South Carolina Gamecocks: Scouting The Non-Conference Schedule

by Lee Wardlaw

Columbia, SC: When second-ranked (9-0) South Carolina fell 38-21 at struggling (3-5-1) Navy on November 18th, 1984, the Gamecocks blew a shot at the Orange Bowl and a chance to play for the national championship. Not many will dispute that this was the most devastating loss in the program’s history.

However, most South Carolina fans probably won’t soon forget the team’s last embarrassing hiccup, a 23-22 loss to FCS Citadel in 2015. The loss added insult to injury, as the reeling Gamecocks were already enduring their worst season since 1999. The small military school with an enrollment of 2,773 students probably didn’t mind rubbing it in either.

Citadel RB Tyler Renew ran for a 56 yard touchdown. Image from USA Today.

Named one of the top ten FCS over Power Five upsets of all time by Hero Sports, the website notes that the “Gamecocks record was terrible (3-9) but it easily could have been an 8-4 bowl team, too. The Citadel proved it was an FCS power with this performance.” The Citadel locked up a lower-level playoff bid with the win, utilizing the triple option behind standout running back Tyler Renew, a Columbia native.

The loss was devastating, but these upsets are what makes College Football such an intriguing sport. What are common symptoms for big-name opponents when they fall prey to FCS competition, and what can Will Muschamp and South Carolina do to avoid another loss like this?

Teams struggling at the end of the season looking ahead to a rivalry game

In Nick Saban’s first season at Alabama in 2007, the Crimson Tide started 6-2 and were ranked 17th nationally heading into a two-game stretch against LSU and Mississippi State. The Tide lost both of these games by a combined 12 points, and perhaps looking forward to their rivalry game with Auburn, they lost to a below-.500 Louisiana-Monroe, falling 21-14.

It’s happened more recently as well, as an injury-plagued (4-6) Florida lost to Georgia Southern 26-20 before their annual bout with Florida State in 2013.

Teams overlooking the competition at the beginning of the season

While many teams get spooked the week before a season-ending rivalry game, many upsets have happened at the beginning of the season as well.

It was a hard learned lesson for Virginia Tech in 2010, who qualified for the ACC Championship after a 21-16 home loss to instate FCS power James Madison in week two. LSU’s 24-21 loss to Troy early last season might’ve ended up helping the Bayou Bengals, who were a shaky 3-1 before the upset. After that game, their last regular season loss was to eventual national champion Alabama.

LSU couldn’t keep up with Troy back in 2017. Image from Getty Images.

Presence of a high-powered offense, superstar player, or great team

In 2013’s season opener, Eastern Washington utilized Oregon transfer quarterback Vernon Davis (411 passing yards, 107 rushing yards) as the Eagles rolled to a 49-45 upset in Corvallis. Georgia Southern leaned on the tricky triple-option attack to down Florida in “The Swamp”, running for 429 yards against the Gators — the most since Nebraska’s 524 yards in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

Finally, Iowa (21-20 loss to North Dakota State in 2017) and Michigan (34-32 loss to Appalachian State in 2007) were infamous, but no one disputes the fact that those schools were FCS dynasties.

Costal Carolina

Timing: The Gamecocks welcome instate Costal for their home opener on Labor Day weekend, as the Chanticleers finished 3-9 in ’17, returning 12 starters to a group that finished the season 2-0. Perhaps Muschamp’s team could look ahead to Georgia, but South Carolina should be excited to get on the field for the first time since January.

Motivation: South Carolina is typically accustomed to baptism by fire, either opening against an SEC or Power Five opponent in the last six seasons. When the Gamecocks open with Costal Carolina on Saturday, it’ll be their first home opener versus a Group of Five school since 2010.

A program with its’ highest expectations since the Spurrier era will want to ease concerns on the offensive side of the ball, as they only averaged 24.2 points per game under former coordinator Kurt Roper. New coordinator Bryan McClendon coaches a more up-tempo pace, and the Gamecocks have a chance to pounce on the scoreboard against an upstart Chanticleers team that loses six of its’ nine top tacklers from last fall.

Danger Factor: Kilton Anderson is the most experienced quarterback with six starts last season, tallying 743 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. There’s three returning starters at wideout, led by deep-ball threat Malcolm Williams, who averaged 18.4 yards per catch and totaled 793 receiving yards. Costal only averaged 189 pass yards per game and 156 rush yards per game in ’17 in the Sun Belt, and the defense is losing a lot of depth.

Anderson returns after 6 starts at QB last season. Image from Coastal Athletics.

Muschamp’s team should be a safe bet to win at home, as they’re 17-1 in openers since 2000.

Marshall

Timing: The Thundering Herd visit Columbia on September 15th, which will be South Carolina’s third home consecutive game. The Gamecocks face Marshall sandwiched in between two conference games: at home vs. Georgia (September 8th) and on the road against Vanderbilt (September 22nd)

Motivation: Marshall (8-5 in ’17) returns 18 starters and is projected to compete neck-to-neck with Florida Atlantic in the C-USA, who is widely considered a contender for a slot in the New Year’s Six.

South Carolina must stay alert, regardless of what happens in a big week two Georgia. Fans don’t want to relive last season’s 17-16 nail biter against Louisiana Tech, and hopefully that will serve as a lesson to the Gamecocks. Nevertheless, a 7:30 kickoff should breed a hostile home environment at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Danger Factor: The Marshall defense returns nine starters to a unit that only allowed 19.9 points per game. However, the Herd might attempt to engage the Gamecocks in a shootout. There’s plenty of weapons, as the offense returns “98.4 percent of their rushing yardage, 78.5 percent of their receiving yardage and the entire starting offensive line,” according to Athlon Sports.

This includes the the running back duo of Tyler King and Keion Davis, who combined for 1,632 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Tyre Brady heralds a group of three returning starters at wide receiver, and was one of the best in the conference last fall, hauling in 942 receiving yards and 8 touchdown catches. Highly-touted graduate transfer Alex Thompson of Wagner University will seek to replace three-year standout Chase Litton at the quarterback position, and if he can succeed against South Carolina’s defense, they will be able to score points.

Tyler King returns as the team’s leading rusher as a freshman. Image from Marshall Athletics.

I’m not saying this game isn’t absolutely winnable for South Carolina, but this is a capable Marshall team and the Gamecocks must play smart. Otherwise, they may extend their losing streak to the Herd.

Chattanooga

Timing: The Gamecocks’ last home opponent, UT-Chattanooga is scheduled to visit Williams Brice on November 17th, which the team should welcome after back-to-back road games against Ole Miss and Florida. Then, head coach Will Muschamp will have the opportunity to beat rival Clemson on the road for the first time in his career.

Motivation: South Carolina wants two things in this game. The first goal is to get out of there with a win, hopefully by a few touchdowns. That would allow the Gamecocks to complete their second goal, which would be to keep Muschamp’s key players well-rested and healthy for the Palmetto Bowl against Clemson.

Depending on how the Gamecocks perform down the stretch, Muschamp will be looking to lock up his eighth or ninth win in this contest. Thus, the home finale should allow South Carolina to secure better positioning for a postseason bowl game.

OrTre (18) and Shi (13) return after successful freshman campaigns. Image from the Post & Courier.

Danger Factor: The Mocs are usually a playoff contender in the FCS, but they stumbled to a 3-8 finish last season, featuring a total offense that finished 100th in the nation with 17.7 points per game. Despite this, they finished on a high note. The Mocs won two of their last three games, defeating playoff-bound Samford and taking SoCon champion Wofford to overtime.

With 15 of 22 starters returning, Chattanooga is expecting a return to their winning ways. They’ll have to decide on a quarterback, whether they choose sophomore Cole Copeland or Mississippi State transfer Nick Tiano. Copeland showed flashes at the end of ’17 and Tiano should be more than capable to captain the offense as well.

It’s not a bad program, but the Gamecocks should be able to take care of business before the big game against Clemson.

Lee Wardlaw is a 21-year old rising senior at the University of South Carolina pursuing a bachelor’s degree majoring in Multimedia and minoring in Business.

He was born and raised in Columbia and started sports writing in middle school, and has continued since. From 2009-2012, he wrote for Bleacher Report, as well as writing for SEC’s Fansided Blog “Southbound and Down” from 2015-16. Finally, he wrote for the Daily Gamecock from 2016-2017.

He is a born Gamecock and loves college football, and enjoys to present his opinion in a compelling way through writing.