College football preseason magazine guru Phil Steele is bullish on South Carolina this fall, but doesn't expect the Gamecocks' improvements during Will Muschamp's fourth season to necessarily show up in wins and losses.

Facing the nation's toughest slate, South Carolina has the arduous task of battling likely the nation's top three teams in the preseason rankings, take on upstart North Carolina in the opener and host Appalachian State in November, a non-conference tilt that's a definite schedule strengthener.

Within reach of several individual records as a multi-year starter, senior quarterback Jake Bentley hopes to leave a lasting mark on the program as one of the Gamecocks' most important players this season. Much of the team's success will fall on his shoulders, Steele believes.

"Bentley is tough, but will need to improve his accuracy in order to reach the upper-echelon SEC quarterbacks in his fourth year as a starter," Steele writes.

Steele calls South Carolina's linebackers "the most experienced group on defense" that should "be up a few notches" this season. T.J. Brunson returns to lead at a position that should get meaningful snaps out of Daniel Fennell and Rosendo Louis as well.

Here's a portion of Steele's 2019 lookahead for the Gamecocks:

They had eight starters back last year and my computer called for 30 PPG (432 YPG) and they almost hit those exactly at 30.1 PPG and 426 YPG. South Carolina did not score a point the last six quarters in 2018 (eight turnovers in the red zone). This year, with seven starters back, my computer calls for 32.7 PPG — best since 2013. Last year, South Carolina had six starters back defensively but the unit was hit hard by injuries and allowed 27.2 points per game Seven starters are back on defense and they should remain much healthier and should resemble that 2017 unit, but do face Clemson, Alabama and Georgia offense (all Top 4 offenses according to Steele's rankings). Five of six losses last season were to teams that finished in the AP Top 16. They've lost 10 straight to ranked foes. South Carolina is 20-4 under Muschamp when it rushes for 100-plus yards. This year, South Carolina is improved with 14 returning starters and are No. 30 on my Experience Chart (nationally). They face three of the Top 5 teams in the country so the improvement may not show up much in the win-loss column but it should be another bowl year.

Unlike most preseason prognosticators, Steele believe South Carolina's backfield will be a strength this season due to its depth. The Gamecocks are hoping to add another piece to the puzzle at running back later this summer when Clemson graduate transfer Tavien Feaster announces his decision.

Steele's 350-page, full-color season preview is available on newsstands now and via his web site for $12.99. Known as "the book experts can't do without," Steele's magazine is celebrating its 25th anniversary as one of the most accurate preseason prognostications in the country.