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November 15, 2013

Gamecock Sports: Game Prediction - Gamecocks vs. Florida


Gamecocks Look to Chomp the Gators
After the second, and much needed, bye week of the season, a much more healthy Gamecock football team looks to wrap up their SEC schedule with a big win against the Gators. If the Gamecocks can beat Florida and UGA loses to Auburn this weekend, we will still be in the hunt for the SEC East Crown as long as Missouri loses to either Ole Miss or Texas A&M down the stretch. Who would have thought we could dream of being in this position after losing to Tennessee a month ago? But in order for this unlikely circumstance to play out, the Gamecocks must get past a struggling Gator team that always plays well in Columbia and against Spurrier.

Florida
Currently sitting at 4-5 on the season, the Gators are in unfamiliar territory as they are set up to have their first losing season since 1979 when they went 0-10. Their remaining opponents are the Gamecocks, Georgia Southern, and Florida State, all three of which have winning records. Their historically explosive offense has had trouble putting points on the board all season. Coach Will Muschamp has the support of the University President and AD, but the Florida faithful will not cut the head coach much slack if the losing ways continue.

Last week’s embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt showcased the poor play of both the offense and defense which looks in disrepair at this point in the season. It seems that both the team and coaching staff have all but given up on the current season and are focusing on improvement in years to come. Maybe this is the residual effect of one beloved Florida quarterback being cut from the NFL completely and another Florida favorite being arrested on murder charges. Either way, this year has not been a good year to be a Florida Gator.

South Carolina
After a much needed week off to get some guys healthy, the Gamecocks seem to be back to full speed with everyone ready to play this weekend against the Gators. Mike Davis looks to continue to pace the SEC in rushing yards and further his stronghold as one of the SEC’s best running backs. The offensive line will have to create holes for Davis and protect Connor Shaw from a tough interior defensive line from Florida.

The defense will look to capitalize on a struggling Florida offense that cannot put a full game together yet to date this season. Victor Hampton looks to improve his stock this season along with Jadeveon Clowney and the rest of the defensive players that are approaching the potential leap to the NFL after this season.

The biggest threat that will be posed will be against the Carolina special teams unit that has struggled all season. The kick-off and punt return defenses have looked abysmal in most of the games giving up good field position when many times they should have pinned teams deep in their own territory.

The it factor when playing Florida is always the Spurrier factor. Despite his love for his alma mater, the Head Ball Coach is not going to let them have a competitive game if at all possible. He will be happy to hand them their 6th loss of the season if it puts the Gamecocks one step closer to Atlanta and the SEC Championship.

Prediction
The Gamecocks will take care of business so they can set themselves up to be the first in line if Missouri falls later in the season. Now it will be the sit and wait game.

Final Score: South Carolina 35, Florida 14

Post written by Gamecock Girl Sports Bloggess, Lauren Rippy.

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