Your opponents...the South Carolina Gamecocks

[NUance]

Greetings, Huskers.

 

As a NST (Nebraska as second team) fan, I figured that I'd give you guys a bit of an insight into your opponent for the bowl game. A enemy of your enemy is your friend...right?

 

The Gamecocks are located in the hottest place on earth, Columbia, SC (I don't live far from Cola, so believe me I know). I've been told this is because it's trapped in a valley between the beaches and mountains of SC, and doesn't get any breeze, not terribly sure if this is correct, so don't quote me on it.

 

They have 1 conference championship, an ACC Championship in 1969. Now that we've covered ALL football championship information, let's move on.

 

The Gamecocks have had recent success in bowl games, 4 bowl wins since 1995. Prior to that, they had 0.

 

The Gamecocks are named after a breed of illegal fighting chickens. Word is the Vick University Fighting Pit Bulls are the only mascot more inhumane. In all actuality, it's named after Thomas Sumter.

 

This year's team is hot/cold on offense, and very good defensively. The front 4 are great, contrary to what a made-up tweet by Clemson's Tajh Boyd may have said about them (it's amazing what coaches can come up with to motivate your players). You must NOT turn the ball over, but expect to have a low scoring game. Defensively, the Huskers should look to keep Shaw in the pocket and blanket Alshon Jeffery (easier said than done). The other receivers aren't bad, but they won't wow you either.

 

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be the one in SC rocking red on Jan 2.

 

-kc

+1 Nice! Keep feeding us the goods on these guys, killer cacti. Inquiring minds want to know.

[NoLongerN]

I enjoyed reading this whole thread. I think it was an Ohio State fan that posted the graphic of Michael Jackson eating popcorn (enjoying the show) while the fans of Clemson, South Carolina and someone else duked it out. Classic.

[lo country]

USC #2 in the nation in pass defense, #4 in total D. Shaw, contrary to some, is a true dual threat. Especially if the pocket collapses. Their front four get incredible penetration and their LB's and DB's are physical.

 

We catch a break in the fact that Lattimore is out. The equivalent if we lost Rex. Quiet, hard working, pile moving workhorse at RB.

 

Beck needs to dial up the delays and misdirection like never before. Their D will be in our backfield all night so Beck needs to dial up some plays to counter. Go up tempo from start to finish.

 

Defensively, contain Shaw and let Dennard take out their star receiver. Get pressure to keep Shaw in the pocket and much like Martinez, force him to pass. Dial up blitz after blitz after blitz.

 

Should be a great game and go a long way in telling us where NU is really at.

[knapplc]

I have read this thread and I only have one question:

 

 

What's taters, precious? Eh? What's taters?

[Hoosker]

SC is 45th nationally in stopping the run, while we're 13th in rushing yards/per game.

 

Keep arguing though....

 

[Saunders]

I have read this thread and I only have one question:

 

 

What's taters, precious? Eh? What's taters?

Bravo.

[GamecockInAugusta]

Question for Huskers: What kind of speed does your secondary have? Alshon Jefferey isn't going to run past anyone, but we do have some little speedy guys that can be match-up problems for slower defenses. Ace Sanders, Bruce Ellington, Nick Jones, and Damiere Byrd can all stretch the field.

 

On a similar note, what kind of size and leaping ability do your DB's have? Like I said, Alshon isn't going to burn anyone on a fly route (unless there's blown coverage), but with his size, leaping ability, and body control he can go up over guys to make tough catches in traffic. He's also got a big frame and can effectively box-out all but the most physical defenders. Regardless, I think Nebraska will have to put two guys on #1. Many times this year there would be a corner manned-up on him with a safety over the top for support.

 

Thoughts?

[Blaze1up]

Anyone know our record against the SEC ? (not including Mizzou and A&M)

[Saunders]

Anyone know our record against the SEC ? (not including Mizzou and A&M)

17-6 (I think).

[JJ Husker]

Question for Huskers: What kind of speed does your secondary have? Alshon Jefferey isn't going to run past anyone, but we do have some little speedy guys that can be match-up problems for slower defenses. Ace Sanders, Bruce Ellington, Nick Jones, and Damiere Byrd can all stretch the field.

 

On a similar note, what kind of size and leaping ability do your DB's have? Like I said, Alshon isn't going to burn anyone on a fly route (unless there's blown coverage), but with his size, leaping ability, and body control he can go up over guys to make tough catches in traffic. He's also got a big frame and can effectively box-out all but the most physical defenders. Regardless, I think Nebraska will have to put two guys on #1. Many times this year there would be a corner manned-up on him with a safety over the top for support.

 

Thoughts?

I'm sure someone else can you give you a better analysis but this is my try. Dennard can probably shut down whoever he is on but other than that, we may struggle. Our front 3 or 4 do not generate any rush/pressure so, unless we blitz, your guy will have all day to find a receiver. Our other DB's have shown improvement through the season but still show some signs of bad mechanics/fundementals in coverage. We have done pretty good at limiting big pass plays but it will depend how well your QB can extend the play and if your WR's keep working. The thing that worries me most may be disparate measures of speed. When you say your guys aren't blazing fast but may be quick enough for slower defenses, I don't know if we're on the same page or not. My gut tells me we may be a little on the slow side compared to SEC speed. Bo does seem to scheme very good for bowl games though. Don't let last years Holiday Bowl fool you. That was simply a game nobody wanted to play.

 

edit- If your QB is mobile and not afraid to get outside the pocket and run, you'll probably tear us a new one.

[shyndy]

Question for Huskers: What kind of speed does your secondary have? Alshon Jefferey isn't going to run past anyone, but we do have some little speedy guys that can be match-up problems for slower defenses. Ace Sanders, Bruce Ellington, Nick Jones, and Damiere Byrd can all stretch the field.

 

On a similar note, what kind of size and leaping ability do your DB's have? Like I said, Alshon isn't going to burn anyone on a fly route (unless there's blown coverage), but with his size, leaping ability, and body control he can go up over guys to make tough catches in traffic. He's also got a big frame and can effectively box-out all but the most physical defenders. Regardless, I think Nebraska will have to put two guys on #1. Many times this year there would be a corner manned-up on him with a safety over the top for support.

 

Thoughts?

Dennard can match up on this alshon jefferey, but if you have fast guys in the slot that will kill us all day because we will likely put either ciante evans or blatchford or thorell on him and honestly i like those guys but its a mismatch, they have been getting burned all year. We pretty much always have safety help over the top its just the way bo runs his defense, alot of the times the corner isn't even supposed to cover the deeper route. That said I'm mostly worried about the statement that your qb is a dual threat, because true dual threats are pretty much a guaranteed loss- or have been to this point anyway.

[CockInYourEar]

Wow, just read the whole thread, I hope you huskers see the garbage the c$%ks have to put up with some of the clemtech fans.

 

Back to the topic, what do y'all think will be the total combined rushing total this game? We both have duel threat qb's, good running games and stout pass defenses. I'm going to set the over/under at 600 yards.

[SCGamecock]

Im super worried about having to stop Martinez and Burkhead. All year long we have played teams who on offense their main way of moving the ball was through the air, besides Navy and Citadel who were triple option teams. So we have yet to see what we can do against an offense who wants to pound it away out of the spread. Nebraska will probably win this game if they can stay out of 2nd/3rd and long situations. If they happen to get in long passing situations, we have arguably the best pass rushing d line in the nation with Clowney, Ingram, and Devin Taylor who can provide pressure without us having to blitz. Another thing that worries me is we tend to play a lot of man, which means if Martinez gets away from pressure all of our DBs will have their backs turned which can turn into a huge gain for Martinez.

 

Offensively we are nothing special. We have solid backs who can consistently gain 4 yards. Connor Shaw is a really good game manager. If nothing is there he wont force it as he usually runs for a few yards instead of taking a sack or throwing into coverage. We do have Alshon who teams have doubled all year long. I expect the Huskers to do the same. One thing to keep in mind is that there is a rumor about Alshon maybe not being eligible, so stay tuned for that. If not that would be a huge loss for us as he takes a safety out of every play just with his presence alone. The thing about our offense is we eat the clock. Our backs may not bust 50 yard TD runs, but they consistently get 4-5 yards. Once we get in those 3rd and short situations its tough to stop us. Brandon Wilds our true freshman back is about 6'2 225 and he takes after Lattimore in the way he runs. He might get hit for what would be a 2 yard gain but he keeps his legs moving and seems to always fall forward for an extra few yards. When we pass the coverage can be perfect but then you have to worry about Shaw picking up the first with his feet. We also tend to run the jet sweep to our speedster WR Byrd who gets a solid 7-8 a carry. This tends to get the defense swaying one way or the other and this is when that inside zone run play really gets them. Also look out for Shaw keeping it from time to time on the zone read. The bottom line is our o line. They have been up and down all season.

 

Overall I think we have 2 really similar teams who love to run it and play great defense. Should be(hopefully) a good one.

[NUance]

Wow, just read the whole thread, I hope you huskers see the garbage the c$%ks have to put up with some of the clemtech fans.

 

Back to the topic, what do y'all think will be the total combined rushing total this game? We both have duel threat qb's, good running games and stout pass defenses. I'm going to set the over/under at 600 yards.

 

Ha ha! Nice username. Maybe in the top-10 usernames on this board.

 

Rushing? 600 yards? Whoa! I was thinking something under 500 yds. Maybe like 450 to 500.

[Excel]

Anyone know our record against the SEC ? (not including Mizzou and A&M)

17-6 (I think).

I looked it up last night. Don't quite remember the numbers but overall its extremely good.