It's safe to say a part of the hype building for South Carolina's 2018 season is built around the schedule.
There are two bears in Georgia and Clemson to be sure. But beyond that, the next four-best programs USC faces are breaking in new coaches.
According to a ranking by CBS's Tom Fornelli, USC has one of the more favorable slates in the SEC.
Fornelli ranked the Gamecocks' schedule ninth in the league in terms of difficulty, which is aided by the lack of a second Power Five team in the non-conference slate.