Considering where these teams stood three or four weeks into the season, this hardly seemed like a game where one could say South Carolina absolutely should win.
But if USC is as good as it has seemed to be, it is now.
The Gamecocks are by no means perfect. Their defense is a rising bend-but-don’t break group, with performances that take a closer eye to appreciate (Pro Football Focus has praised a range of USC players). The offense is stop-and-start, with solid to good playmakers at a variety of spots, but a whole that feels a little short of that.