UK’s defensive punch and offensive pace are key

%C2%A0

 

By Joshua Huff

[email protected]

A tale of two teams heading in opposite directions will be told Saturday as the inconsistent South Carolina Gamecocks square off against the current Cinderella of the SEC East in UK.

Nobody knows which South Carolina team will suit up when it takes the field against the Cats. Will it be the team that squeaked out a win against heavy-hitting Georgia and the team that locked down Missouri for 52 minutes? Or will it be the team that was blown out by Texas A&M and allowed Missouri to come back and win in the final eight minutes?

Coming off its first SEC win in three years, the Cats will be riding a wave of fan support and optimism as they look to alter the SEC East landscape and give South Carolina a third conference loss which it may not be able to recover from.

Home Sweet Home

The Cats have yet to lose at home this season. UK has held its three opponents to just a mere 24 points at home, compared to UK’s 96 points. The Gamecocks are traveling away from Williams-Brice Stadium for just the second time this year and are encountering a Cats team whose fan base is starting to take notice of its success. Look for Commonwealth Stadium to be as intimidating and loud as it’s been in years.

The Edge: UK

Picking up the pace

South Carolina has struggled against teams that run a form of the up-tempo, air raid style of offense. Texas A&M and East Carolina racked up the yards against an inconsistent Gamecocks’ defense. With a spotty secondary, South Carolina will have headaches by game’s end as it has to contend with a UK offense that spreads the ball and pushes for 75 plays-a-game.

With freshman Stanley “Boom” Williams suspended for the game, running backs Jojo Kemp and Braylon Heard will have to step up. The Gamecocks have allowed 822 rushing yards this season and have allowed an average of five yards per carry.

UK quarterback Patrick Towles should have a bounce back game. With a South Carolina pass defense that has allowed an average of 276 passing yards a game, all Towles needs to do is hold onto the ball and not throw interceptions, something that has plagued him the past few weeks.

The Cats will have the advantage if they stick to their fast paced, spread offense. But look for that advantage to be nullified if the Gamecocks defense plays up to its ability.

The Edge: Tie

Defense wins championships

Bookends Dud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith entered the season picked to be as dominant a force as there is in the SEC. Though the stats don’t reflect the damage they have caused on the field, the two, along with defensive tackles Regie Meant and C.J. Johnson, have wrecked havoc for opposing offensive lines.

South Carolina’s quarterback Dylan Thompson has thrown only three picks during the Gamecocks’ six games. Thompson probably won’t be rattled in front of the UK crowd, but the pressure from the edges should cause him to make rash decisions.

The two offensive players that UK needs to be wary of are running back Mike Davis and receiver Pharoh Cooper. Davis has rushed for 384 yards this season with a long of 36 yards and has punched into the end zone three times. Cooper is force at receiver; he has 24 catches for 296 yards and is Thompsons’ go-to receiver.

The Edge: UK

Prediction

The game will come down to UK’s offense against South Carolina’s defense. Nobody knows what we’ll see from the two, but if the Gamecocks defense does show up for an entire game, UK will have a long evening. This game is hard to predict because South Carolina has the talent to blow out UK, but it all depends on what Gamecocks team shows up.

UK 21, South Carolina 17