The saying goes that defense wins championships but you could also insert ‘bowl games’ into that saying.
Teams from the Big Ten conference have won five of the past seven Capital One Bowls against their SEC foes but don’t expect Nebraska to be victorious as they have not played a SEC defensive unit like South Carolina’s.
Let me explain this further…
What Nebraska will attempt to do offensively is no secret, as they will look to run the ball a lot run as evidenced by their 223 average rushing yards per game. USC’s defense will have none of that as the Gamecocks enter as the No. 2 ranked pass defense in the country (133 YPG), 44th in run defense (135.9 YPG) and allowing just 18.8 points per contest.
Nebraska has not faced the likes of USC’s defensive line with Melvin Ingram, Travian Robertson, Devin Taylor and Jadeveon Clowney. Safe to say, you can expect Nebraska’s quarterback Taylor Martinez will face constant harassment from USC’s front four the entire game.
Another thing to expect is for the Gamecocks to load the box to stop Cornhuskers running back Rex Burkhead. No doubt he is good as evidenced by his 1,268 rushing yards this season, but South Carolina knows the key is stopping him. Nebraska has won all 11 games over the past three seasons when Burkhead has rushed for at least 100 yards, including seven this year.
South Carolina will attack on defense and this will determine the game as the Cornhuskers will not be able to do anything offensively. The formula is simple – stop the Nebraska run game and you have stopped Nebraska.
Look for USC to play with swagger as they want to do something no other Gamecocks football team has done and that is acquire 11 wins in a season. It begins with a solid defense and that is exactly what USC has done all year.
South Carolina offense will do their part on offense as quarterback Connor Shaw will have a big game both via the pass to wide out Alshon Jeffery and using his legs in the zone-read scheme. Match his talents with a stingy Gamecocks defense and the boys from Columbia, S.C will easily walk away with a blow-out type win.
