*** NCAA Football Preview - South Carolina Gamecocks ***

From The My Sportsbook

By Pat Taggart, College Football Staff Writer

2003 SEASON IN REVIEW: Lou Holtz entered the 2003 season with a fairly young collection of players, and there was no identifiable stars on the team. Still, the defense surrendered just seven points in each of the first two games en route to victory, there was some noticeable excitement amongst the fans. Unfortunately, wins were hard to come by from that point on. Over their final 10 contests, the squad was able to hold its opponents under 20 points only once. The final record of Holtz's team was 5-7, and the lone SEC triumphs came over Vanderbilt and Kentucky, two of the worst teams in the league. The record could have been much better, however, as three of team's losses came by three points or fewer. One of those narrow misses came in mid-November against Florida, one of four straight setbacks to close out the campaign.

2004 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: South Carolina has run a spread offense in recent years with little success, and Holtz decided to change things around in the offseason. The Gamecocks will come out in a two-back set on several occasions in 2004, and that is good news considering that the squad's best offensive players are its backs. Demetris Summers is just a sophomore and showed outstanding speed as a rookie, while junior Daccus Turman is the leading returning rusher. With a speed back like Summers and a bruising back like Turman, South Carolina has plenty of options. Those two players will benefit tremendously if quarterback Dondrial Pinkins can provide a solid passing threat. Pinkins is huge at 245 pounds, but he barely completed 50 percent of his passes a year ago. Holtz is a big fan of Pinkins' talent but admits that he underachieved a year ago. There is a wealth of speed at wide receiver, as Troy Williamson and Matthew Thomas are both burners. Four of the five offensive linemen are returning starters, and the unit should be much improved as a result.

DEFENSE: A new defensive coordinator is in place, as Rick Minter will attempt to improve a group that surrendered 63 points in the 2003 season finally against Clemson. Seven starters are back in place, and the line should be the strength. Both ends and both tackles are returning starters. The ends, Moe Thompson and George Gause, both posted five sacks a year ago and have the talent to improve on that figure. Neither of the tackles are over 300 pounds, but Darrell Shropshire and Freddy Saint-Preux are athletic and experienced. The leading returning tackler for the squad, Marcus Lawrence, is back to anchor the linebacking corps. Considering neither of the starting corners has ever started a Division I-A game, the defensive backfield could be a problem area.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Josh Brown will definitely handle the punting duties for the Gamecocks, and he very well may be the placekicker too. Brown did not hit either of his two field goal attempts in 2003, so he is far from a sure thing. As for the return duties, expect Williamson to be explosive on kickoffs.

OUTLOOK: It has been more than three decades since Holtz suffered three consecutive losing seasons, and South Carolina has posted back-to-back 5-7 records. The strength of this team should be the ground attack, as Summers and Turman are both capable of putting up 1,000 rushing yards. The new offense will make Pinkins look better than he is, and the big signal caller is adequate at best. A winning season appears to be on tap for the Gamecocks, and a .500 SEC record is possible.