2018 South Carolina Gamecocks Football Team
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The 2018 South Carolina Gamecocks football team (variously USC, SC, South Carolina, or The Gamecocks) represented the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
in the
2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 149th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...
. This season marked the Gamecocks 125th overall season, 27th as a member of the SEC, and 3rd under head coach
Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive analyst at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the Bulldogs' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022 ...
. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
and compiled an overall record of 7–6, and 4–4 in SEC play. South Carolina entered the season with high expectations after overachieving the previous year. The Gamecocks won their season-opener, and entered the AP Top 25 for the first time since
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. Through the regular season, they defeated every unranked opponent and lost to every ranked opponent. By the end of the regular season, Muschamp had become the first coach in school history to win 22 games and reach three bowl games in his first three seasons. However, the season ended with a "disaster" in the Belk Bowl, and this would be Muschamp's final winning season; it would also be South Carolina's final winning season until
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
. Gamecock fan Marcus Washington's trap remix of "Sandstorm" also made its debut at Williams–Brice Stadium, and has since become a "staple" at home football games.


Background


Offseason departures


Preseason


Returning starters

South Carolina will have sixteen returning players on offense, nine on defense and two on special teams that started games in 2017.


Offense


Defense


Special teams


Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released


SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018, with the Gamecocks predicted to finish in second place in the East Division.


Preseason All-SEC teams

The Gamecocks had three players at five positions selected to the preseason all-SEC teams. Offense ''1st team''
Deebo Samuel Tyshun Raequan "Deebo" Samuel Sr. (born January 15, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and w ...
– WR ''3rd team'' Zack Bailey – OL Specialists ''1st team'' Deebo Samuel – RET Deebo Samuel – all purpose player ''2nd team''
Joseph Charlton Joseph Charlton (born April 7, 1997) is an American football punter (football), punter. He played college football at South Carolina Gamecocks football, South Carolina. College career Charlton was a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks for fiv ...
– P


Recruiting


Position key


2018 recruiting class


Incoming transfers

South Carolina added two grad transfers, and two regular transfers to the 2018 roster.


Schedule


Spring game

The 2018 South Carolina Gamecocks Garnet and Black spring game took place in
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...
on March 31, at 12:00 p.m. EST. The game was broadcast live on the
SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...
. The Black team defeated the Garnet team by a score of 34–20, QB
Jake Bentley Jacob Lane Bentley (born November 23, 1997) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Bentley played college football for the South Carolina Gamecock ...
completed 15 of 25 passes for 174 yards and 2 TD's.


Regular season

South Carolina announced its 2018 football schedule on September 19, 2017. The schedule consists of 7 home games and 5 away games for the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted SEC opponents
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
(
rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
) on September 8,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
on October 6,
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
on October 13, and
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, on October 27. South Carolina traveled to four SEC opponents: Vanderbilt,
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...
and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. South Carolina's out of conference opponents represent the ACC,
MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...
, SoCon and
Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...
conferences. The Gamecocks hosted three non–conference games which are against Coastal Carolina of the Sun Belt,
Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...
of the MAC and
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...
of the SoCon. South Carolina traveled to archrival Clemson of the ACC for 116th annual Palmetto Bowl to finish the regular season. The Gamecocks were originally scheduled to face
Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...
opponent
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
on September 15, but this game was cancelled due to
Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third hurri ...
. Akron was then scheduled as a replacement.


Personnel


Coaching staff

South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp entered his third-year in 2018. Muschamp led the Gamecocks to 15 wins and 11 losses over his first two years, tying
Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...
, and
Joe Morrison Joseph R. Morrison (August 21, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1959 to 1972. M ...
for most wins in the first two seasons as a Gamecock head coach. On December 6, Offensive Coordinator Kurt Roper was terminated after offensive struggles. Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach
Bryan McClendon Bryan McClendon (born December 28, 1983) is an American football coach who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the passing game coordinator and wide rec ...
served as the offensive coordinator for the Outback Bowl win against Michigan, and was promoted to permanent offensive coordinator to replace Roper. On January 5, Dan Werner accepted the role of quarterbacks coach. Werner has previously been on Ole Miss, Miami, and Alabama's coaching staff. On January 11, it was announced that former South Carolina star running back
Marcus Lattimore Marcus Lattimore (born October 29, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, w ...
would be joining the staff as the director of player development.


Roster


Depth chart


Game summaries


Coastal Carolina


vs No. 3 Georgia


At Vanderbilt


At Kentucky


Missouri


Texas A&M


Tennessee


At Ole Miss


At Florida


Chattanooga


At Clemson


Akron


Vs. Virginia (Belk Bowl)


Rankings


Players drafted into the NFL


Notes and references

{{South Carolina Gamecocks football navbox
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
South Carolina Gamecocks football seasons
South Carolina Gamecocks football The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the University of South Carolina. The South Carolina Gamecocks, Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern ...