's intended to measure how possible it is for the team to win. For example, a rating of 10 wouldn't mean that there's no way the team could lose; however, it would mean that the Gamecocks are heavily favored, and that there's no reason to believe they can't win.
Lower your expectations.
When you are taught offensive philosophy by all-time great coaches like David Cutcliffe and Mark Richt, you might know a thing or two about giving defenses headaches.
The inexperience of South Carolina's wide receiving corp cannot be overstated. Of the seven wide out options listed on South Carolina's depth chart prior to the Vanderbilt game, only three saw game action last year and they compiled 17 combined receptions.