South Carolina football: Five predictions for the rest of 2022
With the South Carolina football team on a bye this weekend, the GamecockCentral.com staff makes some predictions as to how the rest of the 2022 season may play out in Columbia.
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CHRIS CLARK: Mine may be considered a cheat, since I previously wrote about it in the latest edition of the Gamecock football 3-2-1 earlier in the week.
It bears repeating here, since it’s a key big picture item that I expect to happen: South Carolina looks poised to be able to return to a bowl game after the 2022 regular season.
While the sheer number of bowl games may make playing beyond November seem less important, it nonetheless is crucial for this program in year two.
This is a program that will be replacing many pieces following the 2022 season, meaning that additional bowl practices are critical to developing young players on the team. In addition, it’s important for Shane Beamer and his staff on the recruiting trail to be able to point to continued tangible progress.
I have noted before that this year’s team could be markedly better than last year’s but still have a similar – even worse – record because of the difficulty of the schedule. Through six games, USC’s seemed to get into a spot where the team is on the path to bowl eligibility.
It will not be easy, and we will almost surely know after the next three games. I expect the Gamecocks to get it done.
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WES MITCHELL: South Carolina will win two of the next three but it might not necessarily be the two you think. The Gamecocks have three “winnable” games up next but as is typical in college football, the perception of these games has shifted.
Though the Aggies are still favored according to ESPN’s FPI, a win over Texas A&M all of a sudden seems way more doable for the Gamecocks. Conversely, Missouri has struggled to beat SEC teams but has been close in all three of those contests.
Additionally, Vanderbilt appears to be an improved team and the Commodores nearly knocked off Carolina last year.
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Here’s to thinking the Gamecocks have three tight games ahead, all of which could go either way, with the results potentially defining this season.
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KENDALL SMITH: I have been saying this since the start of the season and I firmly still stand by it. South Carolina will upset A&M next week and I have no doubts. A team with some QB trouble coming into a hostile Williams-Brice Stadium is not a good combination for the Aggies, and the Gamecocks are the most confident they’ve been this year.
Not only do I think South Carolina will win, but I think this game will be similar to the level of dominance we saw over Florida last year. I also think after a strong second half vs Kentucky, Spencer Rattler will have a season-defining game next Saturday against A&M.
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COLLYN TAYLOR: I think South Carolina wins seven games. I think the Gamecocks have a really good chance to get to six wins with Missouri at home and a game against Vanderbilt coming up. That would mean the Gamecocks would have to win one of the four remaining games (Texas A&M, Tennessee, at Florida, at Clemson) to get to seven.
With the talent on the roster and guys healthy, there are chances there to do it and I could see the Gamecocks getting one of those teams the back half of the season.
MIKE UVA: At the midway point of the season, USC is averaging 33.7 PPG. While the competition will only pick up, the Gamecocks will end the year averaging 30 PPG or more for the first time since 2018 and just the second time since 2015.
