SEC Football: Biggest offseason question for every team

Dec 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide players celebrate winning the trophy after the SEC Championship college football game against the Florida Gators at Georgia Dome. Alabama defeated Florida 54-16. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 12, 2016; Gainesville, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Jake Bentley (4) points against the Florida Gators during the first quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

South Carolina Gamecocks, 6-7 (3-5)

How much can the offense improve?

South Carolina is coming off a surprisingly successful first season under head coach Will Muschamp. Sure, a below .500 overall record and a 3-5 mark in conference play won’t be considered a success in 2017 or beyond, but almost no one expected the Gamecocks to win six games last year.

Also, given that Muschamp is entering his second season in Columbia, the coaching staff remained largely intact, other than offensive line coach Shawn Elliott taking the head job at Georgia State. Most of the key offensive position players are also back as well, which is good news for a unit that ranked second to last in the SEC in total offense (347.5 total yards per game), and finished dead last in the league in yards per play (5.15), which ranked No. 109 in the country.

Of course, the Gamecocks offense picked up steam in the second half of last season. Quarterback Jake Bentley, who saw his first action as a true freshman last season when he should have been a high school senior, was a big reason. Bentley was outstanding in his first three starts — all wins — against UMass, Tennessee and Missouri. He was 54-for-74 (73.0 percent) for 622 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. After Bentley took over, South Carolina averaged 384.4 total yards per contest. Bentley finished with 1,420 passing yards and nine touchdowns and four interceptions.

Running back Rico Dowdle gained 764 rushing yards and six touchdowns despite not recording a statistic in the first four games of the season, and he ran for 276 combined rushing yards in the turning-point wins over the Vols and Tigers, plus 226 versus Western Carolina.

Led by Deebo Samuel, Bryan Edwards and tight end Hayden Hurst, the receiving corps is solid as well. In fact, no player that caught a pass last season graduated, so there’s a wealth of experience returning in the passing game.

In other words, with Bentley back for his first full season as a starter, the second year for Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, and experienced players all over the place, the Gamecocks should continue their momentum on the offensive side of the football.

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