Re: Seeking realistic observations and analysis

quozzel

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Nov 9, 2014, 10:03 AM

They have a very good offense, and a miserable defense.

Their O is among the Top-25 in most relevant categories, and it's solid...and while Spurrier has incurred the ire of many Gamecock fans for getting pass-happy late when it might have behooved him to just grind the rock, he's still one of the best playcallers in college football. Dylan Thompson is not Connor Shaw in terms of mobility but it speaks volumes that no other Gamecock QB has taken any kind of snaps this year, and that former walk-on Perry Orth is now ahead of former 4-star Connor Mitch on the depth chart.

Their OL is massive, and it's anchored by OT's Corey Robinson (6'8", 345) and Brandon Shell (6'6", 335), who will play Sundays. Those two are impressive, and, obviously, two of the biggest tackles in the game. They have two very good RB's in Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds who are both Sunday guys as well. They've got a very good NFL WR in Pharaoh Cooper, some decent (if smallish) complementary wideouts including the elusive Nick Jones, and some decent pass-catchers at TE, which is significant because Georgia had some success running stick routes at us and you'd best believe Spurrier will as well to try to slow down our pass rush. What's going to hurt them this year is that Thompson is not as mobile as Connor Shaw was.

Defensively...yeesh. It's a mess. Lorenzo "Whammy" Ward took over Ellis Johnson's unit a couple years ago and lived large with guys like Clowney and Quarles on his DL, but once that DL was gone, Whammy's been exposed more than a bit. He tried to shift to a 3-4 this year to cover for his lack of linemen and it's been a yearlong mess...the Gamecocks currently rank around #106 out of 125 FCS teams and they literally do nothing well defensively...they can't stop the run, they can't stop the pass, they can't pressure the QB. Whammy's probably dead man walking even if Spurrier elects to return next year; the chaos on the D is more than a little reminiscent of what we saw in Holtz's last couple years.

We should win this game, unless Spurrier is just well and truly in Dabo's head. If Watson is healthy, the blazing dumpster fire that is the Gamecock D this year won't be able to slow him down. I do think Spurrier has enough on O to move the ball - at times - even against our defense but at some point Thompson's going to be forced to make plays with his feet like Connor Shaw did or they're not going to be able to win a shootout, and while he's thrown well at times, athletically, Thompson is one of the more limited QB's that South Carolina has had.

Short version is: we're better, this year. If healthy. If Stoudt is starting, I'd probably call it much closer to even.

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