South Carolina Vs. East Carolina Preview: Can We Take Back Last Year's Complaints About Connor Shaw?

East Carolina Pirates vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, 12:21 p.m. ET, SEC Network

It seems that things have come full circle for Connor Shaw. After all, it was little more than a year ago that the then-backup quarterback for the Gamecocks took the reins after a Stephen Garcia suspension. Disaster ensued, and Garcia ended up having to lead a rally after the Shaw-led Gamecocks racked up a 17-0 deficit.

This season, Gamecock fans are worried about the possibility of starting the game without Shaw under center. East Carolina isn't the worst team you could face without your starter -- Ruffin McNeill was 11-14 in Greenville coming into this season, and a 35-13 win over Appalachian State to start this year is not the stuff legends are made of. But ECU also isn't a pushover, and at the very least its success in the early part of last year's game proves that.

But South Carolina is at home, something that couldn't be said either of last week's ugly win against Vanderbilt or last season's come-from-behind victory against East Carolina. It will start out close, but the Gamecocks pull away just a little in the end.

South Carolina 35, East Carolina 24