The seventh in a series of wild blind dart-throwing predictions takes us to the suddenly hot Gamecocks in the Palmetto State.
GAME 8, OCT 25: vs SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
Coach: Shane Beamer (29-22 overall, 15-17 SEC, 1-2 in bowls through four seasons)
2024 SC record: 9-4 (5-3 SEC, 6th place)
CB 2024 prediction: 4-8; Man, did I get that one wrong.
Looking back: SC started out the season with sluggish wins over ODU and Kentucky. Next, LSU came to town with the referees in their pocket. An injury to Sellers and some controversial calls by the zebras gave the Tigers the win. After a cupcake W, the Gamecocks dropped an ugly game to Ole Miss and a tight one at Alabama. Despite the loss to the Tide, a light seemed to go on for the Gamecocks. They would follow up with 6 straight wins (Okie, TAMU, Vandy, Mizz, cupcake, Clemson) to close out the regular season. However, Beamer let Bert Bielema get in his head at the Citrus Bowl and Illinois took the win.
Returning Starters: 5 offense, 4 on defense, no specialists
Key losses: S Nick Emmanwori (Round 2, Seahawks), LB Demetrius Knight (Round 2, Bengals), DT T.J. Sanders (Round 2, Bills), Nagurski Trophy winner EDGE Kyle Kennard (Round 4, Chargers), DT Tonka Hemingway (Round 4, Raiders), leading rusher Raheim Sanders (grad), leading receiver TE Joshua Simon (grad), CB O’Donnell Fortune (grad), DT DeAndre Jules (grad), C Torricelli Simpkins (grad), LB Bam Martin-Scott (grad), LB Debo Williams (grad), P Kai Kroeger (grad), PR/KR Juju McDowell (grad), K Alex Herrera
Top returnees: QB LaNorris Sellers, DL Dylan Stewart, nickel Jalon Kilgore (5 INT), WR Nyck Harbor (376 yds, 3 TD), WR Mazeo Bennett (337-3), RB Oscar Adaway (295 yds, 3 TD), LT Josiah Thompson, safety DQ Smith
Top Newcomers: CB Brandon Cisse (from NC State), WLB Shawn Murphy (Bama>FSU), RB Rahsul Faison (1109 yds, 8 TD with Utah State), C Boaz Stanley (Troy), G Nick Sharpe (Wake Forest), WR Donovan Murph (high 4-star FR)
Strengths: Sellers… Home field advantage… Secondary returns three starters (though they lost their best one to the NFL)… Former 5-star WR Nyck Harbor is due for a breakout season… DE Dylan Stewart flashed big-time ability as a freshman in 2024 and with 6.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and 23 tackles…
Weaknesses: Lost both starting linebackers and three of the four starters on the defensive front… A whole lot of unproven players at running back, wide receiver, and tight end… Of the three starting interior OL, all are new with two likely to be transfers from weak programs (see ‘Top Newcomers’ above)… Although Beamer is a special teams guru, he has a mighty task of trying to find new kicker, punter, and both punt & kickoff returners…
Outlook: The Gamecocks lost five defenders to the NFL in the first four rounds of this past spring’s NFL Draft. Also gone are the ‘Cocks’ leading rusher and the leading receiver from 2024. LaNorris Sellers is among the returnees and he has been getting a ton of hype with some wonks going as far as saying he’ll be the first QB off the board in next year’s NFL Draft. The redshirt sophomore made a lot of highlight reels with 2,534 passing yds, 18 TD, 7 INT; 674 rush yds, 7 TD. However, one stat that the four-letter network hasn’t trumpeted is his hesitancy to drop the rock. According to teamrankings.com, Sellers led the nation with in fumbles with 11, and tied for the most lost fumbles at 6. He is still an elite talent, but might he suffer the ol’ sophomore slump without RB Rocket Sanders and safety valve tight end Joshua Simon to take some pressure off?
As mentioned, the defense has some holes to fill, especially the front six ( they run both 4-2-5, 3-3-5). SC does not seems like the kind of team who can easily next-man-up. There will be growing pains on that side of the defense and the Gamecocks may find themselves leaning mighty hard on their QB to outscore everyone.
South Carolina Win Total Per FanDuel
Over 7.5 +142 (bet $100 to profit $142)
Under 7.5 -176 (bet $176 to profit $100)
2025 SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
South Carolina has potential to start the season 5-0. Following that, they have four straight weeks of @ LSU, vs Oklahoma, vs Alabama, @ Ole Miss that could define their season.
Sun, Aug 31 vs Virginia Tech (ATL) – W – An interesting one with Shane Beamer versus his daddy’s school that he grew up loving.
Sat, Sep 6 vs South Carolina State – W
Sat, Sep 13 vs Vanderbilt – W
Sat, Sep 20 @ Missouri – L – Could be a tight one but home field advantage for MU.
Sat, Sep 27 vs Kentucky – W
Sat, Oct 4 bye
Sat, Oct 11 @ LSU – L – Def Valley
Sat, Oct 18 vs Oklahoma – W – Potential toss up.
Sat, Oct 25 vs Alabama – L – TBH, I was prepared to say this would be one of the Tide’s few losses. But after looking at all the deficiencies SC has to overcome, Bama gets the edge.
Sat, Nov 1 @ Ole Miss – L – Road game
Sat, Nov 8 bye
Sat, Nov 15 @ Texas A&M – W – This feels like one of those kids of games the Aggies blow. Plus, I wanted to get to 7 wins. (insert wink emoticon)
Sat, Nov 22 vs Coastal Carolina – W
Sat, Nov 29 vs Clemson – L – The away team has won this game the last four seasons. Why change now?
7-5 feels like the number. But who knows? They could surprise. Again.
2025 ALABAMA SCHEDULE PREVIEWS:
Sat, Aug 30 @ Florida State
Sat, Sep 6 vs UL Monroe
at, Sep 13 vs Wisconsin
Sat, Sep 27 @ Georgia
Sat, Oct 4 vs Vanderbilt
Sat, Oct 11 @ Missouri
Sat, Oct 18 vs Tennessee
Sat, Oct 25 @ South Carolina
Sat, Nov 8 vs LSU
Sat, Nov 15 vs Oklahoma
Sat, Nov 22 vs Eastern Illinois
Sat, Nov 29 @ Auburn
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
