Mississippi State and South Carolina are set to kick off on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium at 12:21 a.m. EST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network and will feature two teams in need of the win.
USC is 5-1, 3-1 in the SEC; Mississippi State is 3-3, 0-3 in the SEC. MSU needs the win for obvious reasons as they have not lived up to their preseason hype, whereas the Gamecocks need to continue the winning streak in SEC play to secure their spot atop the SEC East.
USC leads the series 7-6 with three wins in Starkville and the last time they met, in 2007, the Gamecocks earned a 38-21 win.
The Gamecocks are favored to win, so let’s look at the five keys to a USC win in this game:
1. Coach Steve Spurrier dialing up the right plays
Steve Spurrier is 6-2 against Mississippi State in his coaching career and he wants to extend this record. One way to do that against MSU is to do exactly what he did against Kentucky last week and that is being creative in his play-calling.
Spurrier last week did it all from option runs, wildcat with Marcus Lattimore, short passes to the tight end, wide receiver screens and even some use of the emory and henry formation. This game needs the same play-calling as the Gamecocks cannot be conservative against MSU. They have a quality defense and USC does not need to be flat on offense.
2. USC’s Short Passing Game
Gamecocks wide out Alshon Jeffery needs 74 yards to tie Kenny McKinley as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards and he should get it this game. The reason is USC needs to be effective in the short passing game. This is a huge key as it gets the chains moving, keeps the MSU offense on the sidelines, builds confidence in Connor Shaw and opens up the run game for USC.
3. USC Stopping the MSU Run
Senior running back Vick Ballard has amassed 1,499 rushing yards in his Mississippi State career and for this season, he has rushed for 531 yards and five touchdowns over the first five weeks of the season. He currently is ranked fifth in yards per game in the Southeastern Conference.
USC must limit him. It is that simple. MSU averages 188.3 yards per game on the ground, ranking fifth among Southeastern Conference teams. USC’s front seven must be all over the MSU run game and shut it down early and often.
4. USC Must Win the Turnover Game
USC has forced 22 turnovers in 2011 and is on pace to break the school record of 39 in 1987. They should see opportunities in this game versus MSU and if so, they must capitalize.
This season, the Bulldogs are plus-six in takeaway margin in victories and minus one in losses. Over the past three seasons, Mississippi State is 15-0 when winning the turnover battle and 2-14 when tied or having a negative margin.
So that should tell you that USC cannot shoot itself in the foot and let turnovers ruin the good vibes after a USC win versus Kentucky and thoughts of a repeat in the SEC East.
5. USC Must Rise Above the Distractions
There have been a lot of distractions for USC this week from Coach Spurrier calling out a reporter to embattled quarterback Stephen Garcia being dismissed from the team. USC cannot allow this to be a factor in this game as the cowbells will be enough not to mention this is the first of a three game road swing for the ‘Cocks. Spurrier’s football squad has to rise above and stay focused on beating the Bulldogs.
USC should be successful in executing the above five keys and thanks to a quality game from Marcus Lattimore, the Gamecocks will win a hard fought SEC game by the score of 20-10.
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