It's the fourth installment of our "Ask an Opposing Team's Bear Writer" series. We're back to SEC play with a team Auburn hasn't played since 2006: South Carolina.

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South Carolina Gamecocks

• Head coach: Steve Spurrier (6th season at South Carolina, 35-28; 20th overall, 177-68-2 at Duke, Florida and South Carolina)
• 2009 record: 7-6 (3-5 SEC East, t-4th), lost to UConn 20-7 in PapaJohns.com Bowl
  
• Returning starters: 15 (8 offense, 7 defense)
• Total offense: 347.4 ypg (9th SEC, 82nd nationally)
• Total defense: 300.7 ypg (3rd SEC, 15th nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 6-1-1
  
• Last meeting: Auburn won 24-17 in Columbia in 2006
  
• Consensus prediction: Third in the SEC East

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Sept. 11: Georgia
• Sept. 18: Furman
• Sept. 25: at Auburn
  
• Oct. 2: Off
• Oct. 9: Alabama

The Gamecocks have been in no-man's land ever since Spurrier left his permanent residence on the golf course to be on the sidelines again. It was assumed the ol' ballcoach would create Gainesville North, a close replica to what he did during his time at Florida, where he reached double digits in wins nine times and won a national championship. But he's won between six and eight games every year in Columbia, hardly the championship-level people were expecting. But this year might be different. Spurrier has a top-notch defense to rely on, a quarterback who's been around long enough that maybe he'll start figuring things out and a set of skill players — led by running back phenom Marcus Lattimore — that could make the offense dangerous, something that hasn't been said of Spurrier's teams in a while.

To find out more about the Gamecocks, I went to Joe Person, the excellent South Carolina beat writer for The State. You can read his blog by clicking here or follow him on Twitter by clicking here. Here are five questions he answered about the Gamecocks:

AB: Quarterback Stephen Garcia has been the subject of intense scrutiny his entire career, both by fans and his own head coach. With plenty of receiving weapons at his disposal, is this the year he finally puts it all together or will Spurrier, always the quarterback perfectionist, be tempted to start breaking in true freshman Connor Shaw as a long-term solution?

JP: I’m in the camp, perhaps the minority camp, that believes Garcia is going to have a big year. He’s never going to be the Danny Wuerffel-type leader that Spurrier wants him to be. But the guy is a good athlete with a strong arm and a will to win. Does he make bad decisions at times? Sure he does. Does he one-hop the occasional throw? Yep. And with Spurrier more confident in Shaw than last year’s backups, I doubt Garcia will make it through the year without spending at least some time on the bench. But if the Gamecocks are going to seriously threaten Florida in the East, Garcia has to be their guy.

AB: Former Appalachian State assistant Shawn Elliott returned home to try to fix an offensive line that allowed 37 sacks last season, tied for most in the SEC with LSU. Does he have any hope in turning around a unit that has been one of the Gamecocks' biggest shortcomings the last few seasons?

JP: Elliott is an enthusiastic coach with a sound, zone-blocking scheme. And I think the zone technique will help keep the linemen, particularly the tackles, from being out on an island as much as previous years. But Elliott is working with the same group that has underachieved the last couple of seasons. The linemen are all a year older, and should be better. But until they prove it in a game, a lot of Gamecock fans will be anxious about the line.

AB: South Carolina and Auburn went to the wire trying to lure top running back prospect Marcus Lattimore, who chose his home-state Gamecocks. What kind of expectations are there for the Duncan, S.C., product and what can he reasonably achieve as a true freshman?

JP: Huge expectations. I think most fans believe Lattimore will earn the starting spot and be the answer to the Gamecocks’ rushing game woes. We’ll see. The early reports have been good: Teammates who have lined up alongside him in 7-on-7 passing drills said Lattimore is a big, strong back — but still fast and elusive. He’s not setting the bar low: Lattimore said he wants to rush for 1,000 yards as a freshman. If he does, that should spell success for the USC offense.

AB: The defense lost All-America linebacker Eric Norwood but returns a host of strong defenders, including what some consider the best secondary in the SEC. How good can Ellis Johnson's crew be this year and who are some players who might stand out?

JP: Spurrier seems to be hanging his hat on the defense, which returns eight starters. Norwood is a big loss, but senior DE Cliff Matthews has added 15 pounds and should be able to supply the pass rush that Norwood was known for. The secondary is solid. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore started every game as a freshman, and should come into his own this season with more pass breakups and interceptions. The key will be whether anyone besides Matthews can become a disruptive force in the blitz package, a la Norwood.

AB: Spurrier turned 65 last April. How many more years does the ol' ballcoach have in him and, after maxing out at eight wins in his first five years in Columbia, how much more patience will fans have for the man that was supposed to lead South Carolina to the top of the SEC?

JP: Spurrier is in great shape for his age — or just about any age. He still works out almost every day, and keeps an active golf schedule in the offseason to avoid burnout or fatigue. That said, I don’t know how many more 7-6 seasons he’ll be willing to endure. Spurrier collects a $1 million longevity bonus if he coaches through the end of the 2011 season. And I would expect him to be back in 2011, when Garcia would be a fifth-year senior and Lattimore could be coming off a breakout season. But if things turn south, Spurrier might be headed South himself — for his beach house in Florida.

This one appears to be another one of those under-the-radar games that could be pretty good. Auburn's offense vs. South Carolina's defense. The head-to-head running back talents of Michael Dyer vs. Lattimore. The clever and entertaining press conference quips of Spurrier and Gene Chiz.... OK, maybe not that last one. But this should be a good game, one that Auburn can't overlook, even if it is against a team that rarely pops up on the schedule.

Up next: We go out of conference again with the Tigers' game against Louisiana-Monroe.