David Pollack pushes back on South Carolina winning nine games in 2025

After South Carolina posted a 9-4 record last season, the Gamecocks are hungry to build on their momentum. Alas, David Pollack doesn’t foresee South Carolina winning more games this year than they did last season.

“If you think nine wins, I’m not with you on this one,” Pollack said on See Ball Get Ball. “I’m thinking lower for South Carolina, just because of all that experience [lost]. Your top three wide receivers, your tight end, all the guys we just mentioned on defense, your offensive coordinator — like, dude, this is a lot of things to replace.”

The Gamecocks will have lots of fresh faces on its roster this season. However, Pollack’s claim that the team is losing its top-three receivers isn’t true.

Wide receiver Nyck Harbor ultimately finished second on the team in receiving yards last season after a strong finish to the 2024 campaign. He is returning for the Gamecocks and expected to be a star in the SEC this fall.

Alas, South Carolina undeniably will have holes to fill this year. The team lost star running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders and, perhaps more importantly, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.

Loggains left South Carolina after last season to become Appalachian State‘s next head coach. In turn, the Gamecocks promoted Mike Shula to OC. Shula was the team’s senior offensive assistant last season.

Thus, he should already have a thorough understanding of the team’s offensive system. Nonetheless, Shula and the Gamecocks will be put to the test in the back half of their season.

“I really like the schedule early for South Carolina because they got time early in the season playing Virginia Tech, South Carolina State, Vandy, Missouri, Kentucky. Like the lightest part of their schedule, 100% is the first part,” Pollack said.

“Then, it gets to LSU, OU, ‘Bama, Ole Miss, A&M, Clemson — it gets real down the stretch. So the fact that you got some time to figure some things out, that’s not a bad thing. I think the schedule sets up well for them to be more successful because of that.”

According to ESPN, South Carolina has the 13th-most difficult strength of schedule in the country this year. But, to be fair, the Gamecocks didn’t have a cakewalk last season, either.

In 2024, South Carolina downed Top 25 foes such as Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson. Moreover, the Gamecocks nearly toppled LSU and Alabama.

It won’t be long before South Carolina will have a chance to silence Pollack’s doubts. On Aug. 31, South Carolina will kick off its season with a showdown against Virginia Tech at 3 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.