On Thursday at 7pm, the South Carolina Gamecocks will kickoff the college football season in Nashville against Vanderbilt.
South Carolina comes into the year with a head full of steam; The Gamecocks one their last four games by more than 60 combined points including a 30-13 drubbing of Nebraska in their bowl game which sent SC to its first ever 11 win season.
The ‘Dores played well at the end of the season, too, but not well enough to earn a winning record; After Vandy’s fifth game, against Alabama, the Commodores didn’t lose a contest by more than seven points. They nearly knocked off Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee, and they lost to Cincinnati in their bowl game by just seven points.
The fans in Nashville think this will be their breakout year.
Again, Vanderbilt has one of the SEC’s best secondaries (picked off USC four times last year), they finally have an SEC caliber defensive line, and they have a good quarterback in Jordan Rodgers. Their running back, Zac Stacy, could find himself on the All SEC team if he builds on last year’s 1,000 yard, 13 touchdown season.
Fans who expect Carolina to breeze through this game should lower their expectations. Not because of first game jitters or because South Carolina isn’t that good this year. Instead, because Vandy has the talent to knock off any team in the league this year. Yes, any team.
They lack depth, but if a school like Carolina or Georgia or even Alabama went into Nashville with a collective big head, they would be in store for a long night… or day, depending on how the TV scheduling worked out.
It’s true, too, though, that any Vandy fan who EXPECTS a win is kidding themselves. A close game, sure, but depth will come into play even in week one.
The Commodores have a young offensive line, and Carolina has one of the best defensive lines in the country. How long it takes that DL to consistently break down Vandy’s protection will determine the margin of victory in the game.
Vandy doesn’t have any wide receivers that should scare South Carolina, so in a weird twist (SC’s secondary is its defensive weakness), running the ball effectively with Rodgers and Stacy will probably be their best chance to win.
No predictions from me today, but look for one on Garnet and Cocky on Wednesday.