A way-too-early look at South Carolina’s chances in the SEC East in 2022
South Carolina’s stock is trending up.
A 38-21 win over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl last month helped. Landing Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, among a bevy of transfers, adds to the cause.
The State polled 11 sportswriters from around the Southeastern Conference for a way-too-early look at the SEC East and where the Gamecocks might stack up. (Keep in mind South Carolina was predicted to finished sixth in the East for 2021; they finished fifth.)
Here are the results, complete with analysis from each voter on Beamer’s 2022 squad:
Early SEC East projected order of finish
- Georgia (14-1, 8-0 SEC), 60 points
- Kentucky (10-3, 5-3 ), 47 points
- Tennessee (7-6, 4-4), 39 points
- South Carolina (7-6, 3-5), 30 points
- Florida (6-7, 2-6), 23 points
- Missouri (6-7, 3-5), 11 points
- Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8), 0 points
(Teams were awarded six points for a first-place vote, five points for second place, four points for third place, three points for fourth place, two points for fifth place, one point for sixth place and zero points for seventh place)
*2021 record in parentheses
South Carolina’s 2022 season outlook
Nathan King — Auburn beat reporter, Auburn Undercover/247Sports
“Either Shane Beamer or Josh Heupel should have been SEC coach of the year in 2021, in my opinion. (Congrats to Kirby Smart on winning a weak division with the most talented roster in the country, I guess.) And heading into next year, the Gamecocks and Vols will be tight for that No. 3 spot in the East, I think. Spencer Rattler allows South Carolina to elevate to the next tier of the conference.”
Nick Suss — Ole Miss beat reporter, Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger
“This year in the SEC West, we saw Ole Miss and Arkansas thrive in Year 2 of their rebuilds by doing something different than the rest of the league while a vacuum was created in the middle of the division with some traditional powers struggling. There’s no reason the same thing can’t happen in the SEC East next year with Tennessee and South Carolina. The Gamecocks in particular have that Arkansas-type feel of building a more workmanlike roster that grinds games out and keeps competitive against every foe.”
Aria Gerson — Vanderbilt beat reporter, The (Nashville) Tennessean
“Shane Beamer did a nice job with South Carolina in 2021. I think it will be a bowl team again in 2022, but I’m not sold on them as a real division contender. Their recruiting class wasn’t up to par with most of the other teams in the division and I’m skeptical of Spencer Rattler’s ability to be an elite SEC quarterback given how bad he looked under Lincoln Riley.”
Chris Kwiecinski — sports editor, Columbia (Missouri) Tribune
“The Gamecocks shifted the lower portion of the SEC East standings when Spencer Rattler committed, instantly giving South Carolina an experienced and talented starting quarterback. That’s talent Mizzou might have in Sam Horn, but the Tigers won’t know until he gets his feet wet; that could vault the Gamecocks over a Missouri team that’s moving on from Barry Odom’s recruits to Eli Drinkwitz’s talented, but young, guys.”
Connor Riley — Georgia beat reporter, Dawg Nation/Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Shane Beamer has South Carolina going in the right direction. The schedule is tricky and the margin between Nos. 2 and 5 (in the SEC East) is very small, but if Spencer Rattler is a clear upgrade over the quarterback boondoggle the Gamecocks had in 2021, it’s not hard to envision another step forward for South Carolina.”
Josh Moore — Kentucky beat reporter, Lexington Herald-Leader
“The addition of Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler by itself will be enough to keep South Carolina in the conversation as a dark-horse contender in the SEC East, whether it’s legitimately warranted or not. The Gamecocks’ offense ranked among the worst in the country (22.6 ppg, 106th) but their defense in Year 1 of the Shane Beamer era proved stingy enough to get them to a bowl win.”
Mike Wilson — Tennessee beat reporter, Knoxville News Sentinel
“The combination of Shane Beamer overachieving in his first season, Florida being in turmoil and more talent heading to Columbia makes the Gamecocks interesting in 2022. I think it’s all about which Spencer Rattler the Gamecocks get. He obviously boosts the QB talent, but he needs to play more like the Heisman candidate he was expected to be than the guy who got benched at Oklahoma for USC to be better next season.”
Ben Breiner — Contributor, The Big Spur/247 Sports (and formerly of The State)
“This is going to be an interesting, hype offseason for the Gamecocks. The pieces they’ve acquired are going to get folks gassed up on the team’s ceiling, but the key factor will be raising the floor, which seems very possible.”
Connor O’Gara — Senior national columnist, Saturday Down South
“The biggest thing working in South Carolina’s favor is having a coach who didn’t really go through a transition year in his first season on the job. Shane Beamer has all sorts of momentum. Whether that’s on the field, on the recruiting trail or in the transfer portal, it’s hard not to be bullish on his future, especially if Spencer Rattler becomes an all-conference player at season’s end.”
Stefan Krajisnik — Mississippi State beat reporter, Northeast Mississippi (Tupelo) Daily Journal
“Playing Tennessee at home is huge for South Carolina as both programs seem to be the ‘next best’ after Georgia and Kentucky. It’s hard to not get overly excited about this USC team, but it’s important to be wary of Spencer Rattler. He went from Heisman favorite to the bench for a reason last season. He can’t fix everything for the Gamecocks.”
South Carolina 2022 football schedule
TV channels, times to be determined later.
- Sept. 3: home vs. Georgia State
- Sept. 10: at Arkansas
- Sept. 17: home vs. Georgia
- Sept. 24: home vs. Charlotte
- Oct. 1: home vs. S.C. State
- Oct. 8: at Kentucky
- Oct. 15: OPEN
- Oct. 22: home vs. Texas A&M
- Oct. 29: home vs. Missouri
- Nov. 5: at Vanderbilt
- Nov. 12: at Florida
- Nov. 19: home vs. Tennessee
- Nov. 26: at Clemson
This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 8:10 AM.
