12 to 1: No. 7 South Carolina

By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: July 31, 2009

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Our good friends at the New York Times (OK, we’re not friends. At best, we’re colleagues, but even that’s a stretch) have been plowing away all summer in their attempt to rank all 120 FBS programs heading into the 2009 season. You can read it all here.

We’re not that good, nor do we claim to be. So we’re going to stick to the SEC and not be nearly as thorough.

With that ringing endorsement out of the way, let’s get to cracking with the Ole Ball Coach’s squad, South Carolina. This series will run daily for the next seven days. Expect updates sometime around the lunch hour.

Also, while you’re here, check out our OTHER 12-to-1 feature, which is running in the fishwrap. We’re answering 12 questions about Auburn football heading into the season.

THE COACH
Steve Spurrier (170-62-2 overall, 28-22 USC)—19th year as a college head coach, fifth at USC

LAST YEAR’S FINISH
7-6 overall, 4-4 SEC—lost big to Iowa in the Outback Bowl, 31-10

SEC’S 2009 PROJECTION
Third in the East

THE SCHEDULE
Sept. 3 - N.C. State
Sept. 12 - Georgia
Sept. 19 - FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Sept. 24 - OLE MISS
Oct. 3 - SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Oct. 10 - KENTUCKY
Oct. 17 - Alabama
Oct. 24 - VANDERBILT
Oct. 31 - Tennessee
Nov. 7 - Arkansas
Nov. 14 - FLORIDA
Nov. 28 - CLEMSON
(Home games in CAPS)

RETURNING STARTERS
11 (five offense, six defense)

WHAT THE QUAD SAYS
“Though not confident that this season will be that breakout year everyone has predicted out of South Carolina since Spurrier arrived in 2005 – double-digit wins, an SEC East title – I do believe it will have no trouble matching last season’s win total. The only major impediment is the schedule, which, as stated, ranks among the most difficult in the F.B.S. ... The defense is more than up to the task, but the offense, again will be this team’s weakness. Not that I think South Carolina will fall off the map – I predict it to finish with seven wins and third in the SEC East – but it may be another year before this offense comes together. The unit is young enough to expect some growing pains.“

WHAT THEY SAY
“We’ve averaged seven wins a year, 28 in four years. Certainly we hope to get up to the 9, 10 wins a year level. We’re not there yet. We actually only have seven seniors on the team this year. We’ve got two fifth year players coming back. I don’t know that they will be starters. But that’s just sort of where we are.

I’ve not done as good a job as I hoped to have done. I would have hoped we had a whole lot of fourth and fifth year guys ready to play. Hasn’t worked out that way.“—Spurrier

“It’s a different experience everyday. He’s not one thing. I will tell you he is one of the most competitive guys you’ll eve meet. He has a way to bring out the best in me. He knows how to push our buttons in a way that test our strengths and challenges us to better our weaknesses. Definitely because of Coach I’ve become a mentally strong person.“—wide receiver Moe Brown on Spurrier

“Expectations haven’t dimmed down and neither has the talent. The talent is up there with every other team in the SEC. We are really looking forward to winning, and winning big.“—linebacker Eric Norwood

WHAT WE SAY
Is it just us, or has South Carolina been the same exact team year after year since Spurrier took over? This is arguably the least interesting team in the most interesting conference, but, nonetheless, the Gamecocks will still be solid. USC is low on returning starters and low on seniors, so fans shouldn’t expect anything more than eight wins. Talent and Spurrier’s shrewd coaching will get the Gamecocks to that annual plateau.

WHO’S ON THE MEDIA GUIDE?
It might be easier to point out who isn’t on the media guide. On the front you’ve got Spurrier holding up his fist, Norwood, defensive end Cliff Matthews and fullback Patrick DiMarco. On the back, and in similar fashion, you’ve got Brown, full safety Chris Culliver, strong safety Darian Stewart and offensive lineman Garrett Anderson.

STUMBLING BLOCKS
The Gamecocks need to establish a better relationship with the Sun Belts and Mid-American Conferences of the world. This is a tough schedule from top to bottom, so pick your poison when it comes to stumbling blocks. The fact that the Gamecocks don’t have a home game until Sept. 19 is just bizarre for an SEC team. They are just one of five teams opening on the road and the only team to do this. If the Gamecocks get past N.C. State and Georgia, they should consider that a major achievement. The end of the schedule is particularly nasty. The Gamecocks could find themselves ‘dogs in their final four games (@ Tenn., @ Ark., Florida, Clemson). They’ll likely have to win two there if they want to reach eight wins.

KEY GAME
There are a bunch on this loaded schedule, but the Halloween matchup with Tennessee sticks out most to us. This will be the first of the four aforementioned daunting final games to the season. Win here, and you’ve got a boatload of momentum heading into another evenly matched game with Arkansas. Lose, and you could be well on your way to ending the season with four (possibly five if you count whatever bowl USC makes) losses.

UPSET ALERT
South Carolina gets Vanderbilt for its only home game during a four-game stretch in late October and early November. Would it be out of the realm of possibility that the Gamecocks overlook their SEC East comrade? Not one bit, especially because USC tends to win the games it’s not supposed to and lose the games it’s not supposed to.

THE NUMBER
9—years since a Spurrier-coached team won the SEC East, something he did eight times with the Gators in the 90s.

FUN FACT FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Board of Trustees banned participation in football for the 1906 season after the faculty complained about the coarseness of chants yelled by the students at football games. However, the board was so harassed by petitions from the students and alumni that it voted to allow the resumption of the sport in 1907.

FUN NON-FOOTBALL FACT FROM WIKIPEDIA
This is one of your tougher SEC schools to get in to. USC admitted just over 58 percent of those who applied in 2008 and the average incoming freshman had a 3.9 high-school GPA.

THE OFFENSE
Almost everyone in the SEC has quarterback concerns and the Gamecocks are no different. Stephen Garcia will be Spurrier’s quarterback this season and he’ll have to be better than he was in 2008. Garcia saw action in eight games (three starts), throwing for 832 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. He replaces Chris Smelley, who shockingly left the program to play baseball at Alabama. The Gamecocks are looking to replace players at pretty much every skill position, most notably wide receiver. Kenny McKinley departs as the school’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, so Brown will certainly have to step up. Two starters are gone from the offensive line, which had its fair share of struggles in 2008. Garcia can certainly run, but the Gamecocks can ill afford allowing 39 sacks again in 2009.

THE DEFENSE
Norwood could have understandably gone pro after last season, so his presence on the defense alone makes this unit the Gamecocks’ obvious strength. Norwood is a two-time, first-team all-SEC weakside linebacker and is the conference’s current career leader in sacks and tackles for loss. Norwood is a member of a Gamecocks’ front seven that doesn’t lose much, bringing back three starters on the line and another alongside Norwood at linebacker. The secondary loses both its cornerbacks from last year, but return both its safeties. Culliver and Stewart made the cover of the media guide, so that means they’re good, right?

OUR FAVORITE SOURCE FOR USC INFORMATION
The State did one heck of a job covering the Mark Sanford debacle and it does similar due diligence on the USC beat. Joe Person and Seth Emerson tag-team the coverage at GoGamecocks.com.

AN IDEAL 2009
The Gamecocks scrap their way through this arduous schedule and finally prove that Spurrier can turn any team into a bona fide SEC power. That would entail an upset over Ole Miss and a 4-1 road record, which would likely be good enough to get USC into the Capital One Bowl.

A DISASTROUS 2009
The Gamecocks lose big at Georgia early in the season and proceed to lose the rest of their conference road games. Sprinkle in home upset loss to Vanderbilt and a season-ending loss to rival Clemson and USC is home for the holidays and Spurrier is on his way out.

OUR FINAL PREDICTION
In typical fashion, the Gamecocks are a different team every week you watch them. That means they’ll fight tooth and nail with someone like Florida and look lost against a Vanderbilt or Kentucky. This translates into another typical South Carolina season and another trip to the Outback Bowl. The Gamecocks go 7-5 (4-4 SEC).