South Carolina Football: Gamecocks could be darkhorse contender in 2018

South Carolina football looks to continue their upswing in year three under Will Muschamp. Can the Gamecocks take the next step?

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South Carolina took a risk when they brought on Will Muschamp following his less than stellar stint with the Florida Gators. Muschamp, who wasn’t able to get enough out of his top-flight talent in Gainesville looked to be facing an uphill battle at South Carolina. Instead, he’s brought the Gamecocks to the cusp of national relevance.

In 2017 the Gamecocks quietly amassed a 9-4 record despite never being ranked in the AP Top 25. They came close after an Outback Bowl victory over Jim Harbaugh‘s Michigan squad, but ended the year two spots shy of being ranked. All in all, that’s a much better result that was expected, especially in two short seasons. However, now that the bar has been set, he’ll have to live up to that standard in the future.

After going 6-7 in his first year, Muschamp set a course for improvement in year two. Can he take the next step in year three? If he does he’ll finish with the fifth season with at least 10 wins in program history.  Here’s the cast of characters he’ll rely on to get the job done and a few predictions on South Carolina’s 2018 season