South Carolina finished the 2017 football season at second in the SEC East behind Georgia. If this year’s media projections come true, the Gamecocks will do the same in 2018.
After this week’s SEC Media Days, members of the media projected the final SEC standings for the upcoming football season.
The Gamecocks, who finished second in the SEC East last season, are projected to repeat as division runner-up behind the Georgia Bulldogs.
In the results released by the conference, the Gamecocks received 1,535 total points, with eight votes for first place in the division. Furthermore, the Gamecocks received four votes to win the SEC Championship in December.
The Gamecocks trail the Georgia Bulldogs, who were SEC champions and national runner-up last year. The Bulldogs received 1,977 points in the standings, with 271 votes for division champions. They received 69 votes for conference champions.
On the other side of the standings, Alabama is projected to win the SEC West with 1,971 points and 263 votes for division champions. With 193 points, Alabama is projected to win the SEC Championship this year.
The media has correctly projected the SEC champion only six times since 1992.
In addition, three South Carolina players, including wide receiver Deebo Samuel, received preseason accolades. Samuel was voted to the preseason all-SEC first team at wide receiver, return specialist and all-purpose player. He is the only Gamecock player voted to first team.
Punter Joseph Charlton from Columbia was voted to second team All-SEC and offensive lineman Zack Bailey from Summerville, S.C. was voted to third team All-SEC.
Despite multiple defensive players returning, including linebacker T.J. Brunson and defensive end D.J. Wonnum, there were no defensive players from the Gamecocks who were selected to a preseason All-SEC team.