Oct 13, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Quinton Dunbar (1) runs with the ball after making a reception against Vanderbilt Commodores safety Javon Marshall during the first half at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE
Teams that have yet to face the Gamecocks might have received a blueprint from LSU on how to beat them. The Tigers controlled the game by constantly running up the gut and max protecting their quarterback. But what did SC learn about their remaining opponents after week six?
For one, Florida has flirted with death all season long. The only team Florida has blown out this year is Kentucky. They haven’t won another game by more than 17 points, and there’s a serious trend developing on the offensive side of the ball in Gainesville. Jeff Driskel does not like to throw the ball. South Carolina has to make Driskel beat them and do whatever it takes to make sure Mike Gillislee does not win Florida the game. It worked for SC against Georgia, and then a week later they couldn’t make it happen against LSU. With the season basically on the line this weekend, expect Lorenzo Ward to run defensive plays that plug up potential running holes and run a lot of man coverage on UF’s wide receivers.
Their next opponent after the Gators, Tennessee, can’t play defense, and that’s a good thing for Carolina. The Gamecocks shut down Georgia’s explosive offense and with a similar performance, UT shouldn’t be able to score more than 20 in Columbia. Should the Gamecocks hold them to that number, the final score will be lopsided in favor of the home team.
Arkansas might be an offensive force by the time they come to the Palmetto State. But their defense is still garbage. They’ve started to click in the passing game against Auburn and Kentucky… well, I shouldn’t really say much else about that. If they can run the score up on Ole Miss in two weeks, maybe we should start getting a little worried.
Wofford looked awful against Georgia Southern. If you shut down their offense, you beat them. Plain and simple.
The BCS hates Clemson for good reason. Their schedule is crap, they haven’t beaten anyone worth writing home about and they won’t play a game like that until the end of the year. Their defense is nowhere near good enough to stop South Carolina from scoring, so it doesn’t matter how good they are offensively.