Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Here South Carolina is again, positioned nicely for a successful season if only the Gamecocks can deliver in October and November. So far under Steve Spurrier, they really haven’t been able to. They ended last season by losing three in a row and dropped five in a row to end the 2007 season. The back half of the schedule is always a little more difficult for South Carolina, but Spurrier also thinks the attitude of this team is much better than it’s been the last couple of years. The first thing the Gamecocks have to do is beat Vanderbilt this Saturday. The Commodores have won the last two years. Then comes road games at Tennessee and Arkansas followed by Florida’s visit to Columbia. The Gamecocks end the season with in-state rival Clemson every year. They can’t afford any more injuries on defense, and sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia needs to keep improving. But it’s all out there in front of the Gamecocks.

Best-case scenario: Garcia and freshman Alshon Jeffery continue hooking up in the passing game, and the defense plays its best football down the stretch to lead South Carolina to a 9-3 finish and a date in the Capital One Bowl.

Worst-case scenario: The Gamecocks fall victim to their familiar late-season slide and lose their last four games to finish 6-6, which wouldn’t necessarily guarantee them a bowl game.

Prediction: No more disappearing acts. The Gamecocks finish up 8-4 and give a much better accounting of themselves in a return trip to the Outback Bowl.