South Carolina opens its 76th season of football at Williams-Brice Stadium when the Southern Miss Golden Eagles come to town as a two touchdown underdog. Make no mistake, the Gamecocks must be ready to play as the Golden Eagles could fly in and steal a win if the Gamecocks don’t “protect this house.”
I feel that this will be a great measuring stick for USC fans to see what the 2010 Gamecocks are all about as USM will bring everything, including the kitchen sink, to try to win this game on ESPN. The Gamecocks can expect all kinds of blitz packages coming from the USM defense and on offense Carolina will see various schemes to try to catch the ‘Cocks sleeping. As stated many times about this game, USM will come ready to shock the world and USC must take of business Thursday.
By taking care of business, they need to execute these 5 keys to win the game:
1. Win the Battles in the Trenches – on both sides of the ball, Carolina must be victorious in their line play. The offensive line will see a great USM defensive front that is returning four starters up front not to mention one of the best linebacking corps in the nation. In this game, the USC Oline play is super critical as they must withstand many blitzes and help, not hurt, offensive production.
2. Establish a running game and stick to it – USC must grind out success on the ground. Does not have to be pretty, just needs to be effective in controlling the game. USM, when having the ball offensively, scores in bunches due to a high octane spread offense. What better way to control the outcome by limiting the opposing team’s time with the ball. The SC running back stable is loaded just now needs to perform. Spurrier needs to feed them the ball and let them impress.
3. Contain USM’s DeAndre Brown – for the Gamecocks, this key it is about not letting one person hurt you. I trust in the Gamecocks secondary to play smart and keep Brown in check. Brown will be in the NFL and is in the same group as AJ Green when talking about elite wideouts in the nation. This game could be when the Gamecocks secondary gets the credit it deserves by shutting down the passing attack from Coach Fedora.
4. Have accuracy in passing – Due to all the blitz packages USM throws at ya it will leave open spots in the USM secondary. Hopefully an effective SC run game will keep USM honest. One thing is certain; Garcia has to be mentally sharp for this game. Complete the right checks at the line of scrimmage and do what Gamecock Nation knows you are capable of. The Golden Eagles secondary screams vulnerable due to them having to replace their top defensive backs from last season and another would be starter left the program (Alonzo Lawrence). It is Garcia’s time to shine. He has the weapons, just needs to get the ball to them and let them make plays.
5. Play mistake free football – if committing mistakes and stupid errors could earn you points then Spurrier’s boys would be leaders in the nation in scoring over the years. I don’t want to see INTs, false starts, bad special teams, fumbles, the QB getting sacks that should not be sacks, etc. The time for USC to play a complete game is now. Execute the game plan, don’t give USM anything easy and leave injury free.
Well there you have it, 5 simple keys to a USC win.
The South Carolina Gamecocks will walk away from Game 1 winners. However, it will take key second half adjustments to create the separation that gives Carolina fans heartburn relief. I predict a 30-20 win for USC.
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