Here's where South Carolina football was picked by the media to finish in the SEC

South Carolina’s football team will open 2019 with expectations for a middle-of-the-pack finish in its division.

The Gamecocks were picked to finish fourth in the SEC East by the conference’s media. The preseason media poll came out Friday as a cap to SEC Media Days.

USC received one vote to be SEC champion. Will Muschamp’s team was picked to finish behind Georgia, Florida and Missouri.

The Gamecocks are coming off a 7-6 season in 2018, one fraught with injuries and a schedule that proved harder than most predicted. USC had been picked to finish second in the East and even got eight first-place votes before finishing fourth.

The Gamecocks again face a difficult schedule, with Alabama as a crossover opponent and seven opponents that won nine or more games last season.

Georgia and Alabama were picked to repeat as division champions.

First place division votes in parenthesis

SEC EAST

Georgia (233) 1789

Florida (21) 1499

Missouri (3) 1149

South Carolina (1) 883

Tennessee (1) 804

Kentucky (1) 798

Vanderbilt 358

SEC WEST

Alabama (253) 1813

LSU (5) 1493

Texas A&M 1268

Auburn (1) 1090

Mississippi State (1) 769

Ole Miss 504

Arkansas 343