Gamecocks eyeing big finish to season
With back-to-back wins for the first time this season, South Carolina heads to Florida Saturday looking to seal a winning Southeastern Conference record for a second consecutive season.
The Gamecocks (5-3, 4-3 SEC) also will be looking to lock down bowl eligibility for a third consecutive year under coach Will Muschamp, who is emphasizing a steady-as-she-goes approach with his players to the matchup with the Gators (6-3, 4-3 SEC).
“I think our guys have been pretty steady in their approach each week and understand the workmanlike mentality on a Tuesday,” Muschamp said. “Same for Wednesday and Thursday.
“That’s the one thing these guys do is go in and work. I think their preparation has been very good to this point. Obviously, we’re a little inconsistent with our play on Saturdays earlier in the fall and, hopefully, we’re getting better.”
The Gamecocks’ last four games have been decided by four points or fewer. They got by Ole Miss 48-44 last week on the road after a 27-24 win over Tennessee the week before.
Earlier, they rallied for a 37-35 win over Missouri but came up short in a 26-23 loss to Texas A&M.
The trip to Gainesville will be the second for Muschamp since he became South Carolina’s coach. The first for the former Gators coach was in 2016, when host Florida held on for a 20-7 victory after jumping out to a 20-0 lead after three quarters.
Muschamp was asked about the differences for this trip.
“We’re an older team, number one,” he said. “We have more experience on our football team. For me, it’s another SEC East opponent. I know y’all have a hard time believing that, but it really is.
“We spend as much time at the office this week as we do every single week that we have. It’s another great opportunity for our team on the road.”
The game will wrap up conference play for the Gamecocks. They are back home to host Chattanooga on Nov. 17, go to Clemson on Nov. 24, and then finish the regular season against Akron on Dec. 1 in a makeup game that was just confirmed last week.
South Carolina had a September game against Marshall cancelled because of a Hurricane Florence, and Akron had its opener at Nebraska eventually called off because of lightning in the Lincoln area.
