5 Predictions For the USC-Fla. Atlantic game
posted by Scott Hood, Saturday, September 19, 2009
1. Eric Norwood Will Set A New School Sack Record: I predicted this would happen last week in Athens but Norwood came up one sack shy. He now needs just 1.5 sacks to pass Andrew Provence on USC’s all-time sacks list. Norwood, who has 25 career sacks, should have a dominating night against FAU’s offensive line. However, FAU did not surrender any sacks in the 49-3 loss to Nebraska two weeks ago. But, as the FAU players acknowledged earlier this week, USC and Nebraska have different type defenses. USC will, in my opinion, try to put relentless pressure on QB Rusty Smith. Norwood will be the beneficiary of that.
2. Stephen Garcia Will Attempt Less Than 40 Passes: After watching Garcia throw 53 passes last week, Spurrier wants to return to the more balanced offense, knowing that’s what USC must do to be successful in the SEC. USC ran the ball 42 times against NC State while passing 22 times. The ratio was nearly reversed (30-53) against Georgia. Spurrier prefers better balance and will make the play calls in today’s game with that in mind.
3. Kenny Miles Will Be USC’s Leading Rusher: Miles has stayed on the sidelines for the first two games as the coaches first looked to Brian Maddox and then Jarvis Giles to carry the ball carrying load. As a result, Miles didn’t get off the bench except for special teams. But this should be the week Miles finally gets his chance. Nebraska rushed for 259 yards two weeks ago. I look for Miles, who has patiently waited his turn, to have 10 to 15 rushing attempts.
4. Rusty Smith Will Throw For Less Than 200 Yards: Two reasons for this pick. First, Smith, FAU’s highly regarded QB, has typically failed to reach 200 yards passing against BCS schools. Last season, he threw for 253 yards against Texas, but 143 yards and 153 yards at Michigan State and Minnesota, respectively. Two years ago, he passed for 125 yards at Oklahoma State. The biggest game of his career against a BCS school came against Minnesota in 2007 when he passed for 463 yards on just 22 completions. Hey, it was Minnesota. Smith is a very good quarterback and should play on Sundays, but SEC defensive backs are a step above.
5. USC Will Score A Special Teams Touchdown: I played a hunch two weeks ago when I predicted Devin Taylor would block a kick. Fortunately, that happened. With Culliver, I’ve seen the momentum building over the last two years. Granted, I’ve been saying for a while that Culliver would return a kickoff for a TD. Culliver has come close to taking a kickoff to the house on several occasions. USC should enjoy enough of an advantage in talent that Culliver will find some running lanes up the field. Culliver is fast enough to take advantage of the holes. In fact, he might be the fastest returner FAU will face all season.
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South Carolina squares off with Florida Atlantic in the 2009 home opener on Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Here are five things I think will happen in the game:
1. Eric Norwood Will Set A New School Sack Record: I predicted this would happen last week in Athens but Norwood came up one sack shy. He now needs just 1.5 sacks to pass Andrew Provence on USC’s all-time sacks list. Norwood, who has 25 career sacks, should have a dominating night against FAU’s offensive line. However, FAU did not surrender any sacks in the 49-3 loss to Nebraska two weeks ago. But, as the FAU players acknowledged earlier this week, USC and Nebraska have different type defenses. USC will, in my opinion, try to put relentless pressure on QB Rusty Smith. Norwood will be the beneficiary of that.
2. Stephen Garcia Will Attempt Less Than 40 Passes: After watching Garcia throw 53 passes last week, Spurrier wants to return to the more balanced offense, knowing that’s what USC must do to be successful in the SEC. USC ran the ball 42 times against NC State while passing 22 times. The ratio was nearly reversed (30-53) against Georgia. Spurrier prefers better balance and will make the play calls in today’s game with that in mind.
3. Kenny Miles Will Be USC’s Leading Rusher: Miles has stayed on the sidelines for the first two games as the coaches first looked to Brian Maddox and then Jarvis Giles to carry the ball carrying load. As a result, Miles didn’t get off the bench except for special teams. But this should be the week Miles finally gets his chance. Nebraska rushed for 259 yards two weeks ago. I look for Miles, who has patiently waited his turn, to have 10 to 15 rushing attempts.
4. Rusty Smith Will Throw For Less Than 200 Yards: Two reasons for this pick. First, Smith, FAU’s highly regarded QB, has typically failed to reach 200 yards passing against BCS schools. Last season, he threw for 253 yards against Texas, but 143 yards and 153 yards at Michigan State and Minnesota, respectively. Two years ago, he passed for 125 yards at Oklahoma State. The biggest game of his career against a BCS school came against Minnesota in 2007 when he passed for 463 yards on just 22 completions. Hey, it was Minnesota. Smith is a very good quarterback and should play on Sundays, but SEC defensive backs are a step above.
5. USC Will Score A Special Teams Touchdown: I played a hunch two weeks ago when I predicted Devin Taylor would block a kick. Fortunately, that happened. With Culliver, I’ve seen the momentum building over the last two years. Granted, I’ve been saying for a while that Culliver would return a kickoff for a TD. Culliver has come close to taking a kickoff to the house on several occasions. USC should enjoy enough of an advantage in talent that Culliver will find some running lanes up the field. Culliver is fast enough to take advantage of the holes. In fact, he might be the fastest returner FAU will face all season.
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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 @.