South Carolina Football: Grading Their Toughest Remaining Games

Not counting their game this weekend, the South Carolina Gamecocks have a tough schedule ahead of them.

However, three home games starting this weekend and eventually three more to close out the season will certainly be an advantage.

The disadvantage will be three straight road games in mid-October, though they will have a bye week heading into their game with Tennessee.

The expectations are mounting every weekend with every victory, so all Steve Spurrier and company can do is to continue their winning ways regardless of who is put in front of them. 

Auburn Tigers

When: October 1

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb present quite the challenge for a run defense that has not hit their stride. By the time this game begins, South Carolina should just be hitting their strides on defense.

Their schedule helps them out significantly in the month of October, as they have no ranked teams on the slate.

Auburn was carved up by the Clemson passing attack, and Stephen Garcia can do the same if asked to. Alshon Jeffery might have his coming-out party in 2011 against the Tigers' weak pass defense.

Auburn is currently ranked 116th in the nation against the run, which means Marcus Lattimore should be licking his chops. It will be a nationally televised game, which can get his Heisman campaign officially underway.

Difficulty: 6 of 10

Kentucky Wildcats

When: October 8

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

Did somebody attempt to balance the schedule in favor of South Carolina or did Spurrier himself balance this out?

Four straight home games in the thick of October is a huge break for South Carolina, and they also have three more home games to close out the season.

The next three road tilts after the Kentucky game will decide their SEC East, BCS at-large and possible National Championship aspirations.

Kentucky has struggled mightily on offense, which will only bolster the confidence of this young yet fierce Gamecock defense. This could be a low scoring game that will help South Carolina the long run.

Difficulty: 5 of 10

Mississippi State

When: October 15

Where: David-Wade Stadium

This game may be one of their toughest all season, with Chris Relf's ability to run and pass. Vick Ballard is one of the top rushers in the conference, but the other play-makers have not performed well this season for the Bulldogs. 

Losing two tough games to Auburn and LSU has knocked this team out of the SEC West race, but they would love to spoil the fun for South Carolina.

The fact that they're currently ranked 89th against the run does not bode well for the Bulldogs, but if there is a weakness for South Carolina it has been their run defense.

Look for some points to be scored in this game, but Steven Garcia's decision-making and the studs surrounding him should be the difference.

Difficulty: 7 of 10

Tennessee Volunteers

When: October 29

Where: Neyland Stadium

The loss of Justin Hunter will not be easy for the Vols, but South Carolina will take their breaks when they can get them. Their pass defense has had some issues and will get tested by a raucous Neyland Stadium crowd.

Getting a bye week will be huge for the Gamecocks, but Tauren Poole will offer a solid, consistent attack for Tennessee. However, the Volunteers' defense has been nothing but rocky.

67th against the run and 70th against the pass is among the worst in the SEC early on in the season, and South Carolina has enough options on both sides of the ball to come away with a nail-biting road victory. 

Difficult: 7 of 10

Arkansas Razorbacks

When: November 5

Where: Razorback Stadium

Tyler Wilson will come out with guns-a-blazing in this possibly high-scoring affair.

South Carolina will have revenge on their minds after getting spanked at home last season by Arkansas. Connor Shaw was taken out on an apparent cheap shot and Steve Spurrier was not too pleased with it.

Though Stephen Garcia is still the starter, he without a doubt has arguably just as many weapons offensively as Wilson does.

Arkansas has had early issues running the football, too. Not so much for South Carolina: Meet Marcus Lattimore! Lattimore, one of the best players on the planet, could enable the Gamecocks to continue an undefeated season.

Though I foresee this game being their lone loss, since it is what I originally projected back in the spring, I would not be shocked by any means if South Carolina find themselves ranked in the top five with a possible BCS at-large bid or a National Championship on the line.

Difficulty: 9 of 10

Florida Gators

When: November 12

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

The Gators will come into this game with a possible SEC East title on the line. They were dominated last season at the “Swamp” and there would be nothing more satisfying for the Gators than to knock off the Gamecocks.  

Florida has a ton of speedsters in the backfield and downfield. South Carolina matches up well with them, but this Gators offense is looking much better than I anticipated.

Plus, the defense up front is ferocious, and they have enough athletes in the secondary to cover SC's wideouts. John Brantley is getting the ball out in a hurry on time and is delivering strikes to his guys in Charlie Weis’s offense.

This will be yet another game in which Stephen Garcia must shine with Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery.

Which other Gamecocks stars will step up on offense though? I am waiting for Ace Sanders to break out and it may not be long before he does.

Regardless, the outcome of this game should decide the SEC East crown and possibly more!

Difficulty: 8.5 Of 10 

The Citadel Bulldogs

When: November 19

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

If you are still upset about the game against Navy, now is your time to shine and pray that the defense gets their revenge.

Thank goodness this game is late in the season, since the defense should be much better against the option by then. Navy ran for over 300 yards against Cocky’s defense, and these Bulldogs could do the same.

Quarterback Ben Dupree has ran for over 200 yards in just the first two games. He has thrown just 23 passing attempts, but has plenty of options to pitch the ball to in the backfield.

Hopefully the run defense will take a few steps in the right direction and bottle the option up.

The offense should not have any issues moving the ball, though, since the Bulldogs have their own issues defensively. Look for Marcus Lattimore to have a monster first half and for the receivers to see a ton of open field ahead of them in this game.

Difficulty: 3 Of 10

Clemson Tigers

When: November 26

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium

One may think this game may not have much importance, but guess again!

A possible BCS at-large bid could be in the balance, and if the Gamecocks take care of their business in SEC East divisional play, this would be a tune-up game before they take on the Western Division champs.

Clemson looks to be a legit top-25 team this season, and could give South Carolina of ton of issues with their own highly explosive offense. 

This game also plays a huge role for possible Heisman voters if Marcus Lattimore is going to get invited to New York and possibly win the stiff-armed trophy.

Some may say "who cares about the Heisman?" since George Rogers (1980) was the last and only Heisman winner in South Carolina history, however from a team aspect, this game has a boatload on the line as well.

Difficulty: 8.5 Of 10