ESPN not bullish on Gamecocks’ bowl chances in Beamer’s first season
South Carolina’s chances to make a bowl game in the 2021 season aren’t looking very strong, according to ESPN’s FPI rating.
The Gamecocks have a 22.3% chance to reach six wins in Shane Beamer’s first season as head coach, according to ESPN. In the SEC, only Vanderbilt’s projection (15.2%) for a six-win season is lower.
South Carolina’s win total is projected to fall between four and five games — officially 4.5 wins, according to the FPI, “a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season.”
The team’s strength of schedule ranks 16th nationally and seven in the SEC, according to the ESPN index.
South Carolina’s best chances to score victories will come earlier in the season, when the Gamecocks have three nonconference opponents (Eastern Illinois, East Carolina and Troy) and face SEC foes Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The latter part of the schedule gets tougher with Texas A&M, Florida and Clemson among the final five games.
The Gamecocks are coming off back-to-back eight-loss seasons that got Will Muschamp fired as the team’s head coach.
South Carolina was invited to the Gasparilla Bowl after the 2-8 2020 pandemic season but opted out of the game because of COVID-19 issues within the team. The last bowl trip was a December 2018 Belk Bowl loss to Virginia. USC’s last bowl win came after the 2017 season in an Outback Bowl victory over Michigan.
USC is 9-14 all-time in bowl games.
Beamer has coached in 17 bowl games in his career, including a College Football Playoff national championship game.
Longtime SEC football writer Tony Barnhart turned in a prediction of sixth in SEC East for the Gamecocks that’s in line with the ESPN projection.
“Looks like Luke Doty is going to be the guy at quarterback,” Barnhart wrote. “Will he have enough talent around him to give the Gamecocks a chance to compete?”
ESPN FPI: Projected SEC win totals
- Alabama 11.1
- Texas A&M 9.6
- Georgia 9.5
- Florida 8.2
- Mississippi State 8.2
- Auburn 6.9
- LSU 7.2
- Missouri 7.1
- Kentucky 7.1
- Ole Miss 6.9
- Tennessee 6.6
- Arkansas 6.1
- South Carolina 4.5
- Vanderbilt 4.2
SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE
- Sept. 4 - vs. Eastern Illinois
- Sept. 11 - at East Carolina
- Sept. 18 - at Georgia
- Sept. 25 - vs. Kentucky
- Oct. 2 - vs. Troy
- Oct. 9 - at Tennessee
- Oct. 16 - vs. Vanderbilt
- Oct. 23 - at Texas A&M
- Oct. 30 - BYE
- Nov. 6 - vs. Florida
- Nov. 13 - at Missouri
- Nov. 20 - vs. Auburn
- Nov. 27 - vs. Clemson
