10 things to know about the 2020 season
It’s game week.
The South Carolina football season kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium. Tennessee is coming to town, two weeks before originally planned, to start a season three weeks after Labor Day weekend.
The Gamecocks, coming off a 4-8 season, shook up their coaching staff this offseason with hopes of fixing and offense that fell off the map.
There’s a lot we’ll learn about this team in coming weeks, but here are 10 things to know before Saturday’s kickoff on the SEC Network.
1. A different look for Gamecocks’ schedule
USC and its SEC counterparts are playing a 10-game conference-only schedule that begins Saturday. Yes, this season is weird. Thanks, coronavirus. The Gamecocks dropped three winnable games off the original slate and one longshot. They added two where they likely won’t be favored but likely won’t be massive underdogs, either. Maybe they won’t play all the games if there’s any sort of COVID-19 outbreak at USC or one of their opponents. And who knows about bowls? Buckle up.
2. Collin Hill is South Carolina’s new QB
Gamecocks fans will watch new quarterback Collin Hill in a new offense. The graduate transfer from Colorado State unseated an Elite 11 passer (Ryan Hilinski) who was pressed into action last year as a true freshman.
3. Reduced USC football stadium capacity
South Carolina will admit just short of 20,000 people into Williams-Brice Stadium this season because of the pandemic. That includes some students, a smaller band and other assorted stadium personnel. Only 15,000 ticket holders will be let in. The school will still unveil new seating areas and club areas in this most unusual season.
4. Mike Bobo and the change he’ll bring
At the very least, the Gamecocks’ attack will look different this season. Bobo, the team’s new offensive coordinator, uses more under-center and two-back looks than any recent Gamecocks squad. He’s the third OC of the Muschamp era.
5. COVID-19 testing goes 3 days a week in game week
The school had been testing just about everyone in the football operations building twice a week, and that bumps to three times a week once games start. The final test will be Fridays, creating the potential for some unexpected absences.
6. Watch for social justice statements on gamedays
Clemson has already put messages on its helmets and field, and South Carolina could do the same. Receiver Dakereon Joyner said the team is still discussing exactly what it might do.
7. No Gamecock Walk and a different Williams-Brice gameday
The longstanding tradition where fans line up in Gamecock Park and the players walk from the football facility to the stadium won’t happen this year. Tailgating will be discouraged. The band won’t play on the field. In short, it’ll look different. One thing that’s new: USC will debut a large Gamecock statue outside Williams-Brice Stadium.
8. Another set of new uniforms at South Carolina
Although the school has yet to officially unveil them, images of the garnet-and-white versions of the “Black Magic” throwback uniforms from last year found their way onto social media. They will likely find their way onto the field soon enough.
9. Two Gamecock juniors are making NFL cases
Israel Mukuamu and Jaycee Horn got some love from the NFL Draft prognostication world this offseason. That hype is often fleeting, but both will be playing for a chance to improve pro stocks and perhaps make the choice whether to make the jump an easier one.
10. It’s an unusual Year 5 for the Will Muschamp era
By most logic, the Gamecocks coach had a ton riding on this year. The schedule was tough again, and SEC coaches after their first few years are rarely afforded back-to-back losing seasons. But the rejiggered schedule is a curveball and a projected $44 million budget deficit for the athletic department makes any coaching changes and the accompanying buyouts unappetizing.
South Carolina Gamecocks’ 2020 football schedule
Sept. 26: home vs. Tennessee, 7:30 pm (SEC Network)
Oct. 3: at Florida, noon (ESPN)
Oct. 10: at Vanderbilt
Oct. 17: home vs. Auburn
Oct. 24: at LSU
Oct. 31: OPEN
Nov. 7: home vs. Texas A&M, 7:30 pm (ESPN or SEC Network)
Nov. 14: at Ole Miss
Nov. 21: home vs. Missouri
Nov. 28: home vs. Georgia
Dec. 5: at Kentucky
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 10:45 AM with the headline "10 things to know about the 2020 season."
