South Carolina’s win-loss projection for 2022 season is out. Here’s what ESPN thinks
The post-spring practice projections are rolling in for college football teams. ESPN’s Football Power Index has a prediction for the South Carolina football team’s win-loss total in the 2022 season.
The FPI projection gives South Carolina a 5.9 to 6.1 win-loss total, roughly averaging a 6-6 season. The metric gives USC a 61.5% chance to win six games, a 0.6% chance to win the SEC East and a 0.1% chance to win the SEC championship in 2022.
The Gamecocks are ranked 45th in the country in ESPN’s FPI, landing in 12th out of 14 SEC teams. Only Missouri (55) and Vanderbilt (103) are projected below South Carolina in the metric. The Gamecocks are scheduled to play five teams ranked in the Power Index top 25 — Georgia (3), Clemson (4), Texas A&M (14), Kentucky (20) and Florida (25).
ESPN’s website defines FPI as a measure of team strength meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance, representing how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI results to date and a team’s schedule, updating ratings and projections daily during the season, the website states.
Last year, South Carolina outperformed expectations in Shane Beamer’s first season. The Gamecocks were projected to win three or four games in 2021 but ended up with a 7-6 record and a Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over North Carolina.
Beamer added a number of key transfers to the upcoming season’s roster, including former Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner, Wake Forest running back Christian Beal-Smith, James Madison receiver Antwane Wells and N.C. State edge rusher Terrell Dawkins.
South Carolina’s 2022 season kicks off at Williams-Brice Stadium on Sept. 3 against Georgia State.
South Carolina 2022 football schedule
Sept. 3: vs. Georgia State
Sept. 10: at Arkansas
Sept. 17: vs. Georgia
Sept. 24: vs. Charlotte
Oct. 1: vs. South Carolina State
Oct. 8: at Kentucky
Oct. 22: vs. Texas A&M
Oct. 29: vs. Missouri
Nov. 5: at Vanderbilt
Nov. 12: at Florida
Nov. 19: vs. Tennessee
Nov. 26: at Clemson
