SEC Power Rankings following Week Four of 2019: Vols still the worst

It’s been a brutal start for Will Muschamp and the South Carolina Gamecocks. To be fair, the Missouri Tigers on the road and Alabama Crimson Tide are both game you would expect them to lose. But they just lost by 20 to Mizzou, 34-14. Combine that with their season-opening loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, and there’s no way to ignore their struggles.

South Carolina does not have the dominant defense you would expect it to have in Muschamp’s fourth year on the job. That’s why they are down here in our SEC Power Rankings. However, at 1-3, they are still a tier above the bottom three schools for now simply because they have a win, unlike the Vanderbilt Commodores, and they haven’t lost to a Group of Five school or worse yet.

But that does not mean that it’s not time for concern in Columbia given the way they have looked. And it preceded the Jake Bentley injury, so Muschamp’s seat might be starting to get hot right now. There are clearly things this program needs to work on.

Things get brutal in the future too, as they have to face the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators in the middle of October. Games surrounding them, though, will determine if they can turn things around before an easy November. That includes a visit to the Vols at the end of October and a game against the next team on this list at home this Saturday.