Win vs. ECU half of crucial two-step for Gamecocks

What South Carolina did Saturday on the field at Williams-Brice Stadium is more important than it seems.

It was one half of a two-week stretch big enough to swing a season.

It probably shouldn’t be that way. It’s early. The win against East Carolina only got the Gamecocks to 2-1. The Pirates are a dangerous directional school, but still just that.

But in a season measured in modest progress, this game and next week’s against Kentucky loom large.

If the Gamecocks can put down a Wildcats team in the midst of a death spiral, they’ll race out to 3-1. Look ahead on the schedule, and there’s still UMass and Western Carolina to play, games that could only be lost by calamity, or at least a massive rash of injuries.

Pull off those three wins, and the opening of the Will Muschamp era includes at least five victories, with a home date against Missouri standing in the way of bowl eligibility.

After a 3-9 bottoming out, that’s real progress.

It’s even more so considering the ragged state of USC’s lineups. The running backs, receivers, tight ends, secondary and quarterback who started Saturday all opened the year extremely green. When Deebo Samuel’s hamstring acted up, they were down their top pass catcher, their offensive line depth, several key parts of the secondary, not to mention linebacker Skai Moore, who is out all season.

With a roster in that level of disarray, five wins would be a strong first showing.

This team likely still has lumps to take, with five teams that won eight-plus games looming on the docket. Florida, Clemson, Texas A&M, Georgia will all be a level above everything they’ve faced.

But the Gamecocks took a vital step downing ECU before facing Kentucky. They blitzed the Pirates early and did what was needed after. It wasn’t always the most artful, but ask N.C. State if that matters against the Pirates.

Muschamp said he measures progress in terms of day-to-day culture, but added there’s a lot of weight on winning.

These might be two of the most crucial weeks of South Carolina’s season, and they managed to pass the first test.

Now the second one looms.

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 1:05 AM with the headline "Win vs. ECU half of crucial two-step for Gamecocks."