Thomas: If we don’t beat Florida by two touchdowns, something is seriously wrong. We shouldn’t struggle with this team at all. Seriously, if we play down to their level at this point in the year that is nothing but terrible. We play better defense and have an extremely better offense than them. I expect Bentley to cross 300 yards by about halfway through the third, and Michael Scarnecchia will get to play. 38-10 Gamecocks.

Demetri: Watch this be the game where the Gators really rally for Randy Shannon. Ha ha! Just kidding! Florida stinks. Randy Shannon stinks. The two power houses in the Sunshine State are very clearly counting down to the season just being over. Muschamp knows this defense well. The offense has made one great play all season and it was the result of Butch Jones Butch Jonesing all over the place. I am still not in love with the Cocks’ offense, but I think it will get the job done. Carolina 27 Florida 10.

Katie: Predictably, my prediction this week is again that South Carolina will win. Unlike some past weeks, though, I’m pretty confident in this actually happening because Florida is...uh...very ungood. They’re pretty much bad at everything. It’s great. A small part of me fears this will be the game USC loses that they absolutely shouldn’t for this season, but I think the Gators’ overall badness will prevent them from getting out of their own way, even if the Gamecocks don’t look great.

Kody: I’m a little divided on how I feel about this game. I pegged it as the Gamecocks’ best chance for an SEC upset before the season started, and as things stand now, I think it’s an even more winnable matchup. To me, the biggest question is whether USC walks in with inflated egos and plays down to the competition (ala the Kentucky game). I’m not too worried about Florida being fired up and playing for pride, because honestly, that team looks like it has quit in just about every respect, and they seem to want the season to be over already. Nonetheless, Florida always has talent, and the Gamecocks have only had a couple comfortable wins this year. I’ll take USC 24-10 in an ugly one.

Kaci: The Gators are in really rough shape right now (which is very satisfying to me as an ardent Florida hater) and the Gamecocks should be able to win this one. Florida just isn’t really doing anything well right now and they just got blown out by Missouri, which is pretty embarrassing for them. I don’t think Carolina will blow them out because nothing is ever that easy, but I think the Gamecocks will pull off a nice win to finish off SEC play. I’ll say Gamecocks 27-14.

14. Texas A&M Aggies (LW: 11)

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The SEC Network literally aired a special during SEC Nation about cupcake games. An offensive lineman from Nicholls, Texas A&M’s opponent from Saturday, literally admitted that they knew they were cupcakes and were supposed to lose. With less than ten minutes in the 4th quarter, this game was tied at 14 a piece. Had Kevin Sumlin lost this game, he would've been fired. The Aggies are going to be putrid this year. They'll be lucky to win six games.

13. Kentucky Wildcats (LW: 14)

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The only reason Kentucky bumped up a spot from last week is because of how awful Texas A&M is. The Wildcats struggled just as much as the Aggies, but Kentucky is 2-0 and A&M is 1-1. They held a three point lead over Eastern Kentucky going in to halftime, who is a team that will probably end up 6-6. Which is probably what Kentucky’s final record will be.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores (LW: 13)

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The Commodores can thank A&M and UK for sucking it up the last two weeks for this spot. Neither of these three teams have proven little to nothing to me. Vanderbilt is 2-0 for the first time since Derek Mason took over, and they have held their opponents to 3 points per game. That is a good stat, but the opponents were Alabama A&M and Middle Tennessee State. Those aren't exactly great teams. We’ll know more after the next two weeks, when they play Alabama and Kansas State.

11. Missouri Tigers (LW: 10)

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Yeah, Mizzou put up 73 on an FCS opponent and everyone called them world beaters. This week, they played South Carolina at home and scored 13 on a defense that isn't supposed to be great by any means. Drew Lock did get screwed with a couple of drops from his WRs, but that doesn't excuse 13 points. They play Purdue and Auburn in back to back weeks, so the schedule doesn't get any easier.

10. Ole Miss Rebels (LW: 12)

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Well, through two week Shea Patterson has tore up South Alabama and UT Martin. People think he is nothing short of a god for this, but I don't. I think Ole Miss is an average team, and will only go down as the year goes on. I don't get his hype train, mainly because the talent around him is only going to decrease as time rolls on. The Rebels have Alabama in three weeks, so they better get prepared.

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My hate for Tennessee will never allow them to be high on these rankings unless they go 15-0. Even then, I doubt I will give them credit. They barely scraped out a week one win against Georgia Tech, and now have to travel to Florida in a big game for the East. The Gators will be a very good measurement stick for where they are after next week’s game.

8. Mississippi State Bulldogs (LW: 8)

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The Bulldogs put on an offensive showcase last week, putting 57 on LA Tech and Skip Holtz. State hasn't had anything but two cupcake games to open up the season and make them feel good about themselves. Unlike other teams in the SEC, they've dominated their cupcakes. They have LSU coming in to town this week, so we will know if the Bulldogs are the real deal or not.

7. Arkansas Razorbacks (LW: 6)

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Austin Allen was on his back for a lot of this game and the offensive line looked pretty bad. TCU beat the Razorbacks 28-7, and Arkansas couldn't get their offense going at all. The Horned Frogs usually have a pretty high powered offense, so giving up 28 points wasn't the entire problem. Hopefully Bret Bielema can offensively get them right so they won't drop a stinker to Texas A&M.

6. Florida Gators (LW: 7)

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Florida didn't even play this week and they moved up a spot. Their game was cancelled because of Hurricane Irma, and our prayers and thoughts are with everyone that has been affected by this. If the Gators can find an identity on offense, they should be able to handle the Volunteers in the Swamp.

5. Georgia Bulldogs (LW: 4)

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Georgia just went on the road and beat a ranked Notre Dame team. A team that will end up 5-7, and this is one of those teams that is always overhyped and ranked heading in to the season (looking at you Southern Cal). Part of this is my hate for Georgia, and the other part is me being realistic. Georgia is the team everyone is expecting to win the SEC East, but I don't know if they have the passing game to do it. Jake Fromm ended with a QBR of 13.2, which is atrocious. If Sony Michel and Nick Chubb weren't on that team, they would have scored 6 points.

4. South Carolina Gamecocks (LW: 5)

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I realize to 99.9% of you, this seems like a homer answer. Part of it is, part of it is being realistic. South Carolina has the potential to start the season 4-0, which no one except me said they could do. The Cocks held Missouri to 13 points on the road, when the previous week they scored 70+. The defense for South Carolina is starting to play like the better teams of the Spurrier era, which is a great sign. I think Georgia doesn't have the offensive firepower to keep with South Carolina. Boom, bold prediction for you.

3. Auburn Tigers (LW: 3)

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Auburn went on the road and played one of the best defensive lines in the country. It showed, with Jarrett Stidham getting sacked 11 times. I think they have the defense and run game to compete in the West, and they stayed in competition with the defending National Champions for all of the game. I give credit where credit is due, but the passing attack from the Tigers is going to have to improve if they want to have a legit chance to win the West.

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Honestly, the defense for LSU has looked great but the opponents have been BYU and Chattanooga. Their offense has looked pretty good so far, but the defense has a real test next week with Nick Fitzgerald coming in to town. I think LSU will be a contender in the West right there with Auburn and Alabama, and it is going to be a very interesting year in the SEC.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (same)

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It’s Alabama. They handed Florida State with a crappy night offensively and beat Fresno State 41-10. Don't know what else anyone could want.

Junior tight end Hayden Hurst and senior linebacker Skai Moore were placed on the first team, while junior offensive lineman Zack Bailey and junior wide receiver Deebo Samuel were third-team selections. Hurst is on the list after a strong 2016 season that saw him make 48 catches for 616 yards and a touchdown while starting every game. Samuel, who has the distinction of appearing twice (both as a receiver and an all-purpose player), battled injuries last year but made 59 catches for 783 yards and a touchdown while rushing for six more scores in ten games. Moore was a first-team pick despite missing all of 2016 due to injury.

With such a young roster, it's not surprising only a handful of veteran Gamecocks stood out to the coaches, so it’s hard to argue there are any snubs here. USC might have a candidate or two who could make a push for league honors by the end of the season, but only time will tell.

Chris Lammons + Jamarcus King | MJ Webb | D.J. Smith | Steven Montac
Rashad Fenton | Jamyest Williams | Kaleb Chalmers | Tavyn Jackson | Keisean Nixon | Antoine Wilder + Chris Smith | Zay Brown + Javon Charleston | Jaylin Dickerson | Griffin Gentry | Hassan Belton

#3 Chris Lammons

Senior / 5’10” / 190 / Lauderhill, Fla. / Plantation

After starting every game last season, Chris Lammons will be expected to start in the secondary for the Gamecocks in every contest again this season. His play picked up last season in his first full year as a starter. Aside from his ejection against Tennessee, he proved reliable to at least stay on the field. He was one of only eight players on the Gamecocks to start every game last season.

He finished in the top ten in the SEC with three interceptions last season. He also improved on his tackling numbers, racking up 29 more than the season before. Lammons can play at any of the corner positions, outside or at nickel-back. On the two-deep he was listed as the starting nickel and the number one back-up at both corner slots. That will change after camp but Lammons likely will still be out there with the starters in Charlotte, either at nickel or on the outside.

2016 Stats: 13 starts, 53 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Nine punt returns for 71 yards.

Recruitment: Four-star; 14 offers including Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State. Visited Wisconsin and South Carolina. Committed to South Carolina on Feb. 5, 2014.

#7 Jamarcus King

Senior / 6’2” / 186 / Mobile, Ala. / Blount (Coffeyville CC in Kansas)

King arrived in Columbia as one of the top JUCO defensive backs in the 2016 class. He played in all 13 games for the Gamecocks, including 11 starts. His best performance came in the win against Tennessee when he picked off Josh Dobbs twice en-route to being named SEC defensive player of the week. He flashed potential last season but was held back due to his lack of strength. He broke his arm in the spring game but has had no issues with the injury in camp.

He probably has the best ball-skills of the unit but if he was unable to add strength in during the off-season then he will be unable to reach his full potential. He’ll play every game when healthy and likely start most contests on the outside for the Gamecocks secondary.

2016 Stats: 13 games, 11 starts. 56 tackles, nine pass break-ups, three interceptions and a forced fumble.

Recruitment: Four-star; 16 offers including Auburn, Nebraska, Tennessee and Utah. Visited Baylor, Florida and South Carolina. Committed to South Carolina on Dec. 16, 2015.

#96 Aaron Thompson

Redshirt Freshman | 6’3”, 297 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Dillard

#35 Daniel Fennell

Redshirt Sophomore | 6’3”, 244 | Loganville, GA | Grayson

We haven’t heard much of Thompson and Fennell during fall camp, but that’s likely to change. Moreso with Fennell since he is listed behind D.J. Wonnum at BUCK on the preseason depth chart.

Fennell came in as a more highly rated recruit than Thompson. A graduate of a strong Grayson program, he didn’t play with Jamyest Williams ended up as the #21 inside linebacker in his class before switching to DE in college. Thompson was considered one of the better DTs in the country but also switched positions in college. Fortunately, since he was able to redshirt last year, he can “reboot” and start from scratch, so to speak.

Thompson’s 2016 stats: One game; redshirted in part due to injury

Recruitment: Thompson was a National Signing Day flip in 2016 as he spurned Maryland and decided on South Carolina. He received 27 offers from programs such as Cincinnati, Clemson, Louisville, LSU, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Fennell’s 2016 stats: Six games, one tackle

Recruitment: Received 21 offers and was thought to have Michigan State and Georgia in the lead. In the end, it was South Carolina getting his pledge on December 5, 2014.

And they’re never wrong so we can totally go ahead and count this game as won.

Back in March, a super duper early line out of Vegas had NC State as a seven-point favorite over South Carolina, which was at least mildly surprising in a matchup of the lowly ACC against its imminence the Southeastern Conference. (Imagine trumpets blaring, as though a king were being introduced on the premises, each time you read the phrase “Southeastern Conference.”)

But that line has not moved much so far: the latest from 5Dimes has NC State -5.5 against the Gamecocks, which is still a pretty healthy margin. Not surprising it’s lower than it had been, though now it almost feels too low. Don’t mind me; it’s about this time of year when the 100% pure Colombian optimism starts to take hold.

I’m addicted to optimism and these sportsbooks might as well be a dealer. (If you’re low on optimism, don’t worry, I know a guy who knows a guy.)

The line is likely to fluctuate more in the coming months, once we hit unexpected preseason injury season at the start of August. I’d be fine with that not being a factor either way this year, if it’s cool with everybody.

It’s only the fourth game of the season, but this could be a game the Gamecocks need to have to get to six wins.

Let’s be honest. I realize that the Gamecocks are not even a year removed from a crushing defeat to The Citadel - which, to their credit, is a pretty good FCS team, but still an FCS team nonetheless. So perhaps I shouldn’t be giving the Kentucky Wildcats so much grief for giving up 42 to New Mexico State. Granted, the Wildcats won 62-42, but they still gave up 42 points to a program that isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire out in the WAC.

Simply put, Kentucky hasn’t looked like a good football team thus far. They have allowed 40+ to their first three opponents - Southern Miss (44), Florida (45), and New Mexico State (42). Problem is, if you’re a Wildcat fan, the likelihood of Mark Stoops being fired after 2016 is pretty slim, due to the sheer amount of money it would cost to buy him out: $12 million. It’s obvious that the university was banking on a little more success from Stoops than a 13-26 career record and just four wins in the SEC.

The fact is that this might be the most beatable opponent for the Gamecocks in the pre-open week slate. And the reason is despite the fact that, well, the Gamecocks aren’t much better than the Wildcats despite their 2-1 record. They have major issues on their offensive line, their rushing attack hasn’t shown a huge amount of traction, and they have a quarterback that has shown some very good tendencies but is still finding his way as a true freshman. Of course, they’re going up against a Wildcats team that’s given up gobs of points, which, in a Gamecocks universe, probably means that they’ll get blown out of the building by halftime or lose in frustrating fashion. (By the way, those four conference wins the Wildcats have picked up in the Stoops era? Two of them have come against South Carolina.)

This is a type of game that the Gamecocks have to win if they want to go to a bowl. I think that we’ll get a good barometer of where they are headed the rest of the way based on what happens this weekend. After Saturday, their final two games before the open week are against Texas A&M (in October, so maybe there’s a chance) and Georgia, who might be a top 10 team when they step onto the Williams-Brice Stadium field if they take out Ole Miss and Tennessee. As much as Philip Nelson made some big mistakes the other day, it’s hard to envision Trevor Knight or Jacob Eason making those same ones, or either team gaining over 500 yards and still losing. The Aggies have Myles Garrett, a potential top five pick, on their side, while UGA’s Nick Chubb, who was explosive against North Carolina but has been pedestrian in his last two games, will be the best running back the Gamecocks face all year. They can ill afford to come out of this weekend 2-2 if they are to have any momentum and confidence headed into a five-game home stretch divided up by October 15’s open week.

Who knows? Maybe there is an upset in the making against either A&M or Georgia? Probably not. But it will be very difficult to get to that magic number of six wins if South Carolina can’t beat Kentucky. They need to force the issue on Saturday and make the Wildcats conform to their brand of football (flaws and all), or this one will more than likely turn out to be their third straight loss to Stoops and company.

The top player in the state spurns Clemson and is headed for Columbia.

The Gamecocks picked up a major in-state target this evening. OrTre Smith, ranked as the top player in South Carolina, committed to Will Muschamp and USC this evening. The 6’4”, 210-pound wideout becomes the program’s 22nd commit in the class of 2017 and is its third highest-ranked player according to 247Sports’ composite rankings (behind Jamyest Williams and MJ Webb).

Smith was one of the biggest targets on Muschamp’s radar since becoming South Carolina’s head coach. Muschamp rolled out the red carpet during the senior’s visit back in June and had been in frequent contact with him throughout the recruiting process. Now, with the wide receiver in the fold, the Gamecocks’ coach has taken a big step in establishing South Carolina as a destination over Clemson for up-and-coming recruits, especially within the state’s borders.

Last year, Smith rewrote the Wando High record books as he set the school’s record for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns (84 grabs, 1,319 yards, 16 scores). He is likely one of the final remaining major targets for the Gamecocks in the 2017 cycle as Muschamp and the staff look to finish out the class and begin working aggressively on 2018 recruits. With a player like Smith now on board, South Carolina will certainly be top of mind for some other in-state stars, namely elite end Xavier Thomas and quarterback Dakereon Joyner.

“I’ve never said ‘flocking to the ball’ in my life....don’t say that around our players.”

Big news just before the first snap.

The WR’s book is blank thus far, but we’ll get a glimpse of his capabilites in 2016.

The battle continues at QB, while we get a look at who will be starting where come September 1.

With the sophomore linebacker getting some action with the second team, it begs the question.