Re: NCAAF Team totals plays
South Carolina Over 7 wins (-120):
Last season: 8-5 (7-5 in the regular season)
Returning starters: 17 (7 on offense, 10 on defense)
Average points per game: 26.6
Average points allowed per game: 18.7
Head Coach: Steve Spurrier (3rd year as South Carolina Coach, 157-50-2 in his college career)
Offense:
This unit is a bit of a question mark. They averaged 26.9 ppg last season, but this was inflated by easy wins over Florida Atlantic and Middle Tennessee St. The offense was inconsistent at most points last season. They lose QB Syvelle Newton (58.6 comp.%, 1316 yards, 12 TDs, 7 INTs) who split time at the postion last year. This means that this season, Blake Mitchell will be the sole starting QB. Last season he had a 66.8 comp.%, 1789 yards, 10 TD, and 6 INT. They lose their top WR in Sidney Rice (1090 yards), but they return their #2 through #4 WRs. Kenny McKinley (880 yards, 5 TDs), Cory Boyd (406 yards, 2 TDs), and Freddie Brown (147 yards) all return. They also return their top two RBs in Cory Boyd (846 yards, 8 TDs, 5.0 yards per rush) and Mike Davis (490 yards, 6 TDs, 4.9 yards per rush). They lose 3 of their 5 O-Linemen, but this team regularly rotates 10 men on the O-line, and they return all of the depth to that position.
Defense:
This was a strength last season, and they could be one of the best in the nation this year. Every single starter returns except for FS Fred Bennett (37 tackles, 2 INT). They return an unheard of 15 of their top 16 tacklers coming into the season. Leading the way is MLB Jasper Brinkley, who had 107 tackles and 5 sacks last year. This team can only improve on their quality defensive numbers of last season.
Special Teams:
Ryan Succop will handle both the kicking and punting duties. He is an average punter, but he is a very good kicker (probably top 10 in the country). Last season, he was 37-39 on XPs, and 16-20 on FGs (an impressive 8-11 from 40+).
SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Time/Result
Sep 1 La.-Lafayette TBA
Sep 8 @Georgia 5:45pm
Sep 15 South Carolina State TBA
Sep 22 @LSU 8:00pm
Sep 29 Mississippi St. TBA
Oct 4 Kentucky 6:30pm
Oct 13 @North Carolina TBA
Oct 20 Vanderbilt TBA
Oct 27 @Tennessee TBA
Nov 3 @Arkansas 1:00pm
Nov 10 Florida TBA
Nov 24 Clemson TBA
Games they will win (90-100%): La-Lafayette, South Carolina St.
Games they should win (60-85%): @North Carolina, Mississippi St, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Toss-ups: Florida, Clemson (lean towards a win)
Games they should lose (10-30%): @Tennessee, @Arkansas, @Georgia
Games they will lose (<10%): @LSU
This schedule is very difficult, but this team can handle it. Even though I have three road games in games they should lose, I expect them to win one, maybe two of these games. In my opinion, Tennessee and Arkansas both either remained the same or declined slightly over the offseason while SC improved. Therefore, I think they can definitely take one of these two games. Also, Spurrier is probably the best coach in the conference. He is also very successful on the road. In his first 2 seasons at South Carolina, he is 6-3 on the road, and 8-1 ATS on the road. This is amazing considering how difficult road games typically are in college football.
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