Last Saturday, South Carolina earned bowl eligibility for the second time in the Shane Beamer era. The Gamecocks defeated Vandy in a 38-27 win that wasn’t ugly, but wasn’t particularly pretty either.

With three challenging opponents left on the schedule, how will the Gamecocks finish out the regular season? 

Obviously if South Carolina finishes out the season the way they played against Vanderbilt, it won’t end well. Allowing 27 points against the 97th ranked offense in the country is terrible. Point blank… If Vandy can score 27 against the Gamecocks, how many points do you suppose Tennessee will put up? Much less Florida (who offensively has been hot). 

Offensively, the Gamecocks appeared improved from last week, but looking at Vandy defensively, they currently have the 7th worst defense in the FBS. With that being said, Carolina put up only 7 points in the second half, and they weren’t able to completely put Vandy away. 

So, from last week to this week. Not a lot has seemed to have changed with this South Carolina team. If anything, they look worse defensively. With this in mind, does that indicate that South Carolina will lose out guaranteed? Well… not exactly. 

One thing South Carolina has shown over the past two seasons is inconsistency. Last season, Carolina won big against Florida, lost against Mizzou, then bounced back and beat Auburn. Only to be shut out by Clemson at home the following game.

This season, Carolina defeated Kentucky and A&M back to back, only to be taken out by Mizzou at home in front of a sold out crowd. A rather confusing and unpredictable pattern. 

Therefore, I don’t see them playing on the same level (of the last two games) for the remainder of the season. Instead, I seem them playing well for one or two out of the next three games and horribly for the other, earning a potential win or respectable loss. They will step up in at least one game, but do not expect them to be consistent with that type of play. It just doesn’t seem to be in their nature. 

For example, Carolina would beat Florida, play well against Tennessee, and get destroyed by Clemson. Or, lose to Florida, play well against Tennessee, and lose to Clemson.

You can mix it around any way you want, but at the end of the day, I predict their to be little consistency (good or bad) in these final 3 games. 

Obviously, inconsistency is not something you want out of your football team. However, it beats the hell out of consistently bad play. At this point in the season, the last thing we want is Carolina to stay consistent with their current level of play.

Let’s support the boys till the end, and who knows. They could end up winning a game or two to finish off the season. You really never know with this team.