South Carolina's Ingredients For A Dream Season In 2023

Head coach Shane Beamer and South Carolina's football team will need to accomplish multiple feats if they wish to raise the bar once again this fall.

Author:
Andrew Lyon
Publish date:
Jan 13, 2023 9:30 AM EST

South Carolina as a program is getting used to consistent progression, with results on the field and recruiting prowess off the field. Heading into year three under Shane Beamer, the Gamecocks enter with lofty expectations for the first time in several years.

What we would quantify as a dream season can be discussed another day, but in terms of what needs to happen, many factors must play out in Gamecocks' favor.

Loggains & Rattler Build Solid Rapport

Up to this point, South Carolina's new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains has been winning the offseason with his remarks regarding how the offense will be centered around Rattler's skillset and prioritize spreading the football around to its playmakers, something the offense seemed to lack for most of 2022.

How quickly Loggains and Rattler can mesh together in live game situations and learn how the other person operates could make the difference in a few crucial September games the Gamecocks will play away from home against North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

If they can sort out the kinks quickly, it could lead to great success, but if it takes the entire season, it could lead to potential disappointment.

Gamecocks Are Resilient On The Road

Since I brought up South Carolina's September games away from home in my last point, let's continue that conversation regarding the rest of the season.

South Carolina will only play four road games in 2023 due to playing a neutral site game against the Tar Heels, but have to go on the road to play Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Texas A&M, all of which will be challenging for its own reasons, and could say a lot about how the season could go for South Carolina.

Multiple Positions See Players Step Up

While South Carolina is returning a solid nucleus of players from last year's squad, it has to be acknowledged that this team has also lost a lot of meaningful contributors.

The offense will have to replace three offensive line starters and a large group of offensive skill players, while the defense will replace its top two corners and five starters in the defensive front.

While the coaching staff has progressively accumulated talent and is full of experience at a few specific positions, veterans and likely some young guns will have to take the next step this fall.

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