South Carolina is coming off of an important win against Vanderbilt, but now they have to face a 7-1 App State team who’s coming off of a disappointing loss against Georgia Southern.
Don’t let that loss fool you.
App State is still a dangerous team who was ranked earlier this year.
Muschamp knows the importance of winning this game because this is the easiest game left on the schedule.
Here are my three bold predictions for this game:
Two Gamecock running backs will have over 100 yards
South Carolina may be without Tavien Feaster, but they still have a ton of options at running back.
Among Rico Dowdle, Deshaun Fenwick, Mon Denson and Kevin Harris, two of them could easily have 100 yards rushing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4dKlncJFFs/
I expect South Carolina to run the ball a lot because App State has the number eight pass defense in the country.
However, they give up 164.1 rushing yards per game.
They haven’t faced a running back room like this, and it’ll show this weekend.
South Carolina will hold App State to 20 points or less
App State is currently averaging 38.5 points per game, but that’s against FCS and Sun Belt teams.
They did upset UNC, but the Tar Heels had to rely solely on their passing game.
UNC also couldn’t stop the run that well.
South Carolina should be able to stop a team that relies heavily on the run game.
I expect to see the defense everyone saw against Georgia.
Xavier Legette will emerge as the WR3
I loved what I saw from Legette in the win over Vanderbilt.
He only had three receptions, but one of them was for a touchdown.
His ability to create separation is what I like about him. Shi Smith will be returning, but I think Legette will establish himself as the WR3 for this team by the end of the year.
Bryan Edwards will probably set another school record in this game, but Legette at least gives me hope for the future of this receiving core.
Conclusion
South Carolina NEEDS to win this one if they want to make a bowl game.
Their remaining two games are Texas A&M on the road and Clemson at home.
If the Gamecocks lose this game, it’ll be almost impossible to make a bowl game.
I expect South Carolina to win 31-14 over App State.