# 2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The 2017 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks played their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by second-year head coach Will Muschamp. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in second place in the East Division. They were invited to the Outback Bowl, where they defeated Michigan.
Led by returning quarterback Jake Bentley and the SEC's top turnover defense, the 2017 season was the peak of the Muschamp era. The Gamecocks had their first winning season and bowl victory since 2014. The nine-win season was only the seventh in school history, and the first since 2013. South Carolina had another three-win improvement over the previous season.

## 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2017) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jamyest Williams CB | Loganville, GA | Grayson | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | Aug 27, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| Shi Smith ATH | Union, SC | Union | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 11, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 |||||||
| OrTre Smith WR | Mount Pleasant, SC | Wando | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 217 lb (98 kg) | Sep 11, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| M.J. Webb DE | Madison, GA | Morgan County High | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 271 lb (123 kg) | Aug 19, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Aaron Sterling DE | Tucker, GA | Tucker High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 259 lb (117 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Javon Kinlaw DT | Goose Creek, SC | Jones County Junior College | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Will Register TE | Chapin, SC | Chapin | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Nov 11, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Keisean Nixon CB | Compton, CA | Arizona Western College | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Dec 14, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 |||||||
| Chad Terrell WR | Dallas, GA | North Paulding | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 11, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 Rivals: 16 247Sports: 21 ESPN: 19 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule

South Carolina announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Gamecocks hosted SEC foes Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.
The Gamecocks hosted three of its four non–conference games which are against Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Louisiana Tech from Conference USA and Wofford from the Southern Conference and travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Belk Kickoff against NC State from the ACC.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. NC State* | | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game) | ESPN | W 35–28 | 50,367 |
| September 9 | 7:00 p.m. | at Missouri | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (Mayor's Cup, SEC Nation) | ESPN2 | W 31–13 | 55,023 |
| September 16 | 7:30 p.m. | Kentucky | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | L 13–23 | 82,493 |
| September 23 | 3:30 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | W 17–16 | 71,821 |
| September 30 | 7:30 p.m. | at Texas A&M | | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX | SECN | L 17–24 | 96,430 |
| October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Arkansas | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | W 48–22 | 79,416 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | at Tennessee | | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | ESPN | W 15–9 | 98,104 |
| October 28 | 4:00 p.m. | Vanderbilt | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | W 34–27 | 78,992 |
| November 4 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Georgia | | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (rivalry) | CBS | L 10–24 | 92,746 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | Florida | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | CBS | W 28–20 | 79,727 |
| November 18 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 7 (FCS) Wofford* | | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | SECN | W 31–10 | 74,742 |
| November 25 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 3 Clemson* | No. 24 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC (Palmetto Bowl / SEC Nation) | ESPN | L 10–34 | 82,908 |
| January 1, 2018 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Michigan* | | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL (Outback Bowl) | ESPN2 | W 26–19 | 45,687 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 31 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | RV |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | Not released |