BIRMINGHAM BOWL PREVIEW – USF vs SOUTH CAROLINA
USF 10 S CAROLINA (62)
MEGALOCKS LINE – USF -11 Sagarin ratings – USF -14.5
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: USF 36 S Carolina 26
The Game
This should be pretty interesting. An explosive 10-2 team that plays zero defense vs a young and offensively challenged squad with a good defensive HC. USF bagged 10-wins and missed out on playing for a conference title due to their loss to Temple. The only other team they lost to all season long was Florida St. It was a solid campaign for the Bulls, but they will have to win this game without HC Willie Taggart who is off to Oregon. An interim solution is in place before the team enters the Charlie Strong era next season. South Carolina should get full marks for making a bowl game at 6-6 in Will Muschamp’s first season as head man. Many thought it would be a rebuilding disaster type season but the Gamecocks unveiled some promising young players for the future and still achieved bowl eligibility. Let’s gooo !
The Match-Up
USF offense vs S Carolina defense
The Bulls are an offensive JUGGERNAUT. QB Quinton Flowers is STILL one of our favorite players in all of college football and he had another fantastic season. Flowers threw for 22 TDs (only 6 INT) and ran for an amazing 1,425 yards and 15 scores at 8 yards a pop. The Gamecocks did not have the opportunity to face a gauntlet of great dual threat QBs in the SEC this season and it will be very interesting to see how they hold up in this contest. RB Marlon Mack is the main man at RB and he had another 1,000-yard campaign. The Bulls only have one receiver with over 21 receptions (Rodney Adams – 60, 755) but they have a variety of options (6 players on team averaged over 17+ yards per catch) in the passing game and hit a lot of big plays.
As noted earlier, it will be interesting to see how the S Carolina run defense fares against this great rushing attack. The Gamecocks yielded over 200 yards a game on the ground at close to 5 yards per carry. The focus will be on trying to limit the big plays and causing turnovers (#11 FBS in turnover margin). The Gamecocks ranked only #10th in the SEC in sacks per game and TFL per game so they may be challenged to create negative plays. S Carolina was #10 in the FBS in red zone defense so maybe they can turn a few TDs into FGs and stay in the game.
South Carolina offense vs USF defense
The Gamecocks got a breath of fresh air when freshman QB Jake Bentley took over the controls. He played pretty well completing over 60% of his passes with a 6-2 TD to INT ratio. RB Rico Dowdle also emerged this season with three 100-yard games. Three different players had 500+ yards receiving. There is definitely promise for the future with the skill position players. More good news ? South Florida is really bad on defense and S Carolina should be able to move the ball. Even though the Gamecocks were #117 in the FBS in total offense and 2nd last in the SEC in rushing, the Bulls will give up a lot of yards to pretty much anyone. They will not be able to match the Bulls score for score but they do have a shot in this game if they play ball control and keep the South Florida offense off the field.
Motivation / Intangibles
South Florida – They already have a 10-win season in the bag. A new HC is on the way. Some guys may have checked out. Other young players may be pumped to show Charlie Strong what they bring to the table. The only true positive we see is that the Bulls have not won a bowl game since beating Clemson (!) in the 2010 Car Care Bowl. They came close last season against WKU but fell short in a 4245035824 STAR MEGALOCKS loser. GRADE – Below average.
South Carolina – They have to be jacked up. But they are very young. Getting to a bowl game was a big deal. Winning a bowl game would be WOW. GRADE – Very good.
MEGA BOWL BITES
The Bulls come into this game on SUPAH HOT FYRE winning their final four games and scoring 52,49,35 and 48 to end the campaign….The S Carolina D will be a bump in class but they have had trouble stopping the run……S Carolina only scored more than 7 points in one of their final three games and that was against FCS foe W Carolina…MEGALOCKS SEC DEEP INSIDERS will have you know that S Carolina has won four straight bowl games including a win over YOUR Miami Hurricanes.
Summary
Never a fan of laying double digits with a team sporting an interim head coach. And if that team has a really bad defense, it makes us want to run for the hills. The problem is that S Carolina is very young and may have arrived a bit early. AND their run defense has been poor at times.
Conclusion
Official play: None.
Best play on the game: S Carolina TT over 26. Play no higher than 27. We think they can score on that defense.
Underdog ML playable for small potatoes (Y,N) ?: YES.