College football: Biggest Achilles’ heel for every Top 25 team

College football 2018: Biggest Achilles’ heel for every Top 25 team

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) celebrates and holds up the CFP Trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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23. South Carolina

Achilles’ heel: Playing in the SEC

There’s a lot to like about the South Carolina Gamecocks heading into the 2018 season. They were one of the more underrated teams in the SEC a season ago, though they were never mistaken for an elite group. Still, they put some very good teams to the test and Will Muschamp proved that he has this program going in the right direction for now.

If he can stay healthy, wide receiver Deebo Samuel has a claim to being the best player at his position in the country right now. Even better is the fact that quarterback Jake Bentley really made strides last season and could be quite a solid player at the position, helping to utilize and capitalize on the playmakers like Samuel that surround him on offense.

Though the defense for the Gamecocks did suffer some losses, they still have a solid group on that side of the ball. Moreover, Muschamp, if nothing else, has proven throughout his coaching career that he can get the most out of a defense, in addition to proving to be able to develop players exceptionally well on that side of the ball.

Overall, that leaves South Carolina with a solid team overall. But their biggest issue is that, in the SEC, solid isn’t quite good enough to win consistently.

South Carolina doesn’t play the toughest SEC schedule in the world, but they still have to face the likes of Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M and even Missouri. While they can win those games, they aren’t at a place yet where they seem good enough to win them all and be in the national conversation. Such is life in that conference.