The Gamecocks begin their quest for a BCS Berth in four days. Until kickoff, there is a Gamecock Football Roundtable dicussion taking place that you need to read. This time the crew over at The Rubber Chickens sits down with LOHD to answer some questions that we have concerning what is shaping out to be a storied football season for South Carolina.
You are encouraged to read their blog but only when not reading this Gamecocks Blog. I kid, we have enjoyed doing these roundtables discussions with our blogging friends. Do read the others at the end of this Q&A –
1. Where does the strength of this USC football lie? How about the weakness?
Our defensive line is crazy talented and crazy deep, which is something we haven’t been able to say about USC in my lifetime, and is imperative to having a great SEC team. Taylor, Robertson and Ingram could start for anybody in the country. Quarles is an exciting prospect, and with depth provided by Sutton, Surratt, Jerideau and the underrated Aldrick Fordham, we’re going to give some people fits up front. Hmmmm, I feel like I’m forgetting someone…ah, well, I’m sure it will come to me later.
As far as weakness, until they prove otherwise, I’m going to have to say the defensive backfield. The amount of yardage we gave up through the air last year was shocking, and has to be corrected for us to have a special season in 2011. East Carolina will be quite a test because of the type of offense they run, and if we give up a lot of yards and/or points, it could damage our guys’ psyche as much as anything else. Gilmore absolutely has to have the type of season he is capable of, and we’ll need positive contributions from the more inexperienced guys like Legree, Hampton and Addison.
2. Which road game that USC faces scares you the most?
I’ll have to go with Tennessee. Crazy as he might be, I think Derek Dooley is the right man for the job at UT, and they are going to be better than expected even though they will be out-manned most weeks. The last time we played at UT we stunk the joint up, and I can definitely see a letdown coming in that three-week stretch of road games at Mississippi State, UT and Arkansas.
3. Going into the season, who is someone that is not being talked about on the USC football team that should be in your view?
He hasn’t been talked about much at all in camp, but I think D.L. Moore is on the verge of a breakout year. Most of the headlines this fall have been taken by our small, speedy guys, but I think Moore’s combination of size, speed and hands will more than make up for the loss of Tori Gurley. There’s no question Alshon will be the main man, but Moore will have a ton of big catches for us this year.
4. If you had to give Coach Spurrier one piece of advice this season, what would it be?
Keep your shirt on in public. We love you man, but nobody wants to see that again.
5. Go on the record – Give your prediction for the USC football team in 2011 from a wins & losses standpoint.
We’ll start the season 6-0 and move into the top five in the polls, then will lose two of three in the aforementioned MSU, UT, Arkansas stretch, and finish the seaon with three straight wins. 10-2 will get us to the SEC Championship Game again, and win or lose, hopefully will be good enough to get us a BCS birth.
Buckle in and enjoy the ride folks, it’s going to be fun.
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Other Roundtables to read –
Gamecocks Football Roundtable: Q&A with Cocky Country
