South Carolina football: Gamecocks preparing for trip to Death Valley

The South Carolina football team travels to Baton Rouge for its week 5 matchup.

Tomorrow night, the Gamecocks will take on the defending national champion LSU Tigers in a 7 PM matchup in Baton Rouge. South Carolina is coming off of a huge win over No. 15 Auburn and looks to keep the momentum rolling in Death Valley.

Last week, the Gamecocks used three big interceptions and a few redzone stands to escape with a 30-22 win. South Carolina outscored Auburn 16-6 in the second half after falling behind early in the contest. It was the Gamecocks’ first win over a ranked team since their upset of Georgia in 2019.

LSU is coming off of a surprise bye week after their matchup with Florida was postponed due to COVID concerns. The Tigers enter the matchup at 1-2, with losses to Mississippi State and Missouri.

In 21 all-time matchups, LSU holds an 18-2-1 lead. South Carolina hasn’t beaten the Tigers since 1994, an 18-17 win in Baton Rouge. Since then, LSU owns a 6-0-1 record, and has won six straight. The last meeting came back in 2015, a matchup that would end up being Steve Spurrier’s last as the Gamecocks’ head coach.

TEAM OUTLOOKS

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Gamecocks have continued their offensive progression, relying heavily on the run game. Kevin Harris is the conference’s third leading rusher, averaging 102.3 yards a game. He’s recorded three consecutive performances of 100 yards from scrimmage, and should be able to find some room against a porous LSU defense.

Quarterback Collin Hill continues to manage the offense, but he’s coming off his lowest passing output of the season. Hill also threw a pick in the redzone versus Auburn, his second interception of the year. He’ll need to limit mistakes if the Gamecocks want to stay on the field against a group that’s picked off four passes to date.

On defense, South Carolina had one of its best games of the year, turning the Auburn offense over three times. After going down 9-0 early in the first quarter, the Gamecock defense stiffened, allowing just 13 points the rest of the way. There was a bit of bend-but-don’t-break, as the Tigers totaled nearly 500 yards of offense, but the unit stood tall when needed.

South Carolina has now forced two or more turnovers in three straight games. Continuing that trend could have a huge impact on the outcome this week.

LSU

The Tigers will bring one of the nation’s top offenses into Death Valley, but they won’t be at full strength. Starting quarterback Myles Brennan has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest, meaning redshirt freshman TJ Finley will earn his first start. Brennan ranks third in the country in passing to this point.

Finley, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound signal caller, will have a plethora of talented wideouts to toss the ball to, starting with the SEC’s second leading receiver, Terrace Marshall, Jr. Marshall is averaging 141.3 yards a game and has scored on a league leading seven touchdown receptions.

The run game has been less effective, as the Tigers have no backs ranked among the SEC’s top 15 rushers. It will be interesting to see if they rely on the ground game a bit more with a freshman quarterback and a Carolina defense that’s struggled to stop the run.

On defense, the Tigers have been flat out bad. They rank dead last in the SEC in pass defense, and 12th in total yards allowed. The group has allowed two 400-yard passers over their first three games, including an SEC record 623 yards to Mississippi State’s KJ Costello. The Gamecocks may need to open up the passing game a bit to take advantage of a leaky secondary.

KEYS TO VICTORY

Confuse, pressure young quarterback

The Gamecocks have to take advantage of facing a quarterback in his first collegiate action. That means confusing the youngster with coverages and applying consistent pressure from the front seven. South Carolina has recorded 10 sacks on the season, led by JJ Enagbare, who’s tied for the SEC lead with four.

In the secondary, it will be key to switch up looks against a talented group of pass catchers. Arik Gilbert and Terrace Marshall, Jr. will come down with their share of receptions, but if the Gamecocks can disguise their coverages, they may be able to bait Finley into some errant throws.

Win the turnover battle

South Carolina has come away with two or more turnovers in each of their last three contests, including a three-pick performance last week versus Auburn. The Gamecocks cashed in touchdowns on all three interceptions, which was ultimately the difference in the game.

South Carolina ranks close to the bottom of the league in giveaways, having thrown just two interceptions and having lost three fumbles. If the Gamecocks can win the turnover battle again in week five, South Carolina may come away with an upset.

Continue success in kicking game

Punter Kai Kroeger is coming off his best game of the year, earning SEC Special Teams Player of the Week against Auburn. In his last two outings, the freshman has averaged over 48 yards a boot, recording two punts of 50 yards or more. Against Auburn, he pinned the Tigers inside their own 20-yard line on three occasions.

Kicker Parker White has been automatic so far this year, going 6-of-7 on field goal attempts, with his only miss being a 50-yarder in rainy conditions versus Vanderbilt.

Being able to finish off drives and flip field position will be key when facing an offense that’s capable of moving the ball consistently and scoring quickly.

Blanket Terrace Marshall, Jr.

Marshall is averaging over 140 yards receiving a game and has hauled in seven touchdown passes. He’s become the Tigers’ go to option following the opt out of Ja’Maar Chase. Last week, the Gamecocks chose to shadow Auburn’s best pass catcher with corner Jaycee Horn, which was extremely effective.

Horn held Seth Williams to just four catches on 13 targets, and twice picked off quarterback Bo Nix. He will be relied on once again, and should be up for the challenge against LSU.

Open up the passing game

The passing game hasn’t been the strength of the Gamecock offense thus far, but they may get their best chance to get the attack rolling versus LSU. The Tigers have given up more than 380 yards a game, ranking last in the SEC in pass defense.

There is talent, particularly in All-American corner Derek Stingley, but the secondary obviously has some holes. Stingley will likely cover Shi Smith, meaning the Gamecocks will need to open up the playbook and try to find another option at the receiver position. It seems like we’re saying this every week.

Even with LSU starting a freshman quarterback, the Gamecocks will need to put points on the board to win. Airing it out may be the best way to do that, which goes against what the offense has done in its last two wins.