Taking stock of South Carolina’s remaining schedule with six games to go in 2021
South Carolina wasn’t exactly pegged as a Southeastern Conference contender heading into 2021.
Through six games, the Gamecocks have largely been what we all expected: some good, some bad and a dash of maddening inconsistency. But for a team that won just two games a season ago and hasn’t won more than four since 2018, a 3-3 start is a step in the right direction.
With the back half of the schedule on deck, here’s a look at what South Carolina faces down the stretch — and what ESPN’s Football Power Index thinks about the Gamecocks’ chances in each game:
Oct. 16 vs. Vanderbilt
South Carolina has its share of issues, but the rebuild in Columbia isn’t close to what first-year head coach Clark Lea is undertaking in Nashville.
The Commodores are, in short, one of the worst programs in the FBS. Vanderbilt has been an SEC doormat for the bulk of its history outside of a minor miracle stretch under James Franklin, now at Penn State.
USC still has a slim chance at sneaking into a bowl game if it can steal a couple wins late. If South Carolina falls to a Vanderbilt team that already dropped a contest to East Tennessee State this year, there’s going to be a lot more problems around the Gamecocks’ practice facility than trying to piece together a combination for the six-win bowl eligibility threshold.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 92.6% chance to win
Oct. 23 at No. 21 Texas A&M
Jimbo Fisher finally did it.
While South Carolina was slogging its way through Saturday’s loss at Tennessee, Texas A&M sat hours away from upsetting then-No. 1 Alabama at Kyle Field. With the win, Fisher became the first Nick Saban assistant to defeat his former boss.
The Aggies, like the Gamecocks, have been puzzlingly inconsistent through six games. Part of that comes via the injury to starting quarterback Haynes King, but backup Zach Calzada was electric against the Crimson Tide this past week.
Texas A&M boasts one of the wilder gameday atmospheres in college football. Couple that with an opportunistic defense and an offense that has playmakers all over the field and this team may finally have found its stride after hiccups against Mississippi State and Arkansas.
South Carolina is 0-7 all time against Texas A&M. Don’t expect this trip to Texas to end with a win.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 13.7% chance to win
Nov. 6 vs. No. 20 Florida
Like Texas A&M, Florida has had some head-scratchers in 2021.
Dan Mullen’s crew has already dropped two games this season and isn’t quite poised to supplant Georgia at the top of the SEC East this year.
Quarterback Emory Jones has done an admirable job taking over for Kyle Trask, while backup Anthony Richardson looks like the long-term answer under center in Gainesville.
Issues aside, Florida is just flat out more talented. The Gators shouldn’t struggle in Columbia. This one could be ugly.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 16% chance to win
Nov. 13 at Missouri
If South Carolina is going to find a win in the season’s second half beyond Vanderbilt, this is it.
Missouri has fallen flat on its face after an inspiring first year under Eli Drinkwitz. Connor Bazelak — not too different from USC QB Luke Doty — has had ups and downs, but looks like a legitimate option at quarterback for the Tigers.
That said, Missouri’s defense has been downright abysmal. The Tigers are allowing a league-worst 499 yards and 37.5 points per game through six games this year. The 499 yards allowed per game is also the second worst mark in the country.
South Carolina has had its share of offensive woes and there’s still a month before this game is played, but the Gamecocks should like their chances to put up some points and maybe steal a win here in the other Columbia.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 44.5% chance to win
Nov. 20 vs. Auburn
Auburn has found ways to win early in Bryan Harsin’s tenure on The Plains, but it’s only one year ago that South Carolina upset what, on-paper, was a more talented Tigers team.
Quarterback Bo Nix has seemingly turned a corner after an erratic first couple seasons under Gus Malzahn. Combine that with a rushing game that includes talented tailbacks Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter, and there’s a lot to like with what Harsin is doing in Year 1.
South Carolina and Auburn have only played 13 times in their history. Prior to last year, the Gamecocks hadn’t won the matchup since 1933.
A win over an Auburn team that dropped out of The Associated Press Top 25 this week is probably South Carolina’s best bet at a sixth win in 2021 — if it can beat Vanderbilt and Missouri.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 25.4% chance to win
Nov. 27 vs. Clemson
As annoyed as South Carolina fans might be about the offense, Clemson folks might have an even bigger ax to grind.
The Tigers have quickly been thrust off their pedestal at the top of the college football world after losses to Georgia and North Carolina State, but they have still dominated this rivalry over the last decade.
Clemson hasn’t found its footing with quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, and the lack of a running game — not too different from USC — has created all sorts of problems for the Tigers offense through the first half of the season.
Dabo Swinney’s squad should still be heavy betting favorites in this one, but it may be closer than we all anticipated at the beginning of the season.
▪ ESPN FPI prediction: South Carolina has a 14.4% chance to win
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 7:50 AM.
