What is a realistic good season for South Carolina football in year four of Shane Beamer?

If you are a South Carolina fan or in that program, what are realistic goals for this season? South Carolina is coming off a disappointing 2023 season with a record of 5-7.

South Carolina opens with Old Dominion, which should be a win. The following week, they play at Kentucky and the Gamecocks HAVE to win this game to have a good season. They play LSU the following week and then Akron.

Beating Kentucky would put them in a good position to be 3-1 after 4 weeks. Now knowing how unpredictable South Carolina is they will lose to Kentucky and beat LSU. After those 4 weeks, they get into the meat of their schedule playing Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.

The Gamecocks need to find a way to win one. Of those four games, the most likely would be Texas A&M at Williams Brice Stadium. This is the most realistic because it is a home game and Texas A&M has a new head coach in Mike Elko. This would put the Gamecocks at 4-4 overall.

The last four weeks are Vanderbilt, Missouri, Wofford, and Clemson. The Gamecocks should win against Vandy and Wofford which would put them at 6 wins.

South Carolina needs to win vs Missouri at home or away at Clemson. If the Gamecocks were able to do that, they would finish the season 7-5 and with a really good season for them based off of how difficult their schedule is.

This is a best-case scenario for the Gamecocks.