Today we begin our daily preview of the 2011 schedule. We will take a glimpse at each team on the Gamecocks’ schedule from easiest game to the hardest. We begin with The Citadel.
The Citadel Bulldogs come to Columbia on November 19th. The game is sandwiched between home games against Florida and Clemson. The Gamecocks and the Bulldogs haven’t met since 1990 when The Citadel won 38-35 in Columbia. Overall the Gamecocks lead the series 39-7-3.
Why this game might be easier than expected: The Citadel is the only I-AA team on USC’s schedule. We have this game slated as the 12th most difficult, so it doesn’t get much easier.
Why this game might be harder than expected: The Citadel is a military college, and those military colleges tend to be scrappy teams who don’t give up easily. The Citadel game falls at a time when the Gamecocks can be caught looking back at the bigger games they’ve played or looking forward to Clemson and perhaps Atlanta.
5 Points to consider: 1) This game is on the schedule right after Florida and before Clemson on purpose. It is supposed to provide a breather before the final game of the season.
2) This game is the last of the season for the Bulldogs, so unless they are in the playoffs, they’ll have nothing to lose. If they are going to the playoffs, they might have to hold something back, which could make the game ugly.
3) The Citadel will be the second military team USC plays. They will, not coincidentally, be the second triple option team.
4) The Bulldogs, the third group of Bulldogs the Gamecocks will face, only won 3 games last year, 1 in the Southern Conference, but they return 10 offensive starters and most of their defense as well.
5) Last season El Cid fumbled the ball an astounding 42 times, losing 22 of those.
Way too early prediction: This game shouldn’t cause much trouble, but the ball control will keep the score down. USC 31-10.
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