South Carolina’s 2025 season was a hard crash, but Greg McElroy thinks the Gamecocks are set up to turn it around in 2026.
The ESPN analyst pointed to last year’s collapse - a 4-8 finish after opening the season in the top 15 and carrying legitimate Playoff hype - as the kind of failure that can force real change. In his view, the biggest issue was simple: the offense never found its footing.
“South Carolina came into last year ranked in the top 15 with legitimate Playoff hype and finished 4-8, probably one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of the program,” McElroy said. “It happened for one simple reason: The offense just struggled get out of their own way.”
That’s where McElroy sees the shift beginning. Shane Beamer’s midseason move to fire offensive coordinator Mike Shula and bring in Kendal Briles is the change he believes can unlock both the system and LaNorris Sellers.
“(Briles) has made dual-threat quarterbacks sing for years and years and years,” McElroy said Wednesday on his “Always College Football” podcast. “LaNorris Sellers is back, and this is an explosive quarterback who regressed a little bit early in the season in a broken system.
Now he gets an offense that is built to do exactly what he does. … This is a team that everyone expected last year, just one year late.”
The schedule also gives South Carolina a boost. The Gamecocks drew four of the bottom five teams in the SEC for 2026, a break that could matter if the offense clicks.
South Carolina opens the 2026 season on Sept. 5 at home against Kent State at 12:45 pm ET on SEC Network. SEC play begins at home on Sept. 19 against Mississippi State at 4:15 pm ET on SEC Network.
In Other News...
South Carolina Is Still Waiting On A Huge Offensive Line Answer
South Carolinas search for answers up front has taken another familiar turn, with the Gamecocks adding offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak out of N.C. State. It is the latest example of South Carolina leaning on the transfer portal to patch an offensive line that needs help, and it also continues a recent pipeline from Raleigh, where the Gamecocks have already pulled in former Wolfpack players.
For N.C. State, losing another key piece to a program with more financial firepower has become part of the modern reality Dave Doeren has had to live with, even if it does not make the departures any easier. Peak brings a track record that suggests he can help right away, and South Carolina is still waiting on the final piece of the puzzle as it looks to sort out what its line will look like when the season opens. [Read more 🡒]
Ranking The 5 Tight Ends Who Could Test South Carolina In 2026
South Carolinas 2026 schedule already has the look of a grind, and the tight end spot could be one of the places where the Gamecocks are forced to stay sharp all fall. A new ranking of the five best tight ends they are expected to see next season leans heavily on SEC familiarity, with Georgias Lawson Luckie, Kentuckys Willie Rodriguez and Tennessees Ethan Davis all drawing attention for the problems they can create in the middle of the field.
The list also reaches beyond the league, pointing to Oklahomas Hayden Hansen and Texas A&Ms Houston Thomas as matchup names worth tracking when the schedule turns. For South Carolina, the larger issue is less about one player than the variety of styles it may have to handle, from proven production to transfers with fresh starts, and the kind of test that can quietly shape a defense over the course of a season. [Read more 🡒]