South Carolina Football: 2017 season preview and prediction
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. N.C. State | Charlotte, NC |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | at Missouri | Columbia, MO |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | vs. Kentucky | Columbia, SC |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | vs. Louisiana Tech | Columbia, SC |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | at Texas A&M | College Station, TX |
| 6 | Oct. 7 | vs. Arkansas | Columbia, SC |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | at Tennessee | Knoxville, TN |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | BYE | |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | vs. Vanderbilt | Columbia, SC |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | at Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | vs. Florida | Columbia, SC |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | vs. Wofford | Columbia, SC |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | vs. Clemson | Columbia, SC |
The Gamecocks need to start off fast this season and they have the schedule to do so. They have the team capable of winning their first seven games. But they’ll start out 4-0 and then go to Texas A&M and lose a game they should win.
While I’m here making bold predictions, I’ll say they beat Arkansas at home and Tennessee on the road leading up to their bye. That will make them 6-1 heading into the final five weeks of the season.
The latter part of the schedule gets a little tougher. After the bye week, South Carolina will go just 2-3 with lone wins against Vanderbilt and Wofford at home.
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Prediction: 8-4 (5-3 SEC)
The Gamecocks have the squad to pull this off. Many will look at this team as a 5-7 or a 6-6 ball club, but it’s far better than that. They eventually end the season 8-4 despite dropping huge games in the month of November. Since 2014, the Gamecocks are 2-4 in SEC games in the month of November and by the end of 2017, that record will be worse.
This 2017 South Carolina football team needs to give the fans something to cheer about. These Gamecocks need to be a .500 or better team and competitive in conference. Both of those expectations are obtainable.