2024 South Carolina Predictions on the HG
Jake Wimberly
Spencer Winans Contributing
What’s to like:
Recruiting. Recruiting. Recruiting. The Gamecocks ranked at 18th in our 3-year recruiting matric despite a few subpar seasons in a row.
The Gamecocks have plenty of opportunities to play spoiler after playing one of the toughest schedules in the FBS last season. The 2022 team killed Tennessee’s dreams of making the playoff after an impressive season and then beat the Clemson Tigers, who were trying to sneak into the playoff as well.
The Gamecocks brought in physical, downhill runner Raheim Sanders from the transfer portal. He was one of the better parts of last year’s Arkansas team
What’s not to like:
South Carolina holds a very inexperienced roster. The Gamecocks have lost their QB1 and leading receiver to the draft as well as their leading rusher to the transfer portal this offseason.
Shane Beamer has been up and down as the coach of the Gamecocks. He’s been somewhat average record-wise, but 2023 felt like a step back for UofSC as they dropped to 5-7 after playing spoiler to a couple of rivals to end 2022.
What does the Hourglass say?
2024 South Carolina – SEC (4-8)
Four-year analytic percentage of South Carolina = 78 percent
2024 South Carolina Analytics
National Recruiting Ranking (three-year metric): 18th - just outside the boundary of a National Championship Roster.
National Coaching Ranking: Shane Beamer - 65th in the country, 13th in SEC; 2024 coaching value= 18 (average 2023 Power 5 coaching value= 8.35) Shane Beamer ranks below the national average.
ODE Analytics for 2023 nationally:
Offensive Rank: 48th
Defensive Rank: 55th
Quarterback Play: Robby Ashford- ranked 65th in the Power 5, 15h in the SEC; 2024 QB value=4.5. Well below the (Power 5 average- 14.78)
Impact Ball Catcher Metric: South Carolina has a 0 on a scale of 1-5, there’s no clear receiving threat.
From Vegas:
South Carolina ATS in 2023: 6-6-0
South Carolina at home: 4-3-0
South Carolina on the road: 2-2-0
South Carolina at neutral site: 0-1-0
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This South Carolina team is likely not going to be one that competes for an SEC title in 2024. While you can never count a team out before the season starts, the Gamecocks really do not look like a contender.
But, there is a very good chance that South Carolina starts to build the program back up. With great recruiting over the last 3 years, Beamer has a lot of talent in this group. If he can develop that talent into SEC-level skill, the Gamecocks could be on the rise in the near future.
2024 Schedule Analysis:
Projected Hourglass W/L record: Games in red denote games that could be a one possession game or even a different outcome than projection.
Note: All photos courtesy of 247sports.com
