COLUMBIA — Attention.

It can be the most dangerous thing on Earth if not used to it. Most of the results of getting it don’t turn out well.

South Carolina received an immense dose of it in the last half of last season, the Gamecocks turning a 3-3 middling start into a sizzling 6-0 finish that left them just short of the College Football Playoff, and then a close loss in the prestigious but not quite prime-time Citrus Bowl. They didn’t accept or deny the praises then; they were just trying to finish what they always felt could be a special season but certainly didn’t start that way.

Now?

It’s getting very hard to ignore it.

A No. 13 national ranking as they prepare for this week’s season opener in Atlanta, a nationally televised affair vs. Virginia Tech that is the only game on at

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