When Will Muschamp assessed his new team this spring, he saw some deficiencies on the roster. With an amount of youth that was “frightening,” especially at receiver and quarterback (except for Perry Orth), and a defense that struggled prior to Muschamp’s arrival, there was a lot of work to do with South Carolina.

“That's not the recipe for the winning the [SEC] East I can assure you of that,” Muschamp said.

Yet, if the Gamecocks (5-4, 3-4 SEC) beat division leader Florida (6-2, 4-2) on Saturday and get quite a bit of help from other teams in the race, there is still a scenario where South Carolina could emerge as the division champion.

True freshman Jake Bentley has six TD passes and zero interceptions in his three starts for the Gamecocks. Tyler Lecka/Getty Images

Muschamp said he’s not going to go over all of the scenarios with his team because none of it matters if the Gamecocks don’t win. Regardless, Muschamp deserves credit for making the kind of progress with his squad that few outside the program – and maybe even he himself – expected in his debut season in Columbia. At SEC media days, the Gamecocks were predicted to finish last in the East.

Even a month ago, when the Gamecocks were sitting at 2-4 going into their off week, that prognostication didn’t seem to be terribly off base. While South Carolina’s defense played well, the offense had yet to score more than two touchdowns in the first half of the season, the team made a quarterback change from Orth to true freshman Brandon McIlwain and injuries impacted the team in key areas.

Since then, the team got healthier, made the switch to another true freshman – Jake Bentley – at quarterback and the defense still has yet to allow 30 points, making the Gamecocks one of only five FBS teams to have that distinction.

“I think those are some things to me that have kind of come together at the right time,” Muschamp said. “I think, obviously, playing at home gives us a charge and that's a challenge we have this week, going on the road to play a good Florida team in a tough place to play.”

Specifically, getting receivers Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards healthy has helped, Muschamp said. They’ve helped Bentley with their ability to win “50/50 balls” and finish plays downfield. The emergence of running back Rico Dowdle, who ran for more than 120 yards in each of the last two weeks, is also a factor.

Strong defensive play has certainly helped. Muschamp cites improved play up front, solid linebacker play and "winning SEC football” from his secondary, specifically cornerbacks Jamarcus King, Chris Lammons and Rashad Fenton. One of the strengths of the defense has been its red-zone success. The Gamecocks are one of the nation’s better teams at keeping opponents out of the end zone, allowing touchdowns on just 51.5 percent of opponents’ red zone trips and on 64.7 percent of goal-to-go situations (both rank 25th nationally).

“Defensively we've been opportunistic,” Muschamp said. “We've played well in the red zone. ... We've kind of hung in there and we've been hard to score on.”

Bentley’s play since becoming the starter also has been impactful. In his three starts, he’s completing 73 percent of his passes, has thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions, all impressive for a true freshman who should be a senior in high school (Bentley graduated a year early and enrolled at South Carolina over the summer).

“I don't think there's any question it's simple to see the confidence he gives some of the guys,” Muschamp said.

With still one game left against an FCS opponent (Western Carolina) a bowl appearance looks like a certainty for the Gamecocks, which will be a good first step. Muschamp is simply focused on this week though.

“My emphasis for our team is to take the next step in our program with our team and that's going to be to beat a good football team on the road, which Florida has a very good football team,” Muschamp said.