The Gamecocks open the season at 3:30 pm on Aug. 31 in Charlotte against North Carolina. 
Before the Gamecocks   begin their 4th season under Will Muschamp, let’s take a look at the season and the positions that could make or break the 2019 season.
In the SEC, your success begins and ends at         quarterback. 
Senior Jake Bentley begins his final season in the Garnet and Black with a  season full of “legacy moment” games. 
Over his 1st 2-plus full seasons, Bentley has shown flashes of what made him a 4-star on many recruiting boards. 
However, his junior season left a lot to be desired in decision making. He threw a career high 14 interceptions. 
Bentley offset that with a career high 27 touchdown passes. 
The running backs under new running backs coach Thomas Brown and Clemson transfer Tavien Feaster has gained much attention. With AJ Turner moving primarily to the defensive side and special teams, you can expect to see Feaster and senior Rico Dowdle as the primary backs in Brown’s 2 running back system. 
The Gamecocks also return a lot of talent with receivers Bryan Edwards, Shi Smith, OrTre Smith, Josh Vann, and Randrecous Davis.
Defensively, Muschamp has to be thrilled with the depth on the defensive line. 
Javon Kinlaw and DJ Wonnum return on the line and at the BUCK position, respectively. 
Keir Thomas, Rick Sandidge and freshman Zacch Pickens of Class 5A runner-up T.L. Hanna will provide depth and a potentially powerful pass rush. 
Fans should be most excited about the secondary, specifically, sophomore cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Israel Mukuamu. 
Horn, a 2018 SEC Coaches All-Freshman team selection, has all the makings of the next lock-down cornerback at South Carolina. 
The word out of fall camp is that both of them are improving. Horn and Mukuamu give Muschamp and defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson the freedom to finally play man-to-man coverage.
The offseason talk has been the “difficulty” of the 2019 schedule. Is a quality season an overachievement or a disappointment? 
Those questions are subjective and will change week to week depending on results. 
I’m not one to offer final record positions, but as my co-host on the ‘Fifth Quarter Post-Game Show’ (that airs on WVOC 560 AM) Tim Frisby says, “You need to win the games you’re favored to win and half of the toss-up games.” 
South Carolina needs to take advantage of the first 2 weeks of the season against lesser competition (no disrespect to any Tar Heels fans) and the 2 home games against SEC rivals Kentucky and Florida. 
South Carolina fans should be cautiously optimistic simply because of proven talent at every position on both sides of the ball. 
Will the progression be evident in the record at the end of 2019? 
I believe people will be pleasantly surprised as the calendar turns to November in Coach Muschamp’s fourth season in Columbia.

Justin Hall is the director of media/broadcasting with the Lexington County Blowfish. He also co-hosts the "Fifth Quarter Post-Game Show" with Tim Frisby following every University of South Carolina football team at WVOC (560 AM).