SEC Football: 3 Reasons Why South Carolina Wins the East Over Florida

We have all heard the rumblings about how strong the SEC West is with the likes of LSU, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas.

If you look across the way, the SEC East is also loaded with talent as well. South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt are all undefeated heading into Week 4 of the college football season, and Georgia is the best 1-2 team in the Nation (sorry Notre Dame fans).

When we break down this tough East division, it's hard to not envision a scenario where it doesn't come down to South Carolina and Florida battling it out to see who represents the East in the SEC title down at the Georgia Dome.

With an explosive offense and a bend-but-not-break defense, South Carolina has a legitimate chance to be undefeated heading into that Nov.12 matchup against Florida.

Let's break down three reasons why the Gamecocks win the SEC East over Florida this year.

3. Favorable Schedule

When you break down the SEC East, you have to look at Florida and South Carolina being the top teams in the Division, but after that, it has to be Georgia.

The Bulldogs had the most challenging schedule in the country in the first two weeks of the season, which both resulted in loses.

While the first loss came against a great Boise State team, the other loss for Georgia came against South Carolina. This means that the Gamecocks have already gotten their most challenging division game out of the way, while on the other hand, Florida still has to play Georgia on Oct.29. That game will come after the Gators had played back-to-back-to-back games against Alabama, LSU and Auburn.

On paper, it certainly looks like the Gamecocks have the easiest road to a SEC East title.

2. Marcus Lattimore

There isn't a more dominant player in the country right now than South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore.

Through three games this season, the Gamecocks' sophomore back has rushed for 534 yards and seven touchdowns. Those numbers resemble another powerful runner who won the Heisman Trophy back in his sophomore season at Alabama—Mark Ingram.

The SEC has developed the image of being a power running, dominant conference. Well, there isn't a single player in America who fits that criteria better than South Carolina with Lattimore running the ball out of the backfield.

3. Home Field Advantage

Like we said earlier, the SEC East is looking like the division title will come down to South Carolina and Florida.

It is certainly possible that both teams could be undefeated within the East heading into their Nov. 12 matchup. But there is one major key factor about that game-- It is being played in South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Home-field advantage makes such a huge difference in college football, especially when you have to travel and go up against a hostile SEC crowd.

Florida is beyond talented, but they are young. That doesn't help their chances on the road as South Carolina defeats Florida to take control of the SEC East.