College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the South Carolina Gamecocks season with what you need to know.
CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina preview in 60 seconds
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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– South Carolina Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 in SEC
Head Coach: Will Muschamp, 5th year, 26-25
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 58
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 70
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 16
NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: South Carolina Gamecocks Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense just didn’t work. How painful was it? The O failed to score more than 27 points against anyone but Charleston Southern, and it closed out the year scoring a grand total of 24 points in the final three games.
The passing game tried, but nothing was happening down the field on a consistent basis – the Gamecocks were fourth-worst in the nation in yards per completion – and moving the chains on third downs was like pulling teeth at times.
In comes new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo – the former Colorado State head coach who should be able to get the passing game going.
CFN in 60 Video: South Carolina Gamecocks Preview
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– It all starts with getting more out of sophomore QB Ryan Hilinski. He’s a big, talented passer who threw for 2,357 yards and 11 touchdowns with five picks after taking over the gig, and he’s got the talent to be fantastic with a little more time to work.
Former Colorado State Ram bomber Collin Hill is coming in as a grad transfer, but he’s coming off a knee injury and he’s mainly going to be used as the reliable backup option with former starter Jake Bentley transferring to Utah.
The quarterbacks will be missing now-Las Vegas Raider Bryan Edwards, who led the team with 71 catches last season. Senior Shi Smith should be the main man now after finishing second on the team with 43 grabs, but he’s not the big, physical target Edwards was. The corps doesn’t have a whole lot established after Smith, but junior Josh Vann will get a long look at playing a bigger role after making 19 grabs.
– The running game had its moments, but when it was off, it was really not working. The Gamecocks were held to under 80 yards on the ground five times – and lost all five – but here comes MarShawn Lloyd. No pressure Mr. Five-Star, but go out there as a true freshman and become a superstar right right away. With the top three backs from last year done, it’s the 5-9, 212-pound Lloyd’s backfield to take over.
The line had its struggles, but it was okay at limiting the plays behind the line – for the most part. The tackles are solid around 310-pound veteran tackle Dylan Wonnum. The interior is going to be a wee bit tricky until the practices get going and the job battles start. It’s a versatile group – again, to be nice – with decent size. It really will be a Five Best Guys thing – at least three best guys on the inside.