Five Predictions For USC-Georgia Game
posted by Scott Hood, Friday, September 07, 2007
1. BLAKE MITCHELL WILL THROW FOR MORE THAN 200 YARDS:
Talking with Mitchell this week, I sensed he’s eager to finally beat the Bulldogs after experiencing four losses to them so far in his time with USC. He knows this is his last opportunity. Being a native of LaGrange, Ga., he’ll love to go out with a win over Georgia. It’s something he’ll be able to talk about for the rest of his life.
Mitchell is also ready to get all the academic talk and off-season distractions behind him. He knows some USC fans don’t have the highest opinion of him right now. A win over Georgia will change everything, though.
Mitchell has already quarterbacked one game at Sanford Stadium, the 17-15 loss in 2005, so he knows what’s it all about. It’s that experience that Spurrier is looking for. While Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher performed well last week, I question if Spurrier thought they had enough experience to lead USC to a win in Athens.
In my opinion, Mitchell has plenty of targets to throw to. Kenny McKinley started the season strong with six receptions, while Cory Boyd, Andy Boyd, Jared Cook and Freddie Brown look to continue their strong play. If one of the young receivers emerges, Mitchell could have an even bigger day.
I believe Steve Spurrier has a lot of stuff up his sleeve for this game. I expect to see a far more wide-open attack this weekend.
2. CORY BOYD AND MIKE DAVIS WILL RUSH FOR 150 YARDS
After years of struggling to run the ball against Georgia’s front seven, I look for this to be a breakout game for the USC rushing game, as well. The matchup between USC’s offensive line and Georgia’s defensive line is fairly even, unlike previous years when the Bulldogs dominated.
USC had 492 yards against a highly-rated Clemson defense last year. The Gamecocks might not reach that figure Saturday, but with Spurrier calling the plays I still expect the offense to be productive.
Mike Davis started slowly his first two seasons but ran effectively last week with 94 yards. In my opinion, that’s a positive sign for USC. I predicted Davis would run for 1,000 yards last season. If first games mean anything, it looks I was a year early.
3. THE USC DEFENSE WILL COLLECT AT LEAST FOUR SACKS:
The USC defense last week was uncommonly passive. They tackled poorly time and again and allowed the Louisiana-Lafayette offense to come to them rather than attacking. I’m sure that strategy it was a combination of two key components: 1) fear about ULL’s option offense; and 2) unwillingness to show too much to Georgia.
I expect the USC defense to consistently and ferociously attack Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with a variety of aggressive blitzes throughout Saturday’s game. Rest assured, the Gamecocks are coming after Stafford. They can’t afford to sit back as they did against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Stafford is too good of a quarterback to allow him the time to stand back there and scan the field. It will be interesting to see how USC defensive end Eric Norwood fares against Georgia LT Trinton Sturdivant, a true freshman.
Stafford picked part the Oklahoma secondary last week, connecting on 18-of-24 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, Oklahoma State had just two sacks against Georgia’s inexperienced offensive line. If that happens this week, and the line is again able to provide Stafford with enough time to look for receivers, USC will be in trouble.
4. USC WILL LIMIT GEORGIA TO LESS THAN 150 YARDS RUSHING:
This is the magic number in Steve Spurrier’s mind. As I pointed out yesterday, Georgia has abused USC on the ground in recent years, totaling 198 rushing yards last season and 238 yards two years ago.
That can’t happen again if the Gamecocks have any chance to win this game. In fact, I would say anything more than 175 yards would be embarrassing to the USC defense, considering the recent history.
That shouldn’t happen because the battle, as I stated before, between the USC defensive line and the Georgia offensive line is much more even this year. Add in the fact USC plans to utilize a group of “big” linebackers including Jasper Brinkley, Casper Brinkley and Dustin Lindsey.
5. EMANUEL COOK WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:
Emanuel Cook’s absence from last week’s contest against ULL was felt by the USC defense because he has few peers when it comes to tackling. The only USC defender as good as Cook when it comes to wrapping up and bring down ball carriers is middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley.
The fact Cook is even playing in Saturday’s game shows how much he means to the defensive unit. Right now, the coaches don’t plan to play him a while lot but I suspect once the game starts and Cook gets on the field for a few snaps and starts doing his thing, they won’t be able to resist the urge to pull him out. He will make a difference in how the secondary defends both the run and the pass this week.
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We all realize how important Saturday’s South Carolina-Georgia is for the Gamecock program from both a local and national perspective. As I said earlier in the week, it’s a must-win situation for the Gamecocks. Here are the five things I think will happen in the game:
1. BLAKE MITCHELL WILL THROW FOR MORE THAN 200 YARDS:
Talking with Mitchell this week, I sensed he’s eager to finally beat the Bulldogs after experiencing four losses to them so far in his time with USC. He knows this is his last opportunity. Being a native of LaGrange, Ga., he’ll love to go out with a win over Georgia. It’s something he’ll be able to talk about for the rest of his life.
Mitchell is also ready to get all the academic talk and off-season distractions behind him. He knows some USC fans don’t have the highest opinion of him right now. A win over Georgia will change everything, though.
Mitchell has already quarterbacked one game at Sanford Stadium, the 17-15 loss in 2005, so he knows what’s it all about. It’s that experience that Spurrier is looking for. While Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher performed well last week, I question if Spurrier thought they had enough experience to lead USC to a win in Athens.
In my opinion, Mitchell has plenty of targets to throw to. Kenny McKinley started the season strong with six receptions, while Cory Boyd, Andy Boyd, Jared Cook and Freddie Brown look to continue their strong play. If one of the young receivers emerges, Mitchell could have an even bigger day.
I believe Steve Spurrier has a lot of stuff up his sleeve for this game. I expect to see a far more wide-open attack this weekend.
2. CORY BOYD AND MIKE DAVIS WILL RUSH FOR 150 YARDS
After years of struggling to run the ball against Georgia’s front seven, I look for this to be a breakout game for the USC rushing game, as well. The matchup between USC’s offensive line and Georgia’s defensive line is fairly even, unlike previous years when the Bulldogs dominated.
USC had 492 yards against a highly-rated Clemson defense last year. The Gamecocks might not reach that figure Saturday, but with Spurrier calling the plays I still expect the offense to be productive.
Mike Davis started slowly his first two seasons but ran effectively last week with 94 yards. In my opinion, that’s a positive sign for USC. I predicted Davis would run for 1,000 yards last season. If first games mean anything, it looks I was a year early.
3. THE USC DEFENSE WILL COLLECT AT LEAST FOUR SACKS:
The USC defense last week was uncommonly passive. They tackled poorly time and again and allowed the Louisiana-Lafayette offense to come to them rather than attacking. I’m sure that strategy it was a combination of two key components: 1) fear about ULL’s option offense; and 2) unwillingness to show too much to Georgia.
I expect the USC defense to consistently and ferociously attack Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with a variety of aggressive blitzes throughout Saturday’s game. Rest assured, the Gamecocks are coming after Stafford. They can’t afford to sit back as they did against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Stafford is too good of a quarterback to allow him the time to stand back there and scan the field. It will be interesting to see how USC defensive end Eric Norwood fares against Georgia LT Trinton Sturdivant, a true freshman.
Stafford picked part the Oklahoma secondary last week, connecting on 18-of-24 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, Oklahoma State had just two sacks against Georgia’s inexperienced offensive line. If that happens this week, and the line is again able to provide Stafford with enough time to look for receivers, USC will be in trouble.
4. USC WILL LIMIT GEORGIA TO LESS THAN 150 YARDS RUSHING:
This is the magic number in Steve Spurrier’s mind. As I pointed out yesterday, Georgia has abused USC on the ground in recent years, totaling 198 rushing yards last season and 238 yards two years ago.
That can’t happen again if the Gamecocks have any chance to win this game. In fact, I would say anything more than 175 yards would be embarrassing to the USC defense, considering the recent history.
That shouldn’t happen because the battle, as I stated before, between the USC defensive line and the Georgia offensive line is much more even this year. Add in the fact USC plans to utilize a group of “big” linebackers including Jasper Brinkley, Casper Brinkley and Dustin Lindsey.
5. EMANUEL COOK WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:
Emanuel Cook’s absence from last week’s contest against ULL was felt by the USC defense because he has few peers when it comes to tackling. The only USC defender as good as Cook when it comes to wrapping up and bring down ball carriers is middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley.
The fact Cook is even playing in Saturday’s game shows how much he means to the defensive unit. Right now, the coaches don’t plan to play him a while lot but I suspect once the game starts and Cook gets on the field for a few snaps and starts doing his thing, they won’t be able to resist the urge to pull him out. He will make a difference in how the secondary defends both the run and the pass this week.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.