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2017 South Carolina

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Will Muschamp.

Schedule and results

South Carolina in 2017, game by game: won vs. NC State 35–28; won at Missouri 31–13; lost vs. Kentucky 13–23; won vs. Louisiana Tech 17–16; lost at Texas A&M 17–24; won vs. Arkansas 48–22; won at Tennessee 15–9; won vs. Vanderbilt 34–27; lost at No. 2 Georgia 10–24; won vs. Florida 28–20; won vs. Wofford 31–10; lost vs. No. 4 Clemson 10–34; won vs. Michigan 26–19+26−24Won 35–28 vs. NC State+7NC StateWon 31–13 at Missouri+18MissouriLost 13–23 vs. Kentucky-10KentuckyWon 17–16 vs. Louisiana Tech+1Louisiana TechLost 17–24 at Texas A&M-7Texas A&MWon 48–22 vs. Arkansas+26ArkansasWon 15–9 at Tennessee+6TennesseeWon 34–27 vs. Vanderbilt+7VanderbiltLost 10–24 at No. 2 Georgia-14No. 2 GeorgiaWon 28–20 vs. Florida+8FloridaWon 31–10 vs. Wofford+21WoffordLost 10–34 vs. No. 4 Clemson-24No. 4 ClemsonWon 26–19 vs. Michigan+7Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsNC StateW 35–⁠2840%
Sep 9atMissouriW 31–⁠1347%
Sep 16vsKentuckyL 13–⁠2360%
Sep 23vsLouisiana TechW 17–⁠1655%
Sep 30atTexas A&ML 17–⁠2431%
Oct 7vsArkansasW 48–⁠2256%
Oct 14atTennesseeW 15–⁠938%
Oct 28vsVanderbiltW 34–⁠2769%
Nov 4at2GeorgiaL 10–⁠2420%
Nov 11vsFloridaW 28–⁠2061%
Nov 18vsWoffordW 31–⁠1072%
Nov 25vs4ClemsonL 10–⁠3426%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsMichiganOutback BowlW 26–⁠1938%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 26–⁠19 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
315–⁠269
Coach
Will Muschamp
Elo
1605 +122 this season
SP+ rating
7.8 No. 41 of 128; offense No. 69, defense No. 22, special teams No. 91
SRS
6.2 No. 41 of 130 in FBS
Returning
87% of last season’s EPA, No. 10 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 21 roster talent No. 25 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kurt Roper and Bryan McClendon
Defensive coordinator
Travaris Robinson
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense88th of 130
  • Defense48th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted78th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted34th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0542%1.1888th of 130
Defense0.0542%1.1248th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.03 def		43% off
41% def		—78th off
34th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 3218% allowed
Defense2.9own 2917% caused

CORE rating 6.0, 40th of 130 (offense -1.2, defense -7.2).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJake Bentley QB2,794 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Bentley QB18 TD
Rushing yardsA.J. Turner RB531 yds
Rushing touchdownsJake Bentley QB6 TD
Receiving yardsBryan Edwards WR793 yds
Receiving touchdownsBryan Edwards WR5 TD
TacklesSkai Moore LB93 tkl
SacksD.J. Wonnum LB6 sacks
InterceptionsSkai Moore LB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Jamyest Williams CB★★★★No. 76
OrTre Smith WR★★★★No. 127
Shi Smith ATH★★★★No. 228
Brad Johnson WDE★★★★No. 308
M.J. Webb SDE★★★★No. 312

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.833
Receivers43.30.890
Offensive line43.00.857
Defensive line43.50.880
Linebackers33.00.862
Defensive backs43.30.875
Athletes and specialists14.00.913
Whole class223.20.871

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Hayden Hurst TEBaltimore Ravens

Roster 103

The 2017 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 48 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠22
Auburn7–⁠110–⁠410
LSU6–⁠29–⁠418
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠4
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠419
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠56–⁠6
Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Tennessee0–⁠84–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.