2008 South Carolina Gamecocks College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Expert College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this year, be sure to buy Alex’s college football predictions each week and guarantee a win!!

South Carolina Gamecocks (6-6, 3-5 in 2007, 4th place in SEC East)
The Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, is back for another season in Columbia, and his Gamecocks are quietly lurking around in the SEC East. Spurrier must demand more consistency in 2008, as his squad looked like world-beaters against Georgia and Kentucky a year ago, but also looked poor in games against North Carolina and Vanderbilt. There are 17 starters back, and if the rest of the SEC isn’t careful, the Gamecocks could sneak up on a lot of teams this year.

Offensive Outlook: Spurrier became famous at the University of Florida as being an offensive genius despite rarely having any real talent at the quarterback position. This year he needs to decide whether he will go with redshirt freshman Stephen Garcia, sophomore Chris Smelley, or junior Tommy Beecher as his man under center. Knowing Spurrier, all three will see plenty of action. All three will love throwing the ball to Kenny McKinley, who is one of the better receivers in the SEC. Four starters return on the offensive line, which should leave plenty of holes for the running back trio of Eric Baker, Brian Maddox, and Mike Davis.

Defensive Outlook: There aren’t many “names” on this Gamecocks defense, but ten members do return from the unit that surrendered 23.5 PPG last year. Those numbers are slightly skewed though, as only Arkansas and Florida eclipsed 28 points on this squad. LB Jasper Brinkley is the best NFL prospect on this defense, and he’ll be expected to be a leader as one of the two seniors. Junior CB Captain Munnerlyn excels at all phases of the game, and should be one of the top corners in the SEC in his third year as a starter. The South Carolina defense may be loaded with sophomores and juniors, but the Gamecocks should begin to reap the rewards of starting players as freshmen and sophomores in 2008.

2008 Preview: The Gamecocks should open up 2-0 with games against NC State and Vandy to open the season, but right after that, they’ll get to take their shot against #1 Georgia. Most SEC schedules are loaded, and South Carolina’s is no exception. They play five games against teams in the preseason AP Top-20, including ending the regular season with road games in Florida and Clemson.

2008 will be a success if… some combination of the three quarterbacks can take control of the offense. Most offenses need a leader to succeed, but Spurrier had no problem alternating quarterbacks on every single play back in his day with the Gators. As long as they get some sort of consistent productivity out of the quarterback position, it won’t matter which one is under center.

In any other conference in America, the Gamecocks would be a favorite. In the SEC, they’ll have troubles just becoming bowl eligible. Much like ’07, expect to see South Carolina play several games that make you scratch your head both positively and negatively.

Prediction: 7-5, 4th place in SEC East