South
Carolina Gamecocks
Preview 2007
By
Pete Fiutak
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2007 USC Offense Preview |
2007 USC Defense Preview
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2007 USC Depth Chart
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2006 CFN South Carolina
Preview
Just
imagine what Steve Spurrier could do at South Carolina if he had a
slew of top-flight talent.
We’ll all know in a few years, once his tremendous 2007 recruiting
class matures, but for now the Ol’ Ball Coach will have to keep
cranking out ultra-competitive teams, despite being outgunned at
most positions by the SEC heavyweights. Even with fans expecting to
wait a little while longer for USC to make its big run, it might not
take much for the Gamecocks to shock the world this season and
represent the East in the SEC championship game for the first time.
Head coach: Steve Spurrier
2nd year: 7-5
17th year overall: 149-45-2
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 23, Def. 30, ST 1
Lettermen Lost: 12 |
Ten
Best USC Players
1. LB Jasper Brinkley, Sr.
2. RB Cory Boyd, Sr.
3. QB Blake Mitchell, Sr.
4. RB Mike Davis, Jr.
5. PK/P Ryan Succop, Jr.
6. WR Kenny McKinley, Jr.
7. DE Eric Norwood, Soph.
8. LB/DE Casper Brinkley, Sr.
9. SS Emanuel Cook, Soph.
10. OT Jamon Meredith, Jr. |
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2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 8-4 |
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Sept. 1 |
UL Lafayette |
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Sept. 8 |
at
Georgia |
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Sept. 15 |
South Carolina
St |
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Sept. 22 |
at
LSU |
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Sept. 29 |
Mississippi State |
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Oct.
4 |
Kentucky |
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Oct.
13 |
at North Carolina |
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Oct.
20 |
Vanderbilt |
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Oct.
27 |
at
Tennessee |
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Nov.
3 |
at
Arkansas |
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Nov.
10 |
Florida |
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Nov.
24 |
Clemson |
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2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
6-6
2006 Record:
8-5
Preview
2006 predicted
wins
|
|
8/31 |
at Miss State
W 15-0 |
| 9/9 |
Georgia L 18-0 |
| 9/16 |
Wofford
W 27-20 |
| 9/23 |
Florida Atlantic
W 45-6 |
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9/28 |
Auburn L 24-17 |
| 10/7 |
at Kentucky
W 24-17 |
| 10/21 |
at Vanderbilt
W 31-13 |
| 10/28 |
Tennessee L 31-24 |
| 11/4 |
Arkansas L 26-20 |
| 11/11 |
at Florida L 17-16 |
| 11/18 |
MTSU
W 52-7 |
| 11/25 |
at Clemson W 31-28 |
| 12/28 |
Liberty Bowl
Houston W 44-36 |
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The
program has been agonizingly close to turning the corner before, but it
hasn’t been able to come up with a streak of wins to make it happen.
Last year was the epitome of frustration, losing to Auburn, Tennessee,
Arkansas, and most painfully, to Florida, by a touchdown or less. The
hope is for a more mature, more experienced team to start finding more
ways to win the tight games.
After stunning two of the SEC East’s big three in 2005 (beating Florida
and Tennessee and losing to Georgia by two), USC found out once again
just how hard it is to be consistent in the toughest conference in the
country. It didn’t get the same big breaks and key plays of a year
earlier, but this year’s team should be good enough to make its own good
fortune.
With the exception of corner Fred Bennett, all the key starters return
to a defense that was better than the statistics might show, while the
offense has a veteran backfield, decent tackles, and enough promise to
expect better overall production.
And then, of course, there’s Spurrier, who’s been relegated, somewhat,
to the back burner when it comes to attention (outside of having to fire
out an Under Armour “Click, Clack” now and again), considering all the
SEC’s big coaching stories. He’s still one of the elite of the elite
college coaches, and now he has his guys in place. If he works his
coaching magic, USC should be the SEC’s big sleeper for the title.
What to watch for on offense: Blake
Mitchell is in his third year in the Spurrier system, and if the end of
2006 was any indication, he should be ready to break out despite the
loss of top target Sidney Rice. The recruiting class, led by JUCO
transfer Larry Freeman, is loaded with ready-made receivers to help out
Kenny McKinley, so if Mitchell can be remotely consistent and can make
the newcomers better, the Gamecock offense should finally start funnin’
‘n’ gunnin’.
What to watch for on defense: The front seven. The offense will
get all the attention from the fans and media, but the SEC coaches will
worry more about Jasper Brinkley and the Gamecock defense that’ll attack
from game one. The D will give up yards, but it’s stingy when it comes
to giving up points. The secondary is full of unknowns that’ll quickly
get recognition as the season goes on..
The team will be far better if … it gets more out of the return
game. There’s a razor-thin margin between a good season and a great one
in the SEC. A team like South Carolina, which might not be quite as
talented as teams like Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, must do all the
little things right, including returns. After only averaging 7.74 yards
on punt returns and 19.16 yards per kickoff return last year, the
Gamecocks could reap great rewards from improvement here.
The Schedule:
It would be
nice if there were more tough games at home early, but the games against
UL Lafayette, South Carolina State, Mississippi State and Kentucky
should form a nice base of wins, if all goes according to plan. Florida
and Clemson come to Columbia to close out the season, after a brutal
two-game road run at Tennessee and Arkansas. The two early road games,
at Georgia and LSU, certainly aren’t easy, but a date at North Carolina
should make up for it.
Best Offensive Player:
Senior
RB Cory Boyd. Mitchell might be the star of the offense this year, but
Boyd is the best all-around player. After spending all of 2005 off the
squad after violating team rules, Boyd got back in the mix early last
season and finished as the team’s leading rusher with 823 yards while
finishing third on the team in receptions. He’s a tough
between-the-tackles runner who should be the workhorse of the ground
game. If he can take advantage of defenses geared up to stop the
Gamecock passing game, he should be a lock for 1,000 yards.
Best Defensive Player:
Senior LB
Jasper Brinkley. If he’s not one of the three best linebackers in
America, he’s not far off. The former JUCO transfer had a tremendous
first year with 107 tackles, often doing the job by himself. He’s a
hard-nosed hitter in the middle who’s also an elite pass rusher when he
gets an opening.
Key player to a
successful season:
Junior WR Kenny
McKinley. Sidney Rice put up most of his big numbers against the dregs
on the schedule, but he finished his career with a flourish and was the
number one concern of every defensive coordinator. Now it’ll be up to
McKinley to be the number one target. He has the hands and the
experience to shine in the Spurrier offense, but he’s more likely to be
a steady go-to guy than an explosive star.
The season will be a
success if
... USC wins nine games. This team is going to be far better than it’s
been over the last several seasons, but forget about winning the East,
given the brutal SEC road slate. Getting to the nine-win mark is
possible, even though it might take a bowl win to do it, as long as
there aren’t any slip-ups against the mediocre and there’s at least one
major win over a team like Georgia, Tennessee, LSU or Florida.
Key game:
Sept. 8 at Georgia. The
Gamecocks have battled Georgia hard over the last several years, but
have lost five straight in the series. With a nightmare at LSU coming up
next on the SEC slate, USC has to pull off the win between the hedges to
likely avoid an 0-2 start and show that the program has made the
turnaround under Spurrier.
2006 Fun Stats:
- South Carolina 1st quarter scoring: 59; 2nd
quarter scoring: 125
- Third down conversions: South Carolina 72-151 (48%); Opponents 60-163
(37%)
- Third quarter scoring: South Carolina 75; Opponents 26