Your opponents...the South Carolina Gamecocks

[Excel]

So here's the actual synopsis of the Gamecocks:

 

Offense: The Gamecock offense didn't quite flounder like many expected (including myself) once Lattimore went down for the year. He was rushing the ball over 30 times a game. And yes, he's better than Rex, and I think Rex is a great RB. Steven Garcia also was lost for the year (for other reasons, not injury), and had Conner Shaw played against Auburn, the Gamecocks could very well be 11-1, (although Garcia kinda bailed him out against ECU). USC will look to pick up 3-4 yards at least per carry, and then hit you with a deep ball to Alshon. They also like to run the read option, but Conner Shaw is no Taylor Martinez. He's a good runner, but like the Rex to Lattimore comparison above, Shaw is to Martinez. Ace Sanders (Saunders?) and Byrd (can't remember any of the other names) are solid. If you pay too much attention to Alshon, these two can cause major issues. Ellington out of the wildcat doesn't scare me as much as it probably should, because I haven't seen him throw out of it, although I hear he was a QB in high school.

 

Defense: Front 4 is NASTY. The rest of the defense is pretty good, but what makes them a dominant defense is the play of the line. They have a relentless pass rush, but can also sniff out screens and draws. Abdullah on returns is a good way of scoring .

 

Expect a hard fought, physical game. If you don't come ready to play (see Clemson games the last 3 years), they'll make you pay.

 

-kc

 

 

Hope this passes knapp's approval.

A sound and reasonable post coming from a Clemson fan. You've earned my approval at least.

 

I will abstain from calling you a tater for 24 hours.

 

Just an FYI, because I don't want this thread to die, it's been over 24 hours. You're slipping Badgerfan!

ah I'm too tired to talk trash. I'll bring it this weekend.

[beanman]

Hey badgerfan . . . where do you live? How does one become a Wisconsin/South Carolina fan? Strange.

I'm in the Military, don't even try to keep track of where I've lived and universities I've taken classes at...currently I'm in Manhattan.

 

Since you asked though I was born in Madison and raised about an hour and a half east of the Twin Cities to a family of Wisconsin grads so I grew up pulling for the Badgers...more recently my cousin was a walk on WR and is currently a GA. Being a fan of the Badgers is in my blood. I can't really help that.

 

That said I earned my undergrad from USC. It's my Alma Mater and I love the Gamecocks.

 

For the purposes of this board I choose to be badgerfan since this is a Big Ten board and it wouldn't make much sense to name myself "Gamecock who also really likes the Badgers".

 

Where did you live? I lived in Eau Claire and Menomonie during my Wisconsin stint. Now I'm in MN. I liked Wisconsin much more.

Eau Claire...wow small world...I'm from Rice Lake

 

Beautiful area up there. But hell, most of Wisconsin is. Been through Rice Lake many times on journeys up north.

[walksalone]

I was lurking on Cockytalk earlier, and found the Alshon/Fonzie discussion. This part of the fight, might be too close to call. But will they dial up the blitzes, and make it difficult for Shaw to get the ball to Jeffery? Because without Lattimore, I don't see the reason to load up the box to stop the run.

 

And if Fonzie can shut down Jeffery, I think that they'll have a tough time scoring because the drop off from Jeffery to the next guys is a bit drastic.

 

It seems SoCar has a pretty decent run defense, but I just don't think you'll be able to do it. It'll be close at half time, but we'll end up walking away... Huskers 20 SoCar 6

[knapplc]

Those of you who watch wide receivers across the land - how good is Alshon Jeffrey really? I've talked to some of the c$%ks fans on their board and they think it's ludicrous that we might put Fonzie on him 1-on-1. I tell them he shut down McNutt and Cunningham, but that doesn't seem to register, Jeffrey is the man and Fonzie won't be able to cover him.

 

I'm seeing a guy who averages four catches a game, a TD every other game, and who in general doesn't seem to be a big part of their offense. Why the hype?

 

 

Here are two WRs Fonzie has gone 1v1 against this year. First are their season averages, next are their stats against Fonzie.

 

B.J. Cunningham

REC (AVG) - 6

YPG (AVG)- 95.4

TD (total) - 12

 

vs. Dennard

REC - 0..... Targeted eight times for zero completions; one INT (Thorell)

YDS - 0

TD - 0

 

Marvin McNutt

REC (AVG) - 7

YPG (AVG)- 106

TD (total) - 12

 

vs. Dennard

REC - 4.... Targeted eleven times and had one meaningful catch for 26 yards when it was 20-0

YDS - 29.

TD - 0

 

 

This is what Jeffrey has done this year. He doesn't rank in the top 100 in receptions, receptions per game, reception yards, yards per game or receiving TDs.

 

Alshon Jeffrey

REC (AVG) - 4

YPG (AVG) - 51.2

TD (total) - 7

 

I'm not saying he's not a threat. I'm just not seeing where he's been as productive as other guys we've faced. Is this a scheme issue, a QB issue, or has he been injured this year?

 

I'm having a hard time understanding why Fonzie couldn't just take this guy out of their offense.

[Moiraine]

I'm having a hard time understanding why Fonzie couldn't just take this guy out of their offense.

 

I thought you knew better knapp. The SEC is better than the NFL. The last place team's 4th string cornerback is better than Dennard. That skews the stats against receivers. If he were in the Big 10 he'd have 30 catches per game.

[killer cacti]

killer cacti has been a regular contributor to this board since the 2008 Gator Bowl, follows the Huskers and considers them his second favorite college football team, at least by my estimations. He's wrapped up in this game because a) he dislikes South Carolina and b) he's a Husker fan.

 

 

Yep, KC has been a valued member of HuskerBoard since the 2008 Gator Bowl. He's good people, just like it seems the SC fans are good people. Go figure, since you all come from the same state.

 

Maybe we could build bridges. Maybe HuskerBoard could be the Jimmy Carter to your Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. Here's hoping.

 

haha, Huskerboard=Camp David...at least until Cacti invites his friends over, then it's time to reactive all of those word filters you had to change for the c$%ks!

I visit Huskerboard way more than any Clemson board, so no worries there.

[Lonnie Utah]

I visit Huskerboard way more than any Clemson board, so no worries there.

 

Yeah, but do you have the sack to post over at http://www.cockytalk.com/ lol.

[CockInYourEar]

Those of you who watch wide receivers across the land - how good is Alshon Jeffrey really? I've talked to some of the c$%ks fans on their board and they think it's ludicrous that we might put Fonzie on him 1-on-1. I tell them he shut down McNutt and Cunningham, but that doesn't seem to register, Jeffrey is the man and Fonzie won't be able to cover him.

 

I'm seeing a guy who averages four catches a game, a TD every other game, and who in general doesn't seem to be a big part of their offense. Why the hype?

 

I'm not saying he's not a threat. I'm just not seeing where he's been as productive as other guys we've faced. Is this a scheme issue, a QB issue, or has he been injured this year?

 

I'm having a hard time understanding why Fonzie couldn't just take this guy out of their offense.

 

Alshon had huge production his first 2 seasons. This year our play selection seemed to change more. Early in the year, when Garcia was the QB, he threw a twice as many INT's than TD's, and we were around 50% on completions, so we went away from passing so much. It behooved us b/c Lattimore was tearing teams apart in the running game. We have 4 players who have rushed more than 30 times this year, and who have an average greater than 4 yards a carry, so we are primarily a running offense. I'm sure if we aired it out like Houston and committed to throwing 40 times a game, then AJ's stats would be better, but that's not the team for the skills that we have.

 

AJ has also been in double coverage for most of the season, teams remembered what happened when they went 1-1 with him or have seen the film. He's physically a big WR with a sick vertical leap and great hands. He wins a whole lot of jump balls and he's also strong enough to break away from jamming him at the line. I'm sure Dennard is an awesome DB, but going against a 1st Rounder like AJ, one-on-one, isn't the best plan. If he can do it and have success, well that'll suck for us, but I think AJ is just a nasty mismatch for any DB.

[killer cacti]

I visit Huskerboard way more than any Clemson board, so no worries there.

 

Yeah, but do you have the sack to post over at http://www.cockytalk.com/ lol.

 

We'll see how the interaction on Hboard goes first.

[SCGamecock]

Those of you who watch wide receivers across the land - how good is Alshon Jeffrey really? I've talked to some of the c$%ks fans on their board and they think it's ludicrous that we might put Fonzie on him 1-on-1. I tell them he shut down McNutt and Cunningham, but that doesn't seem to register, Jeffrey is the man and Fonzie won't be able to cover him.

 

I'm seeing a guy who averages four catches a game, a TD every other game, and who in general doesn't seem to be a big part of their offense. Why the hype?

 

 

Here are two WRs Fonzie has gone 1v1 against this year. First are their season averages, next are their stats against Fonzie.

 

B.J. Cunningham

REC (AVG) - 6

YPG (AVG)- 95.4

TD (total) - 12

 

vs. Dennard

REC - 0..... Targeted eight times for zero completions; one INT (Thorell)

YDS - 0

TD - 0

 

Marvin McNutt

REC (AVG) - 7

YPG (AVG)- 106

TD (total) - 12

 

vs. Dennard

REC - 4.... Targeted eleven times and had one meaningful catch for 26 yards when it was 20-0

YDS - 29.

TD - 0

 

 

This is what Jeffrey has done this year. He doesn't rank in the top 100 in receptions, receptions per game, reception yards, yards per game or receiving TDs.

 

Alshon Jeffrey

REC (AVG) - 4

YPG (AVG) - 51.2

TD (total) - 7

 

I'm not saying he's not a threat. I'm just not seeing where he's been as productive as other guys we've faced. Is this a scheme issue, a QB issue, or has he been injured this year?

 

I'm having a hard time understanding why Fonzie couldn't just take this guy out of their offense.

 

Its been a scheme and QB issue not to mention he's been doubled all year long. Garcia when he was here, was given all day to throw the ball but couldnt ever hit his targets. Then Shaw comes in after we lose our starting LT for the year which causes our o line to play like crap. So now were looking at a still developing QB with no blocking in front of him, along with Alshon still getting doubled. So yea I guess that explains things. But our o line ever since we lost Nunn(LT) has been steadily improving and Shaw has improved every game as a passer.

 

Im probably a little biased, just as yall probably are with your corners, but I dont think there are many corners in the country who can guard Alshon 1 on 1. The man abused Kirkpatrick from Bama last year and hes supposed to be the next big thing at corner. I think I read that Pelini likes to leave his corners 1 on 1? If so Im excited for the matchup. Although I will say that if yall can get Dennard to do a good job on Alshon, then that extra safety would probably be used to get after Shaw in some way and that could spell trouble for us. A lot of our passing game comes from the extra attention given to Alshon.

[knapplc]

Dennard is a first-round CB.

 

Draft Scout

CBS Sports

NFLsFuture

[SCGamecock]

I was lurking on Cockytalk earlier, and found the Alshon/Fonzie discussion. This part of the fight, might be too close to call. But will they dial up the blitzes, and make it difficult for Shaw to get the ball to Jeffery? Because without Lattimore, I don't see the reason to load up the box to stop the run.

 

And if Fonzie can shut down Jeffery, I think that they'll have a tough time scoring because the drop off from Jeffery to the next guys is a bit drastic.

 

It seems SoCar has a pretty decent run defense, but I just don't think you'll be able to do it. It'll be close at half time, but we'll end up walking away... Huskers 20 SoCar 6

 

Well yall better load the box because we are a running team. After Latt went down Tennessee and Florida both tried that strategy and failed. We ran for 231 on UT and 215 on UF. If you dont load the box we will run it on you.

 

And the drop off isnt as drastic as you might think. Our guys are capable they just havent had many opportunities. There are some games where Shaw might only have 15 attempts, and most of the targets go to Alshon, so there are only so many balls that can go around.

[knapplc]

Well yall better load the box because we are a running team. After Latt went down Tennessee and Florida both tried that strategy and failed. We ran for 231 on UT and 215 on UF. If you dont load the box we will run it on you.

 

And the drop off isnt as drastic as you might think. Our guys are capable they just havent had many opportunities. There are some games where Shaw might only have 15 attempts, and most of the targets go to Alshon, so there are only so many balls that can go around.

 

So we're not seeing a ton of catches/yards for AJ because of scheme. That makes sense. The guy looks skilled, but his stats this year aren't eye-catching.

 

As for loading the box... I don't know. Pelini has been pretty pig-headed about that this year. We've been playing a pretty base defense most of the year. We have a couple of good LBs, David and Compton, and some other pretty skilled players, but we've held them in check via scheme than just letting them just tear around with their hair on fire.

 

One guy whose name you'll know very well by the end of the game, if you don't know him already, is Lavonte David. He's scary-good. Not getting a lot of draft buzz because he's small-ish for a LB, but he is a tackling machine.

[Lonnie Utah]

So we're not seeing a ton of catches/yards for AJ because of scheme. That makes sense.

 

It only takes 1!!

 

PS David is a concern....

[Conga3]

Besides talking about how great Clemson is, what other topics are the best way to get USC fans all worked up?

You're welcome, Conga3.

 

Oh my, didn't expect it to work in this thread.....

 

**evil grin**