After a surprising 2017 campaign where South Carolina football went 9-4, highlighted by wins over traditional powers including Tennessee, Florida and Michigan, many fans are expecting a similar season in 2018.
With a bowl win to cap off the 2017 season, Bryan McClendon's accession to the offensive coordinator position and an improved defense, fans can point to plenty of different areas to be excited about Gamecock football this year.
But what about the rest of SEC East?
Georgia, who won the SEC and almost won the National Championship in 2017, presents obvious challenges, especially on the offensive side of the ball with quarterback Jake Fromm. However, the Bulldogs will need to replace six defensive starters as well as star running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Georgia will return to Williams-Brice Stadium this year, in what is sure to be an electric environment.
Tennessee, who went 4-8, including an abysmal 0-8 record in SEC play last year, hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt during the offseason. Pruitt is a head football coach for the first time after helping lead the Crimson Tide to another national championship last season.
Tennessee also has not won an SEC game since Nov. 19, 2016 and have lost their most recent games against the 13 other SEC teams. There is also a lack of SEC-caliber talent on their roster with questions all over the field, especially on offense. The quarterback position was an issue in 2017, and that problem is expected to continue in 2018.
The Florida Gators are facing a similar situation. After finishing the 2017 season at 4-7 and 3-5 in the SEC, Florida hired Dan Mullen, who was the the Mississippi State head coach from 2009-2017, and the Florida offensive coordinator from 2005-2008.
The Gators are also facing issues both on and off the field. In 2017, Florida finished the season at 13th in total offense, which marked the second worst offense in the league. Additionally, six players were involved in an altercation on the University of Florida campus this offseason.
Florida is likely to improve in 2018, given that Mullen had head coaching success at Mississippi State and that the Gators won the SEC East just two seasons ago. However, the questions with the offensive side of the ball and players' behavior off the field are too big to ignore.
SEC East rival Missouri is on the schedule once again, like they are every year. Unlike Tennessee and Florida, they have a SEC-caliber quarterback in Drew Lock and in 2017, the Tigers were statistically the second best offense in the conference — only behind SEC champion Georgia.
However, Missouri failed to beat a team with a winning record in 2017, and hired Derek Dooley in the offseason as offensive coordinator. Dooley is no stranger to the SEC, as he was the Tennessee head football coach from 2010-2012. Given his 15-21 overall record as the Vols head coach, there are questions surrounding his offensive coaching capabilities and whether he can help Lock develop in the other Columbia.
There is also Vanderbilt, who have given the Gamecocks some close matchups over the years. However, they are not expected to be any different this year, and don’t have enough talent top to bottom to compete in the SEC.
So that brings us to one last team — the Kentucky Wildcats.
Kentucky has beaten South Carolina for four straight years in a row, which is a series record. The Gamecocks were (mostly) able to recover from last season’s loss, but regardless of the season results, the Wildcats have gotten the best of the Gamecocks since 2014. That being said, this is the best chance the Gamecocks have had to knock off the Wildcats since their last win in 2013.
Kentucky returns running back Benny Snell, but quarterback Stephen Johnson is gone, and none of the current quarterbacks on their roster have any game experience. It goes without saying, but the quarterback can make or break a season. The Wildcats certainty have been a thorn in the Gamecocks’ side for the last four years, but given their situation at offense and the talent South Carolina now has, it is an ideal year for the Gamecocks to break through.
With the unpredictability that comes with college football, there is no telling how these teams will actually perform. After all, who could have guessed that Tennessee and Florida would both fire their head coaches last year, or that Kentucky would have beaten South Carolina at home once again?
But when looking at the SEC East as a whole, Gamecock fans can point to a lot of different factors to argue that the team can make some serious noise in the division, and challenge defending conference champion Georgia for a spot in the SEC Championship Game.