South Carolina football season preview 2020: Record predictions, depth chart analysis, breakout players

South Carolina football game-by-game predictions as they navigate a brutal 10-game SEC schedule.

A 10-game, SEC-only schedule will be tough for all 14 member institutions. Seemingly everyone is expected to drop a game or two because the SEC is such a gauntlet. However, bottom-of-the-barrel teams like South Carolina will have to scrap to even get a few wins to salvage an otherwise disappointing season. Is there any hope for a .500 campaign for the Gamecocks in 2020?

South Carolina had a tough draw initially, as the Gamecocks had to play the defending national champion LSU Tigers in Death Valley. That’s a loss for pretty much everyone. While not having Clemson on the schedule is a plus, South Carolina’s two additional SEC West games besides with the cross-divisional foe Texas A&M Aggies are vs. the Auburn Tigers and at the Ole Miss Rebels.

Game 1: vs. Tennessee Volunteers (Sept. 26)

South Carolina’s home opener will be a tone-setter for their entire season. The Gamecocks will welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to Williams-Brice with the hopes of an upset victory. Despite being home dogs, South Carolina will give the Vols a run for their money. However, poor fourth-quarter execution will result in a tough Week 1 home loss for South Carolina. Volunteers, 30-20.

Game 2: at Florida Gators (Oct. 3)

There is a great chance the Gamecocks will let their home opener loss to Tennessee linger. Good bad they don’t have an easy opponent for them in Week 2. They’ll have to travel down to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators, and it will not be pretty for the Gamecocks. The score will indicate the game was closer than it actually was, but this loss was a brutal one. Gators, 34-16.

Game 3: at Vanderbilt Commodores (Oct. 10)

Needing a win in the worst way possible, South Carolina will catch somewhat of a break when the Gamecocks take on the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores in Week 3. While the game will be in Nashville, South Carolina will be too motivated and have too much talent for the ‘Dores to overcome. South Carolina earns its first W before mid-October. Gamecocks, 33-14.

Game 4: vs. Auburn Tigers (Oct. 17)

Fresh off of feeling good about themselves, the Gamecocks will be in for another rude awakening when Auburn comes to town. The Tigers will be in the mix for an SEC West division title, and they can’t afford a potential road slip up in Columbia. In a battle between Bo Nix and Ryan Hilinski, Nix will benefit from his defense more than will Hilinski and thus, a narrow victory. Tigers, 27-23.

Game 5: at LSU Tigers (Oct. 24)

South Carolina will have lost this game before they even pack their bags to head to the Louisiana state capital. As with Auburn, LSU will be very much alive for SEC West supremacy, while South Carolina is quickly losing grips on its season. Though Muschamp won’t get fired heading into the bye, during a normal season he probably would be after an awful 1-4 start. Tigers, 41-20.

Bye

Game 6: vs. Texas A&M Aggies (Nov. 7)

The Gamecocks will regroup in the second half of their season because they have no other choice. Again, they will be home dogs vs. visiting Texas A&M. Given that these two emerging rivals play annually, South Carolina will give the Aggies their best fight. It will be a great game, as a shock to everyone, but Kellen Mond and Gig Em Nation will prevail in the last minute. Aggies, 28-24.

Game 7: at Ole Miss Rebels (Nov. 14)

With a four-game winning streak needed to keep hope alive for a .500 campaign, South Carolina will play its best game of the season when the team needs it most. Hilinski will outduel John Rhys Plumlee on his own turf, as Lane Kiffin’s first-year struggles in Oxford continue. We will begin to see that South Carolina may have some fight left in it after all. Gamecocks, 27-18.

Game 8: vs. Missouri Tigers (Nov. 21)

This is a game South Carolina will do everything in its power to win. It’s a rivalry game with the Battle of Columbia on the line. Muschamp will look across the sideline and wonder how Eliah Drinkwitz beat his team a year ago while at App State. With a fiery halftime speech, South Carolina will prevail to keep hope alive for a .500 season with a thrilling victory. Gamecocks, 34-31.

Game 9: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (Nov. 28)

Just when South Carolina thinks it can do the impossible and go .500, a very angry Kirby Smart-led Georgia Bulldogs team will enter Williams-Brice with revenge on its mind. Georgia’s home loss to South Carolina a year ago kept the Dawgs out of the College Football Playoff. This will be South Carolina’s ugliest defeat of the 2020 season and all hope will be lost. Bulldogs, 48-14.

Game 10: at Kentucky Wildcats (Dec. 5)

Mentally checked out before opening kickoff, South Carolina will let the Kentucky Wildcats have their way with them at Kroger Field. Though there will be self-inflicted mistakes by Kentucky to keep South Carolina in this one, everybody knows Muschamp will be fired after the game and there’s nothing Hilinski or anybody can do about it. Wildcats, 34-17.

South Carolina Gamecocks’ 2020 record prediction: 3-7

South Carolina didn’t do what was needed to give Muschamp a sixth year in Columbia. Back-to-back losing seasons, even if it is a 10-game, SEC-only slate, will not be tolerated. Athletic director Ray Tanner will have no choice but to can his head football coach. As weird as it sounds, South Carolina emerges as one of the best available jobs heading into the 2021 cycle due to scarcity.

However, a 3-7 mark is about what we’d expect out of the Gamecocks this year. They should be Vanderbilt and probably beat Missouri. From there, maybe they have a shot at an upset or two. If they were to have gained early momentum, .500 might have been a possibility for the team. The Tennessee and Texas A&M losses will be what comes back to haunt the Gamecocks in the end.