Steve Spurrier is 219-79-2 (73%) in 24 seasons as a head coach. He coached at Duke from 1987-89 and led the Blue Devils to a tie for the ACC Championship in ’89. Then he took over at his alma mater, Florida, and in 12 seasons (1990-2001) won six SEC Championships and a national title in 1996. Going into his ninth season at South Carolina, the Ball Coach has won 11 games three years in a row now, with bowl victories all three years. He won the SEC East in 2010, but did get clobbered by national champion Auburn and Cam Newton in the SEC title game that year. Still it’s been a great run for the Ball Coach and he could easily retire at 69 years old with a stellar career under his belt. But he doesn’t want to. Spurrier still wants to win an SEC title  or two and possibly a national title. He had a good recruiting year in 2014 with the 16th ranked class in the country, according to Rivals, which included 10 four-stars out of a 21-player class. He’s even doing better in this 2015 class with the fifth-ranked class in the country. He has 11 commits for 2015 with seven of them being four-stars. His top player, defensive end Shameik Blackshear, is a 6.0 four-star, the highest four-star ranking you can get. He’s the number two defensive end in the country and the No.1 player in South Carolina. Spurrier has been on a roll in his home state getting the top players in his state in the last several years including Jadeveon Clowney, the number one pick in the draft this year, who was the number one player in the country three years ago. Before that, Marcus Lattimore was the number one player in the country also and, of course, the number one player in South Carolina. Lattimore is competing for a spot on a little organization called the San Francisco 49ers now. Lattimore battled injuries some at SC, but had a pretty stellar career when he was healthy. Clowney had some attitude issues last fall, but his talent is enormous. The Houston Texans are banking on Clowney being an All=Pro. Now if they could just find a quarterback.

So Ball Coach has not slowed down one iota and has his program on the brink of greatness. This season looks very promising with the veteran Dylan Thompson (6’3″, 219, senior)  taking over at quarterback from the departed Connor Shaw. Shaw was the ultimate warrior, but Thompson got some spot relief and gained a lot of valuable experience over the last two years. He led the Gamecocks to a big win at Clemson in 2012. Last year he was 52-of-89 (58.4%) for 783 yards, four TDs and three ints. He led his team down to Orlando where they defeated Central Florida and in a highly contested game. The Knights went on to win the Fiesta Bowl over Baylor, crushing the Bears. Their quarterback, Blake Bortles, was the third player selected in the draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. So Thompson has very good experience, a good arm and good QB IQ. He’s not the runner that Shaw was, but Ball Coach doesn’t want him to run as much. He’s got the backs to handle most of that, though Thompson is still pretty athletic and can run if necessary. Behind Thompson there are four guys, Brandan Nosovitch (6’1″, 222), Pharoh Cooper (5″11″, 200), Perry Orth (6’1″, 211) and Connor Mitch (6’3″, 217) who all look capable. They’ve also got three-star quarterback Michael Scameecchia coming in this fall. Quarterback looks solid. The running back situation looks even better. Starter Mike Davis looks like he could be an All-American this season. Davis (5’9″, 216) ran for 1,183 yards and 11 TDs last season. His backup, Brandon Wilds (6’2″,218), battled some injuries last year and ran for 223 yards and two TDs because of injuries, but is highly capable. Redshirt freshman David Williams (6’1″, 210) looked excellent in the spring game, and three-star Joe Blue (6’0″, 235) is coming in this fall. Wide receivers are a little on the smaller side though Shaq Roland (6’1, 185), who caught 25 passes for 455 and five TDs, and Shamier Jeffery (6’1″, 203), Alshon’s little brother, bring some length outside. Damiere Byrd is the gamebreaker outside. Byrd caught 33 passes for 575 and four TDs last year. The tight ends are good sized though. Rory Anderson (6’5″, 230) caught 17 passes for 235 and Jerell Adams (6’6″, 247) caught 13 passes for 187 yards and two TDs. The line returns four of five starters and there is depth up front.

Defense was the Achilles Heel for SC last year. Can defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward turn it around on defense? That’s the question mark. The defense had some decent games, but some that were not so good, including a 41-30 loss to Georgia at Athens. The Gamecocks get the Dawgs in Columbia this season so that should help. Will predict that the week of the game. Want to see both play. If I had to give a team an edge right now though, I would go with SC, due to the home field. Saki Moore and the linebacking corps look pretty good for the Gamecocks. Moore is an excellent player who led the team in tackles with 56 and had four ints. The defense lost Clowney, Kelcy Quarles and Chaz Sutton off the front, so there will be some reloading  there. Secondary will be led by Chaz Elder and Shannon Golightly, who is more of a linebacker/safety hybrid or Spur.

If the Gamecocks can get it done on defense the team should be right there to win the SEC East. If they can do that, they have a shot to go to a major bowl, the Fiesta, Cotton or Orange. The Sugar and Rose will host the playoff semis. And if they win in Atlanta, who knows? Maybe the playoff.

The Gamecocks open with A&M at home @ 6 PM ET/5 CT on Thursday, Aug. 28 on the new SEC Network, then play East Carolina @ home, then the huge one against the Dawgs at home Sept. 13th. After the Gamecocks go to Vandy the next week, they play Missouri at home, go to Kentucky, have an off week, play Furman @ home, have a tough one down on the Plains @ Auburn (Oct. 25th), then UT at home, Florida on the road (Nov.15) in another major challenge, South Alahama @ home which won’t be a gimme; Joey Jones is doing an excellent job in Mobile. And the Gamecocks finish off  the season @ Clemson on Nov. 29th. The Ball Coach has beaten Clemson and Dabo five years in a row and he never goes many interviews without mentioning that. It’s pretty funny. Not to Dabo, but to SEC fans, particularly South Carolina fans. Clemson will be pumped for that one, so should be an epic.

So the schedule is tough, but the Gamecocks are a good team. Their defense will determine if they can make it to Atlanta, because their offense, provided they stay mostly healthy, should be stellar. I’m looking at a 10-win season for the Gamecocks, possibly better. Georgia at home, @Auburn, @ Florida and # Clemson  look pretty formidable, but not out of the question. Ten to 11 wins in Columbia, the SEC title game and a possible major bowl are all distinct possibilities.