Gator Territory goes behind enemy lines this week to preview the Florida Gators game against South Carolina.
The Gators enter the matchup 4-4 (2-4 SEC), while South Carolina enters coming off of a bye week with a record of 4-4 (1-4 SEC). Dan Mullen has put an emphasis on finishing the season strong. Florida has four games left, two inside the conference, starting this weekend. That needs to start Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina against South Carolina.
Wes Mitchell of Gamecock Central details the matchup and gives a look at Florida's opponent this weekend.
Shane Beamer was non-committal on naming a starting quarterback for the game this weekend, could you briefly break down each quarterback for Florida fans?
South Carolina has said that all its quarterbacks are in the running to start this week, but really it comes down to either Jason Brown or Zeb Noland.
The Gamecocks find themselves in this position because starter Luke Doty is out for the rest of the season with a foot injury that he played through for part of the season before he was ultimately shut down in order to have surgery.
Noland started the first three games of the season and Carolina's most recent game against Texas A&M but is coming off meniscus surgery last week though USC expects him to be available for Saturday. Noland is a pocket passer who understands the offense well and can deliver the football when he's given time, though pass pro has been a big issue for the Gamecocks this season.
Brown joined the program this offseason as a transfer after putting up big numbers at FCS St. Francis. He had to work through some growing pains going from what was more of a true spread scheme there into a more pro-style setup at South Carolina but has started to get his feet under him in practice in recent weeks and relieved Noland against A&M, leading a couple of TD drives in garbage time.
While not a run-first guy, he offers a good bit more than Carolina's other options in terms of escapability and brings sort of a gunslinger's mindset to the position, which can result in big plays or potential turnovers.
South Carolina has 11 interceptions on the season (led by Jaylon Foster with 5). How stingy is this defense and is that an area where the Gamecocks can swing the game?
That is certainly an area to pay attention to this week. The Gamecocks lost Jaycee Horn and Izzy Mukuamu to the NFL and Jammie Robinson and John Dixon to the transfer portal from last year's team - a notable talent exodus - but have overperformed in the secondary this year under the tutelage of former UF cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray.
Foster, a former walk-on, has emerged as one of the Gamecocks' two best players on defense (along with EDGE J.J. Enagbare) and is really one of the great success stories in the SEC this season.
The Gamecocks don't have as talented of a defense on paper as some others in the league but they play hard and fast and have been opportunistic in taking the ball off teams.
South Carolina is third to last in the SEC in plays run. Is their offense designed to run slower or is it a product of a new staff, new scheme, new coaches?
For the most part, that's been a product of the Gamecocks simply struggling on offense and not necessarily a result of the tempo they use. From a tempo standpoint, they'll mix it up, sometimes implementing a fast pace but for the most part these days they utilize a "check with me" system where they'll get the call in, then check with the sidelines before running it.
But really the issue has just been with overall offensive production in terms of not being able to stay on the field. Carolina is last in the conference in first downs made on offense, which pretty much sums it up.
South Carolina is giving up 211 yards per game on the ground against SEC teams. Can they stop a Florida rushing attack that leans heavily on the quarterback and three running backs?
As discussed above, this is a South Carolina secondary, and really an entire defense, that has overachieved this season compared to expectations. They'll get after the quarterback in the passing game and they've been good about taking advantage when opponents put the ball in danger. But if there's been one consistent weakness it's been an inability to stop the run.
Some of that has been a result of just getting worn down throughout a game (see again: last in first downs on offense) but it's also been a result of getting bounced out of gaps, missed tackles or just straight up getting blocked at times. It's a huge area of concern (probably the biggest), from a Carolina perspective, going into this game.
Florida comes in having lost three of their last four but is still a pretty heavy favorite on the road. If South Carolina wins this game _____ needs to happen.
I'll go back to our segment above about Carolina turning teams over and Florida not protecting the football. For South Carolina to win this game then lots of turnovers need to happen. The Gamecocks just haven't been efficient enough on offense to predict them to beat good teams and Vegas' algorithms certainly see that. So, the offense will need some help to get going and a spark from the defense or special teams. If Brown gets the start, I do think he's someone who can provide a bit of a spark as well, though it will likely be a boom or bust type approach to the position with a high variety of possible outcomes. He'll give his wideouts a chance to make some plays but also is prone to putting the ball in danger.
