South Carolina Football: Predicting the Remainder of the Season After Week 4

After a tight and disappointing loss against a high-quality opponent, South Carolina fans are already jumping off of the bandwagon.

To quote the highly irritating Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend."

The loss to Auburn stings in many ways. Any pipe dream of a national championship (note I said pipe dream...everyone has 'em) is gone, and the climb to Atlanta just got a whole lot steeper. 

South Carolina did NOT implode against Auburn. A couple of costly fumbles by Stephen Garcia turned into points for an opportunistic Auburn offense. Cam Newton played lights-out, and the defense stuffed Marcus Lattimore all night long.

That isn't to say the Gamecocks didn't prove anything that night. If anything, they proved they could contend.

It was a hard-fought matchup, and anyone who watched the game saw two very evenly matched teams going at it. In fact, South Carolina was leading 20-14 at the half, and at one point looked as though it could run away with it. 

However, Garcia fumbled away that chance, and Connor Shaw threw two picks to seal the game for Auburn. I do have to question why Garcia was not on the field for the final two possessions. He was throwing the ball very well. Take away the fumbles and he had a monster game. 

After watching the team play four games, one can realistically believe that South Carolina has a very solid chance to have a great season. Here is how I see the remainder of the season playing out after the bye week.

Alabama, Loss (3-2)

South Carolina doesn't have the punch yet to beat a hungry 'Bama team. If the Gamecocks bring their absolute best, they can make it close, but Alabama's depth and coaching will lead it to a victory.

At 3-2, Carolina fans will begin to believe that it is same old, same old in Columbia. The next string of games will prove otherwise.

Kentucky, Win (4-2)

An angry South Carolina team begins the beatdowns with a one-sided matchup against Kentucky.  Marcus Lattimore will go back to his big yardage ways after tough games against Auburn and Alabama. 

Kentucky has done a nice job so far this year, but looked over-matched against a Florida team that until that point looked weaker than the normal Florida squads.

Vanderbilt, Win (5-2)

Vandy is Vandy again. The Commodores usually play South Carolina tough, but this is a new year.  Next. 

Tennessee, Win (6-2)

Tennessee has a couple of things going against it in this matchup. 

1. South Carolina is still bitter about last year's debacle. 

2. South Carolina is at home. 

3. South Carolina is much, much better than Tennessee this year.

Arkansas, Loss (6-3)

Consider me sold on the Arkansas hype machine. After giving the game to Alabama, the Razorbacks did prove they are the second best team in the SEC. Easily. 

Mallet is a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback and will be a star at the next level.  Lattimore will keep this game close, but look for an Arkansas victory.

Florida, Win (7-3)

Florida is a very winnable game for South Carolina this year, as long as it plays to its abilities. Usually, South Carolina is struggling at this point in the season. However, I see this season playing out differently.

This is no disrespect to Florida; I think the Gators are comfortably in the driver's seat in the East.  This may be the only loss they get this season, save for the SEC Championship Game.  However, a desperate South Carolina team will really want this tiebreaker in case Florida loses two or three games. 

South Carolina wins in a close, hard-fought game. 

Troy, Win (8-3)

An end of the year tune-up game.  South Carolina may keep it closer than fans would want, but this will be a win nonetheless.

Clemson, Win (9-3)

Last year, South Carolina dismantled this Clemson team, 34-17, with Clemson's best offensive weapons since Woodrow Dantzler. Now, those weapons are in the NFL. 

Keep basically the same South Carolina team with some improvements, and put it against a similar Clemson team minus its huge playmakers, and it is an end of the year rout in the making.

However, Clemson always seems to have the upper hand in the mental category. 

Conclusion

So I have South Carolina finishing with a 9-3 record. 

The bowl game this year will be huge.  A win against a bowl team would put South Carolina at 10-3 for the season, which is a huge step in the right direction.  With the main core of players coming back for 2011, a powerhouse South Carolina program is finally rising this season and beyond.