Leading up to the season, opinions on the definition of "success" for Shane Beamer's inaugural season floated around from Gamecock fans and college football analysts. But, there was one that seemed to be the most popular take on the topic: a bowl game.
A level .500 record and an invite to a bowl game would be enough, it seemed, for the talking heads to declare that Shane Beamer had elevated the program past where Will Muschamp left it. After opening the season with a pair of wins, the Gamecocks went to Athens, and like many more teams more than likely will, walked out after being thoroughly dismantled.
But some analysts, myself included, were impressed, despite a 40-13 score, with the tenacity showed by this team. On Monday's show, I said that I felt much less frustration with that loss then I felt during a handful of wins during Muschamp's final season. Late in the game, as the Gamecocks watched Georgia extend the lead, the fight remained. They didn't lay down, they didn't roll over. Despite being outgunned by one of the heaviest heavyweights in the country, Beamers' Boys keep fighting, kept punching, kept looking for opportunities to put points up, to show they weren't last year's team.
Leading up the UGA contest, I had one major talking point: this game was NOT the one that would dictate the rest of the season of USC. It would be the game after it. This week. Kentucky.
The matchup with the Wildcats would be the most telling game South Carolina plays all year, the one that fans will be able to put a finger on exactly who they are.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, a close loss to Kentucky isn't going to derail the program. Anyone connected to it, including recruits Shane is trying to win away from similar programs, already understands the program is climbing upward, and has a way to go.
However, a big loss would be a problem. Those same recruits want to be convinced that their help would go some distance towards the next level. Kentucky is the second evenly matched team on the schedule, after a better than appreciated ECU - a game the Gamecocks won on the road. By proving that they're up to speed with arguably the best team in the history of Kentucky football, USC will show that while there are many steps ahead of them, their feet are firmly planted on the staircase, ready to move forward.
So, why is this game a must win for the Gamecocks?
Simple: because the 6-6 level most of us believe will be an indicator of the upward trajectory relies on it. South Carolina has few games on the schedule that they'll be favored in - and this is not one of them.
Next week, Troy will likely take some points on the betting line. If South Carolina can beat Kentucky, they might be a slight favorite against Tennessee. Mizzou may also be an underdog, though playing at the other SEC based Columbia may reduce that number.
So, with at a maximum three games USC will be considered favorites, the margin of error to "win the ones you're supposed to" and make a bowl game is very slim. Beamer & Co. will need to win at least one game that they're considered an underdog if they want to get in.
And that game is Kentucky.
I suspect fans won't be bailing on the team if they fall. But, it will go down as a huge missed opportunity. Not only would USC add an underdog win to the total, not only would they pick up a very important SEC win, but they make the journey to a bowl game that much easier - and with that invite comes all the attention to the next crop of talent that would otherwise not consider a team who's season ends on rivalry week.
Will Beamer's opening season be a failure if they lose to Kentucky? No. And there's no telling if this team gets better as the season goes on, even if they DO lose.
But the likelihood of the season being "lost" if they BEAT Kentucky drops dramatically. And as a program in the position of South Carolina, opportunities like this one are way too rare to pass up.
