The South Carolina football program enters the 2023 season with its highest expectations in years. With the exception of one Will Muschamp offseason (after the 2017 season, heading into the 2018 campaign), the Gamecocks have not had an offseason with many positive expectations since the Steve Spurrier era in Columbia.
The Gamecocks finished 2022 ranked in the top-25 of most polls as they finished the year with 8 wins, including back-to-back top-10 victories to close the regular season. Despite significant losses in the transfer portal (starters MarShawn Lloyd, Jaheim Bell, Jordan Burch, etc.), Carolina returns enough to be ranked toward the back end of the top-25 in many preseason polls from sources like Athlon Sports, CBS, Sporting News, and 247Sports.