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The South Carolina Gamecocks entered their bye with a 3-1 overall record and a relatively impressive start to the season. Things would feel lot better if the program were still undefeated, but even with the loss to LSU, South Carolina has opened a lot of eyes. Just like any team at this point in the season, there are some things the Gamecocks need to work on and check off of the list during the bye week. Here is what South Carolina’s bye week to-do list looks like:

South Carolina Bye Week To-Do List:

1. Turnovers

The Gamecocks have forced nine turnovers on defense this year but the down side is they have turned the ball over six times on offense. If South Carolina can find a way to limit the turnovers ad continue to make plays on defense like they have thus far, they will likely win themselves quite a few more football games. This is likely partially due to the Gamecocks having some young football players starting on offense for them and building more reps will likely help with that. Those reps can also be found in the bye week.

2. Situational Football

South Carolina right now ranks 121st in the country for 3rd conversions as they are converting just 29.6% (16/54) of the time. Oklahoma is the only team in the conference to have a worse conversion rate than the Gamecocks. The program also ranks 95th in the country for first downs this season. Scoring points has not been an issue and overall the offense has done well this season, but if they can find a way to sustain more drives and continue to move the ball consistently, they will become even more of a threat on offense.

3. Protecting the Quarterback

It’s been an ongoing issue for the Gamecocks over the last couple of years and it looks like it has trickled into this season. South Carolina has allowed the most sacks amongst all FBS teams with 16 on the season, and that’s likely a reason why their third down conversion rate is also so low. It’s going to be hard to win football games in the SEC if the Gamecocks cannot protect the quarterback this season, so those numbers need to be limited moving forward.