5 Predictions For The USC-Alabama Game
posted by Scott Hood, Saturday, October 17, 2009
1. USC Won‘t Miss Jarvis Giles or Heath Batchelor: Giles piled up huge numbers against Florida Atlantic (113 yards) and SC State (74 yards) but has just 45 yards on 15 carries (3.0 yards per carry) in three SEC contests. Giles has a tendency to run backwards when he gets into trouble and, as a freshman, must still master the concept of taking what the defense gives, even if it means only a two or three yard gain. Without Giles available, USC will rely more on Kenny Miles, Brian Maddox or possibly Eric Baker.
As for Batchelor, this marks the second time in two seasons he’s left the team in the middle of the season. Good riddance. I hope he is able to get rid of whatever demons afflict him. He played poorly in his final game at left guard, and probably heard about it from Spurrier and O-Line coach Eric Wolford.
2. USC Will Have Two Long Scoring Drives: Steve Spurrier said on his call-in show Thursday night that USC needed four or five eight-minute scoring drives in order to win the game. That’s a tall order against a big, physical Alabama defense that has dominated opposing offenses to date. In four games against SEC foes and Virginia Tech, Alabama is allowing a conversion rate of 16.7 (8 of 48) percent on third down. That won’t get it done for USC. The Gamecocks hould be able to put together a couple of five or six minute drives but anything more is unrealistic.
3. Alshon Jeffery Will Have At Least Three Catches: Last weekend was Alshon Jeffery’s coming out party for the Gamecocks with seven receptions, three for TDs. But it came against a pair of young, inexperienced Kentucky cornerbacks. Jeffery won’t have that luxury this week since both of Alabama’s corners have started the last 20 games and been through the wars a few times. It will be an interesting test for Jeffery and the rest of the wide receiver corps.
4. USC Won‘t Lose the Turnover Battle: The Gamecocks are plus-two in turnover margin, a significant improvement over last season when USC seemingly turned it over every other possession. But Alabama is a SEC-best plus-nine in turnover margin. Stephen Garcia has learned how to take care of the football in his first full season as USC’s starting QB. With both defenses being as good as they are, the always important turnover battle figures to be a wash.
5. Bear Bryant’s Name Will Be Mentioned At Least 1,000 Times: Bear Bryant has been dead for a quarter century, but his presence still looms large over an Alabama program that hasn’t experienced the same consistent success since he last coached in 1982. Alabama’s last SEC championship came in 1999 when Mike DuBose was the head coach. Their last national championship was 1992. Bryant is a legendary coach, and deservedly so considering the level of extraordinary success he achieved. College football has always been more about the past than the present, and no fan base does the past better than Alabama.
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South Carolina travels to No. 2 Alabama Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Here are five predictions for the game:
1. USC Won‘t Miss Jarvis Giles or Heath Batchelor: Giles piled up huge numbers against Florida Atlantic (113 yards) and SC State (74 yards) but has just 45 yards on 15 carries (3.0 yards per carry) in three SEC contests. Giles has a tendency to run backwards when he gets into trouble and, as a freshman, must still master the concept of taking what the defense gives, even if it means only a two or three yard gain. Without Giles available, USC will rely more on Kenny Miles, Brian Maddox or possibly Eric Baker.
As for Batchelor, this marks the second time in two seasons he’s left the team in the middle of the season. Good riddance. I hope he is able to get rid of whatever demons afflict him. He played poorly in his final game at left guard, and probably heard about it from Spurrier and O-Line coach Eric Wolford.
2. USC Will Have Two Long Scoring Drives: Steve Spurrier said on his call-in show Thursday night that USC needed four or five eight-minute scoring drives in order to win the game. That’s a tall order against a big, physical Alabama defense that has dominated opposing offenses to date. In four games against SEC foes and Virginia Tech, Alabama is allowing a conversion rate of 16.7 (8 of 48) percent on third down. That won’t get it done for USC. The Gamecocks hould be able to put together a couple of five or six minute drives but anything more is unrealistic.
3. Alshon Jeffery Will Have At Least Three Catches: Last weekend was Alshon Jeffery’s coming out party for the Gamecocks with seven receptions, three for TDs. But it came against a pair of young, inexperienced Kentucky cornerbacks. Jeffery won’t have that luxury this week since both of Alabama’s corners have started the last 20 games and been through the wars a few times. It will be an interesting test for Jeffery and the rest of the wide receiver corps.
4. USC Won‘t Lose the Turnover Battle: The Gamecocks are plus-two in turnover margin, a significant improvement over last season when USC seemingly turned it over every other possession. But Alabama is a SEC-best plus-nine in turnover margin. Stephen Garcia has learned how to take care of the football in his first full season as USC’s starting QB. With both defenses being as good as they are, the always important turnover battle figures to be a wash.
5. Bear Bryant’s Name Will Be Mentioned At Least 1,000 Times: Bear Bryant has been dead for a quarter century, but his presence still looms large over an Alabama program that hasn’t experienced the same consistent success since he last coached in 1982. Alabama’s last SEC championship came in 1999 when Mike DuBose was the head coach. Their last national championship was 1992. Bryant is a legendary coach, and deservedly so considering the level of extraordinary success he achieved. College football has always been more about the past than the present, and no fan base does the past better than Alabama.
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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 @.