SEC Football: Can South Carolina Survive Their 3-Game Road Gauntlet?

South Carolina has its toughest stretch of football in the next few weeks.

Furthermore, starting a new quarterback—sophomore Connor Shaw, the opening week starter, was again handed the offensive reigns from fifth-year senior quarterback Stephen Garcia in last week's 54-3 Gamecocks win over Kentucky; Garcia later being dismissed from the team Tuesday for not meeting his zero-tolerance guidelines by failing an alcohol test—during three straight road games doesn’t typically equal success.

The Gamecocks (5-1) have played well at times and terribly at others, so finding consistency is an obvious must this week.

The Gamecocks face a tough test in Mississippi State today, before continuing the formidable tasks when they travel to Tennessee and Arkansas. South Carolina then comes home to face the Florida Gators.

That is a tough stretch of road for any team to travel and the Gamecocks have not shown that they have what it takes to make it through every battle unscathed. Their sole loss came to Auburn at home, but in contests earlier in the year they were teetering on the loss line until the end.

The Gamecocks have played well at times defensively, relying on their stud defensive lineman Melvin Ingram and Jadeveon Clowney. Ingram has not only produced sacks and tackles for loss, he has also added defensive (and offensive) touchdowns..

Marcus Lattimore has been as impactful as expected this season with his on-field contributions. However, the Gamecocks can’t continue to exclusively rely only on Lattimore to produce. There has to be better play on the outside and from the quarterback position.

Getting the ball to Alshon Jeffery will also be a need for South Carolina. He has started the season in good shape and is still likely the most talented receiver in the SEC, but the Gamecocks can’t throw the ball only to Jeffery and expect to win.

The most glaring need for the Gamecocks is leadership in the defensive secondary. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore is a junior this season and earned All-SEC honors a year ago. Be that as it may, this season Gilmore hasn’t been the impact player that the Gamecocks had hoped for. In turn, the secondary has been less adequate at times.

Facing Tennessee and Arkansas back to back will be a huge test for South Carolina and likely be the factors that determine their fate in the conference.

These road games need to be wins for the Gamecocks as they pursue the Eastern Division title for the second year in a row. Despite a win against Georgia earlier in the season, the Gamecocks find themselves in a tough spot to finish the season.

Georgia appears to be playing better football than the Gamecocks and have a much easier road to the Eastern Division title. There is a chance for the Gamecocks to finish stronger than they started but the concern has to be the changes that are constantly occurring for the Gamecocks offensively.

Unless the Gamecocks can change their fate offensively and maintain the perimeter defensively, they will have a tough time with the coming contests as the Gamecocks aren’t likely to keep up with Arkansas or Tennessee offensively. Unless something changes for the Gamecocks, these next three games are likely to end their hopes at the Eastern Division title.