South Carolina
11-2 in 2012 (6-2 in the SEC) beat
Michigan 33-28 in Outback Bowl
2012 Season Recap
For the second year in a row South Carolina beat Georgia but
failed to reach the SEC title game.
After destroying the Dawgs in Columbus 35-7, the Gamecocks lost the next
two games to LSU and Florida to miss out on a division title. As disappointed as they might have been,
Carolina won 11 games for just the second time in the history of the
school. They beat Clemson for the fourth
consecutive year, and had the highlight of the bowl season with Jadeveon
Clowney’s hit against Michigan. Even
though Spurrier has complained about his schedule versus Georgia’s schedule the
past two seasons, in reality, South Carolina has never experienced the type of
success they have had over the past three seasons, so they might need to sit
back and enjoy it a little bit, instead of thinking about what they haven’t
achieved.
The Schedule:
Well I guess if you complain enough, and your name is Steve
Spurrier, you get what you want. South
Carolina has as easy of a schedule in 2013 as you can have in the SEC. They open at home against North Carolina on a
Thursday night, so they will have an extra two days to prepare for the SEC East
title game in Athens against Georgia on September 7th. They play road games at Arkansas, Tennessee,
and Missouri in the month on October, but they will be favored in all of those
games. They get the Gators at home on
November 16th. It is hard to
find two conference losses on Carolina’s schedule if they beat Georgia, so it
would seem that the Old Ball Coach got his wish. Now all he has to do is beat Georgia for the
fourth consecutive time, something Carolina has never done before. The easy schedule in 2013 will be the last
for South Carolina. In 2014, Texas
A&M will become Carolina’s annual crossover game and that will be their
first game of the 2014 season.
Key Returner:
Hmmm let’s see, it’s tough, but yes I will go with Jadeveon
Clowney, the best player in the conference.
This time next year, Clowney will be getting ready to start his first
NFL season with whichever team owns the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, but
this year, he is still at South Carolina getting ready to try and meet
expectations that are as high as any defensive player has faced since Lawrence
Taylor. Clowney has done nothing but
make plays since his freshman season and he is a legitimate contender for the
Heisman trophy. If South Carolina is
going to make it to the SEC title game it will be because of Clowney and the
defense, not the offense. Clowney made
some remarks at SEC Media Days about quarterback being scared of him, well if
they aren't then they are really dumb.
It will be interesting to see if Clowney can put up the same type of
number this year as he has in the past, when most teams will be double teaming
him on every play and chipping him with a back or a tight end. Clowney set a personal goal for himself this
season of 20 sacks, I wouldn't bet against him.
Key Loss:
Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore, despite his injuries, changed
South Carolina. His three seasons in
Columbia are the best three seasons they have ever had. They went to their first SEC title game in
2010 on his back. They beat Georgia
three straight years mostly on his back, and they even managed to overcome
losing him on the field, by using him as inspiration. Lattimore is gone now, so that leaves a huge
void in the South Carolina backfield.
The “experts” at ESPN say that Carolina has some good backs for 2013,
and that they will always be able to run the ball at South Carolina. I think the “experts” are idiots. South Carolina became a running team on
September 11, 2010 when a freshman named Marcus Lattimore ran the ball down
after down, right at the Georgia defense.
He had 37 carries for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns that day. South Carolina became a running team when
Lattimore showed up. Without him, it
will be interesting to see if they have to depend on Connor Shaw’s arm to win
games.
Success will be:
There is no doubt that Spurrier has raised the bar in
Columbia. Success for South Carolina
will be winning the SEC and being in the conversation for the National
Title. Anything less than an appearance
in the SEC title game would have to be considered a pretty big disappointment given
their schedule. As with many teams in
the south, they are also expected to beat their instate rival. No South Carolina season can be a true
success without a victory over Clemson.
To review, South Carolina needs to win the SEC and beat Clemson, or to
put it another way, South Carolina needs to have the greatest season in the
history of the program. No pressure.
2013 Prediction:
South Carolina has been 1 loss short of their goal for the
past two seasons, and I think they will be 1 loss short again in 2013. Because the game is in Athens I think Georgia
will beat South Carolina. I just don’t
think Carolina’s offense can score enough to beat Georgia, and I don’t think
Carolina’s defense can hold Georgia’s offense down for four quarters. So Carolina will be 1-1 after two games and
they will be 10-1 when they face Clemson. South Carolina has had Clemson's number the past four years, so I'm guessing this year's game will swing the other way. South Carolina goes 10-2, and Gamecock fans should remember who they root for, and be very glad to be 10-2.
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