USC - UK Discussion

[TravellersGhost]

I look forward to the game this weekend. Please see below for some info on USC's starters (based on the UNC game). I'll try to answer any questions you might have about USC.

OFFENSE (7 Upperclassmen, 22 Varsity Letters, 33 Stars)

QB: CMitch RS-SO-1L 4 star
RB: BWilds RS-SR-3L 3 star
TE: JAdams SR-3L 4 star
WR: PCooper JR-2L 4 star
WR: TSamuel RS-FR 3 star
WR: CHeard RS-SR-2L Unranked
LT: BShell RS-SR-3L 4 star
LG: MMatulis RS-SR-3L 3 star
C: AKnott RS-SO-1L 3 star
RG: WSport RS-SR-3L 3 star
RT: MZandi RS-SO-1L 2 star

DEFENSE (10 Upperclassmen, 21 Varsity Letters, 39 Stars)

DE: CCooper SR-3L 3 Star
DT: DSawyer SO 4 Star
DE: MLewis JR 4 Star
DT: GDixonJr SR-3L 3 Star
WLB: JWalton JR-2L 3 Star
MLW: SMoore JR-2L 4 Star
SLB: LBryant JR-2L 4 Star
CB: CElder JR-2L 4 Star
S: JDiggs JR-2L 4 Star
S: Johnson SR-3L 3 Star
CB: RMcWilliams JR-2L 3 Star

PS: For a comparison on D for USC vs the last few years (which may shed some light on the poor play last year):

2014 (5 Upperclassmen, 16 Varsity Letters, 34 Stars) – 91st in Nation in Total Defense
2013 (8 Upperclassmen, 18 Varsity Letters, 39 Stars) – 21st in Nation in Total Defense
2012 (7 Upperclassmen, 24 Varsity Letters, 38 Stars) – 13th in Nation in Total Defense
2011 (10 Upperclassmen, 24 Varsity Letters, 40 Stars) – 2nd in Nation in Total Defense

 

[Rhavicc]

There are things that need to be said for your varsity letters/stars numbers. Jadaveon Clowney may have been that 40th star, as an example, but that 40th star is the difference between a 5 star player who was #1 in the country coming out of high school, and a low 4 star player that's just barely above being a 3 star ranking. Huge gap, huge talent different. Varsity letters don't also tell a huge story, just how many returning players you have coming back. It isn't a testament to talent, especially in the case of last season for them, where they were largely unimpressive all-around. Didn't thrive in any area at all defensively.
Just want it to be clear that they have no Jadaveon Clowney type player, and the overall talent isn't there, despite the stars. They may have the same number of upperclassmen, and they may be close in stars and letters, but that doesn't tell a true story. You have to watch the games, not read the papers.

 

[TravellersGhost]

It isn't a testament to talent, especially in the case of last season for them, where they were largely unimpressive all-around. Didn't thrive in any area at all defensively.

There is no doubt that we were unimpressive on defense last year. Losing Clowney hurt. But losing him alone would not have been too bad. It hurt more to also lose our two SR CB's (4 star and a high 3 star), another 4 Star DT, a 4 star DE and a 4 star LB. We lost a lot of talent last year and a lot of leadership. It left us starting 2 true SOs at LB and 2 true FR at CB.

Thanks for the input.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

There is no doubt that we were unimpressive on defense last year. Losing Clowney hurt. But losing him alone would not have been too bad. It hurt more to also lose our two SR CB's (4 star and a high 3 star), another 4 Star DT, a 4 star DE and a 4 star LB. We lost a lot of talent last year and a lot of leadership. It left us starting 2 true SOs at LB and 2 true FR at CB.

Thanks for the input.

Hell, the coaching on D for SC last season was the worst in the Spurrier era, changes needed to be made, and were. The talent is not SEC championship level, but it darn sure is solid and better than last seasons results. SC has played great D the past ten seasons in the SEC with the exception of 2014, was it a new trend or an anomaly? We will see.

 

[Rhavicc]

Hell, the coaching on D for SC last season was the worst in the Spurrier era, changes needed to be made, and were. The talent is not SEC championship level, but it darn sure is solid and better than last seasons results. SC has played great D the past ten seasons in the SEC with the exception of 2014, was it a new trend or an anomaly? We will see.

Hopefully for your guys' sake, it's just an anomaly, but for our sake, I want it to be a trend until the end of the UK game at least.
I think South Carolina needs a lot of guys to step up to get anywhere near a high level defense, at least for this season. Skai Moore is a safe bet to be a consistent leader for your defense, but I don't know if I could point at any other guy on your defense that you can lean on. Would be interested to hear your take on that.

 

[dckala2]

Interesting that it's already been bet down 3 points, eliminating the home field advantage and putting them only a td ahead.

Although I think it's more Vegas being uncertain about USCjr than liking uk.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

There are things that need to be said for your varsity letters/stars numbers. Jadaveon Clowney may have been that 40th star, as an example, but that 40th star is the difference between a 5 star player who was #1 in the country coming out of high school, and a low 4 star player that's just barely above being a 3 star ranking. Huge gap, huge talent different. Varsity letters don't also tell a huge story, just how many returning players you have coming back. It isn't a testament to talent, especially in the case of last season for them, where they were largely unimpressive all-around. Didn't thrive in any area at all defensively.
Just want it to be clear that they have no Jadaveon Clowney type player, and the overall talent isn't there, despite the stars. They may have the same number of upperclassmen, and they may be close in stars and letters, but that doesn't tell a true story. You have to watch the games, not read the papers.

Clowney's frosh and soph years he was an absolute terror against offenses, but I think most USC fans will agree his Jr year was a step down, now I don't know if he was injured and trying to play with it or if he was playing not to get hurt after seeing what happened to Lattimore, but he wasn't near the demolisher he was his first 2 years. But even still he was not easy to replace, but that big inside guy you had was a force too, I can't remember his name but he created havok inside. I thought USC was better defensively from last year, still not great tacklers in the secondary but line play looked improved. Defense bent but with backs to the wall come up with a play. Hard to tell about the offense, being Mitch's first start he was a little shaky passing the ball as to be expected, but he looked good on the read option and was good at getting what he could when he couldn't find a receiver.

 

[CuriousCock]

Clowney's frosh and soph years he was an absolute terror against offenses, but I think most USC fans will agree his Jr year was a step down, now I don't know if he was injured and trying to play with it or if he was playing not to get hurt after seeing what happened to Lattimore, but he wasn't near the demolisher he was his first 2 years. But even still he was not easy to replace, but that big inside guy you had was a force too, I can't remember his name but he created havok inside. I thought USC was better defensively from last year, still not great tacklers in the secondary but line play looked improved. Defense bent but with backs to the wall come up with a play. Hard to tell about the offense, being Mitch's first start he was a little shaky passing the ball as to be expected, but he looked good on the read option and was good at getting what he could when he couldn't find a receiver.

Personally, I think teams ran away from and double teamed Clowney but he was also not in peak condition and played a bit to protect himself. Mostly, I think it was offensive scheme though.

But I agree that all the attention allowed Kelcy Quarles to have an All American type season despite not really being a high talent player.

We don't have Clowney this year but I think we are in better shape on the DL than last year. This is not what we used to have, but I think it might be an average or better SEC line with the additions. Still too early to tell. We might get embarrassed Saturday for all I know.

 

[Blue Decade]

If South Carolina rushes for more than 200 yards in this game, I think they win it at home. Kentucky's safeties are 2 of the better players in this game. My guess is that Stoops will double Pharoah Copper and play man to man on South Carolina's other receivers, committing a full box on most running downs to stop South Carolina's running game. If Kentucky can win on 1st down and force South Carolina to depend on Mitch in passing situations, Kentucky wins this game. But if South Carolina runs the ball effectively for 4 quarters, then South Carolina wins it. To put it simply, Kentucky wins if Eliot's defense controls South Carolina's running game. Otherwise, South Carolina controls the clock and wins the game.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

If South Carolina rushes for more than 200 yards in this game, I think they win it at home. Kentucky's safeties are 2 of the better players in this game. My guess is that Stoops will double Pharoah Copper and play man to man on South Carolina's other receivers, committing a full box on most running downs to stop South Carolina's running game. If Kentucky can win on 1st down and force South Carolina to depend on Mitch in passing situations, Kentucky wins this game. But if South Carolina runs the ball effectively for 4 quarters, then South Carolina wins it. To put it simply, Kentucky wins if Eliot's defense controls South Carolina's running game. Otherwise, South Carolina controls the clock and wins the game.

Pretty hard to envision a game where SC does not run 70-75+ plays at home. 50+ of those plays will be running plays. SC should run for over 200.

 

[ktbug]

If the Cats play well on offense and have fewer to's than USC, UK wins. If not......

 

[Jon(-24)]

Interesting that it's already been bet down 3 points, eliminating the home field advantage and putting them only a td ahead.

Although I think it's more Vegas being uncertain about USCjr than liking uk.

UK/SC line is moving cause bets are pouring in on the UK side. It might well be the bettors are doing that cause both D's look so bad they don't think either team has the ability to win by more than a TD but for whatever reason, Vegas is moving the line cause the betting is dictating it.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

Hopefully for your guys' sake, it's just an anomaly, but for our sake, I want it to be a trend until the end of the UK game at least.
I think South Carolina needs a lot of guys to step up to get anywhere near a high level defense, at least for this season. Skai Moore is a safe bet to be a consistent leader for your defense, but I don't know if I could point at any other guy on your defense that you can lean on. Would be interested to hear your take on that.

M. Lewis at DE is really good. After him and Moore, the rest of the players on D are capable, some very talented, some just good. The only area of concern is at CB, and tbh, all the players from last season are back at that spot so maybe it improves. Maybe. PT will test them on those deep routes no doubt. Probably gonna hit some of them as well on this crew.

 

[docholiday51]

I think these 2 teams look fairly even after 1 week,this should be a close game.If it is a blowout either way the team on the short end of the score will probably have problems the rest of the season.

We(UK) should be able to move the ball and put points on the board.On the other hand I think USC will be able to run the ball,UK can't allow P Cooper to take over the game

Home field could well prove to be the difference in this one.Can UK go on the road and put themselves in a position to win a game in the 4th qtr ? This game provides both a chance and a test to do that,we are not outgunned in this one.It comes down to how much progress have we really made and are we ready to take the next step in the Stoops era.

This is a big game on a season and program level

 

[THEusccocks]

UK/SC line is moving cause bets are pouring in on the UK side. It might well be the bettors are doing that cause both D's look so bad they don't think either team has the ability to win by more than a TD but for whatever reason, Vegas is moving the line cause the betting is dictating it.

The line has moved a little, but not much. It opened at most places at 8.5 -9. And currently sits at 7-8. I'm not sure why you say our defense "looks so bad." I'm assuming this is based on last years team. We have played one game this year against a team that any football analyst in the country would say has far more talent than Kentucky's offense, and they gave up 1 TD and 0 points in the second half.

I think Kentucky fans expecting to see the same defensive performance from our team that they witnessed last year are in for a rude awakening.

 

[Hoskins21]

It will be a close game IMO, but it's hard seeing it being a win for UK.

 

[Rhavicc]

If South Carolina rushes for more than 200 yards in this game, I think they win it at home. Kentucky's safeties are 2 of the better players in this game. My guess is that Stoops will double Pharoah Copper and play man to man on South Carolina's other receivers, committing a full box on most running downs to stop South Carolina's running game. If Kentucky can win on 1st down and force South Carolina to depend on Mitch in passing situations, Kentucky wins this game. But if South Carolina runs the ball effectively for 4 quarters, then South Carolina wins it. To put it simply, Kentucky wins if Eliot's defense controls South Carolina's running game. Otherwise, South Carolina controls the clock and wins the game.

I think the number will be skewed. South Carolina's passing game is very lackluster at this point, so they're going to put it on the ground. RB is probably their deepest position on offense overall. WR position for them has taken a ton of hits, and the incredibly young QB is coming back from a minor hip injury.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

The line has moved a little, but not much. It opened at most places at 8.5 -9. And currently sits at 7-8. I'm not sure why you say our defense "looks so bad." I'm assuming this is based on last years team. We have played one game this year against a team that any football analyst in the country would say has far more talent than Kentucky's offense, and they gave up 1 TD and 0 points in the second half.

I think Kentucky fans expecting to see the same defensive performance from our team that they witnessed last year are in for a rude awakening.

Gave up 6.5 ypc. The defense is still a question mark, as is ours.

 

[THEusccocks]

Gave up 6.5 ypc. The defense is still a question mark, as is ours.

Maybe so, but the question mark created by giving up 33 to La-Lafayette is a little bigger than the question mark created by giving up 13 points to UNC, who many analysts predicted to have the top offense in the ACC this year.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

Maybe so, but the question mark created by giving up 33 to La-Lafayette is a little bigger than the question mark created by giving up 13 points to UNC, who many analysts predicted to have the top offense in the ACC this year.

Maybe. ULL scored 2 TDs of 30+ yards by taking advantage of 3rd string fill ins, UNC wasted two RZ opportunities with poor QB play...

Maybe SC continues to be gifted by poor QB play in the RZ, maybe UKs injuries and suspensions keep those 3rd stringers on the field the same mistakes happen.

I think neither can be answered and are both major question marks, as are both QBs.

 

[Rhavicc]

Maybe so, but the question mark created by giving up 33 to La-Lafayette is a little bigger than the question mark created by giving up 13 points to UNC, who many analysts predicted to have the top offense in the ACC this year.

And South Carolina scored only 17 on North Carolina, who many analysts expect to continue having one of, if not still the worst defense in the ACC.
Goes both ways.

 

[23jumpboy]

Yes, if we let SC run for 200 + we are in trouble. But, if we can get stops early and Towles and his receivers are having success and we get up 14 or so, then we force SC into having to throw.

 

[TravellersGhost]

I must not have seen the prediction for UNC to have another bad defensive year. Multiple commentators have mentioned that their players are in better position and playing with better leverage under Chizik. It remains to be seen how much they have improved, but all I've read since last Thursday is that their defense is clearly improved.

 

[Kattopper]

USC and UK were both lucky to win last week. Obviously, if not for the two INTs in the endzone you guys would be 0-1. Give your defense credit they made those plays. UNC's QB while a very gifted athlete is very erratic at times. I have no idea why they took the RB out inside the 10. He ran all over you guys. Looks like your defense between the 20's wasn't great. I assume we will stack 8-9 in the box and dare you guys to throw it.

Bottomline, if we get in the redzone we have to score TD's and not come up with FGs. If they run the ball like most are predicting on here the game will be shortened and our possessions fewer. Hoping we get Boom more touches and Pat T. is more consistent. Should be an interesting game.

 

[Boyz_N_Blue]

If our (UK) 1st half team from the ULL game shows up and plays the full 4 quarters in Columbia we win. If that 2nd half team shows up in one or multiple quarters, we lose. There's my analysis - smaller margin for error/poor play.

 

[crazyqx83]

The line has moved a little, but not much. It opened at most places at 8.5 -9. And currently sits at 7-8. I'm not sure why you say our defense "looks so bad." I'm assuming this is based on last years team. We have played one game this year against a team that any football analyst in the country would say has far more talent than Kentucky's offense, and they gave up 1 TD and 0 points in the second half.

I think Kentucky fans expecting to see the same defensive performance from our team that they witnessed last year are in for a rude awakening.

First of all, the opening line was 9 and is now 7-7.5.

Seconsly, anyone saying unc's offense is tons better than UK needs their head ezamined. They are returning a 3rd year starter at qb and tons of experience, yet last year they only put up 30 more yards of offense per game and 3 more points, despite playing in a league that is trash past the top 2 teams. Most off uk's offensive skill players are coming off of a true freshman season.

You gave up 440 yards last game. There is 0 evidence that your defense is any better than last year.

 

[TravellersGhost]

You gave up 440 yards last game. There is 0 evidence that your defense is any better than last year.

Actually, the 13 points is evidence our D is better than last year. Last year, we would have given up 440 yards and 41 points or more. No question about it.

(Side note: UNC's only touchdown occurred on the very next play after a flag for illegal substitution on a 3rd down in which we stopped them. If our slow $&% DL had actually hustled off the field, UNC would have had 3 FG's and no TD's.)

 

[Rhavicc]

Actually, the 13 points is evidence our D is better than last year. Last year, we would have given up 440 yards and 41 points or more. No question about it.

(Side note: UNC's only touchdown occurred on the very next play after a flag for illegal substitution on a 3rd down in which we stopped them. If our slow $&% DL had actually hustled off the field, UNC would have had 3 FG's and no TD's.)

You argue that they got 13 points in that game because of South Carolina's defense, I'm arguing that they got 13 points because of their QB's terrible decision making, specifically in the red zone last night.
Disprove my argument. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not overly impressed by your linebacker picking off the ball that was thrown directly into his numbers on two separate occasions in the end zone. Had they put the ball on the ground, or heck, even lobbed the ball over the top into the back of the end zone (where the receiver actually was both times), we wouldn't be having this discussion about South Carolina's "much improved defense". Instead of giving up 440 yards and 13 points, we would be talking about USC giving up 440 yards and 27 points (at least).

 

[crazyqx83]

Actually, the 13 points is evidence our D is better than last year. Last year, we would have given up 440 yards and 41 points or more. No question about it.

(Side note: UNC's only touchdown occurred on the very next play after a flag for illegal substitution on a 3rd down in which we stopped them. If our slow $&% DL had actually hustled off the field, UNC would have had 3 FG's and no TD's.)

Which means you were able to keep a poorly coached team out of the end zone during their first game of the year. If you think we're going to get down to the 20 and then fail to score, you're sorely mistaken.

 

[Rhavicc]

Which means you were able to keep a poorly coached team out of the end zone during their first game of the year. If you think we're going to get down to the 20 and then fail to score, you're sorely mistaken.

Agree with this 100%
Going back to last season, UK has scored on 15 of their last 16 trips to the red zone.

 

[THEusccocks]

You argue that they got 13 points in that game because of South Carolina's defense, I'm arguing that they got 13 points because of their QB's terrible decision making, specifically in the red zone last night.
Disprove my argument. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not overly impressed by your linebacker picking off the ball that was thrown directly into his numbers on two separate occasions in the end zone. Had they put the ball on the ground, or heck, even lobbed the ball over the top into the back of the end zone (where the receiver actually was both times), we wouldn't be having this discussion about South Carolina's "much improved defense". Instead of giving up 440 yards and 13 points, we would be talking about USC giving up 440 yards and 27 points (at least).

First of all, let me say I'm not delusional. I well understand SC is not an elite power in the SEC this year. We have very real questions and issues, particularly on offense. All that said, if you seriously think our defense is not significantly improved you either didn't watch our game, or you didn't see us play last year. We had 4 sacks in that game, and had the QB under pressure consistently, particularly in the second half. We only had 12 or 13 sacks ALL LAST YEAR. We never could get pressure last year, even against small schools. 2 of the three picks came while he was under a lot of pressure from our D-line.

Believe what you want, and I'm not saying Kentucky can't win or anything, but I do not expect to see Kentucky moving up and down the field and putting up a bunch of points on this defense. If Kentucky picks up their first conference road win this decade it is likely to be because our offense lays an egg and turns the ball over some, with Ky winning a relatively low scoring game.

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

Guess we'll find out Saturday but believe UK will be able to score on that vaunted SC defense.

 

[crazyqx83]

I think usc fans are ignoring that the 13-2 mark since 2000 is largely an anomoly. 11 of those games were decided by 7 points or less. USC did have better talent, but many of those match ups came down to the coaching advantage. Spurrier is rapidly reaching the downside of his career. Take away that 10 game stretch and usc is basically peers with Kentucky historically (both head to head and overall). I think all things being equal, usc probably wins 6 out of every 10 match ups against UK, but I don't we see many stretches with 13 wins in 15 years....

 

[THEusccocks]

I think usc fans are ignoring that the 13-2 mark since 2000 is largely an anomoly. 11 of those games were decided by 7 points or less. USC did have better talent, but many of those match ups came down to the coaching advantage. Spurrier is rapidly reaching the downside of his career. Take away that 10 game stretch and usc is basically peers with Kentucky historically (both head to head and overall). I think all things being equal, usc probably wins 6 out of every 10 match ups against UK, but I don't we see many stretches with 13 wins in 15 years....

It's an interesting theory. Basically you are in the camp (along with some SC fans) that think recent success was all about Spurrier and soon as he leaves we go back to consistently being a 6-7 win team. First, I'd say I'd be the first to give the man his due. Historically, SC has been a very mediocre program, and it took a great coach to bring us our first SEC East title and the top 10 finishes we experienced in the years following.

Personally, I think we have been elevated from where we were. I think we have done enough to where it is unlikely that we will ever go back to consistently winning 6 or 7 games every year. For one thing the culture finally changed. Look at last year. 7 wins, 4th bowl win in a row, wins over Georgia, Florida and Miami in the bowl game and SC fans were almost universally upset about the season, many were outraged. A decade ago that would have been a stellar season. I just don't see us going back to accepting mediocrity.

That said, the SEC is tough and I certainly expect us to have struggles. I think we are about where Arkansas is currently as a program- every expectation of regularly being a top 25 team, will have good years where we can legitimately compete for the title, will have down years where we will struggle to make a bowl. Our last losing season was in 2003. I definitely think we have gotten over the hump of having losing seasons on a semi-regular basis.

 

[Pike 96]

First of all, let me say I'm not delusional. I well understand SC is not an elite power in the SEC this year. We have very real questions and issues, particularly on offense. All that said, if you seriously think our defense is not significantly improved you either didn't watch our game, or you didn't see us play last year. We had 4 sacks in that game, and had the QB under pressure consistently, particularly in the second half. We only had 12 or 13 sacks ALL LAST YEAR. We never could get pressure last year, even against small schools. 2 of the three picks came while he was under a lot of pressure from our D-line.

Believe what you want, and I'm not saying Kentucky can't win or anything, but I do not expect to see Kentucky moving up and down the field and putting up a bunch of points on this defense. If Kentucky picks up their first conference road win this decade it is likely to be because our offense lays an egg and turns the ball over some, with Ky winning a relatively low scoring game.

Your defense was clearly better...just the addition of Lewis at DEnd and the other new players and depth on the Dline made that apparent. BUT...you also had lots of trouble consistently stopping UNC from running and i saw lots of open receivers when Williams made a good throw. I can't even remember how many times i said that UNC should be running away with that game while watching it but would make one mistake after another or have the ball bounce the wrong way. Not only did Williams make two terrible throws right to Moore that were picked in the endzone, but he threw another interception on the USC 20. He was clearly rattled and lost UNC the game. You are definitely improved on D but it clearly remains to be seen whether the 13 points is the most accurate measuring stick or the 440 yards given up. I"m sure it's somewhere in the middle.

As far as our team...we have many concerns as well to keep us busy. I will say that if your think UNC "clearly has better talent" than us on Offense you are wrong. Our Oline is still young but physically matches up better than anytime in recent memory, our Wide receivers are also young but talented and deep. And our running backs are very solid... Our starter(Boom Williams) has game breaking ability that was the number one ranked all purpose back by rivals two years ago and our second best(Horton) was a four star as well that had an offer from Florida St among others. The big question for our offense is the QB's accuracy. His measurables are NFL calibler but he hasn't shown he can be consistently accurate and lead us to a big win(yet hopefully). You may recall his backup(Barker) choose UK over USC two years ago and Spurrier wanted him badly. I would bet Barker would be your starter this year if he choose the Cocks.

Our Defense is defiintely a question mark. We haven't stopped the run consistently since Ford was president. and if we can't this week if will be a long night. Two pieces to consider when looking at the 33 we gave up against ULL...we had three significant players out that game. We get two back for USC. Our senior starting MLB(Flannigan) has been out with a shoulder and is considered day to day. IF he is back and healthy then our run defense should immediately improve(we were playing a very mediocre Sr linebacker and true freshman in his place. The second player(Johnson) is a senior and listed as the 2nd string DT, but is by far our best interior pass rusher. He was missed in the opener while serving a one game suspension and will be back to hopefully add some pass rush and depth at DT for the run. Our hope is these guys help stabilize the D and our younger players with talent grow from game one to two.

I strongly believe three things will determine this game...

One...can we stop the run? If we can't the entire playbook opens up for what should be a very passing challenged USC team(at least for the short term because of inexperience and injuries). At that point we will be guessing like we were against ULL last week and it could get ugly.
Two...can our QB play well? Most UK fans are very comfortable with our offensive skill players and OLine(for the most part). The great unknown is whether or QB(who has historically struggled being accurate) can take the next step and play at least good or very good against a solid SEC defense. He was under 50% in completions last week and seriously missed 3 or 4 passes that could have been TD's or very big gainers. He also threw a terrible interception in the 4th quarter where our receiver was 4 steps behind his guy and it almost cost us the game. If he plays up to his potential, our offense can be potent. I'll say if Towles completes 60+% of his passes and doesn't turn the ball over, we win.
Three...as ususal, who wins the turnover battle and i will include in that...can UK hold Cooper in check? we don't have to shut him down by any stretch....but he can't go off on us and have a three TD game and 200 yards receiving..which he is more that capable of. If we do decent at containing him and slow the run we have a very solid chance.

hope that give some interesting insight...

 

[TravellersGhost]

You argue that they got 13 points in that game because of South Carolina's defense, I'm arguing that they got 13 points because of their QB's terrible decision making, specifically in the red zone last night.

Got it. Williams was a genius between the 20's going for 440 yards and then immediately lost all of his brain cells upon passing the 20 yard line. Deep cover 1 and then short field had nothing to do with those INTs. Makes perfect sense.

 

[Rhavicc]

Got it. Williams was a genius between the 20's going for 440 yards and then immediately lost all of his brain cells upon passing the 20 yard line. Deep cover 1 and then short field had nothing to do with those INTs. Makes perfect sense.

He was doing fine when his receivers were doing the bulk of the work (specifically Howard). USC's secondary seems to have issues making tackles, but I can replay that game, and illustrate for you the terrible decision making that Williams made in the red zone. It's not just me that said it either, the analysts called it out themselves immediately after the terrible plays. Deny it if you will, but Williams threw that football directly into the numbers of Skai Moore on two separate occasions.

 

[crazyqx83]

It's an interesting theory. Basically you are in the camp (along with some SC fans) that think recent success was all about Spurrier and soon as he leaves we go back to consistently being a 6-7 win team. First, I'd say I'd be the first to give the man his due. Historically, SC has been a very mediocre program, and it took a great coach to bring us our first SEC East title and the top 10 finishes we experienced in the years following.

Personally, I think we have been elevated from where we were. I think we have done enough to where it is unlikely that we will ever go back to consistently winning 6 or 7 games every year. For one thing the culture finally changed. Look at last year. 7 wins, 4th bowl win in a row, wins over Georgia, Florida and Miami in the bowl game and SC fans were almost universally upset about the season, many were outraged. A decade ago that would have been a stellar season. I just don't see us going back to accepting mediocrity.

That said, the SEC is tough and I certainly expect us to have struggles. I think we are about where Arkansas is currently as a program- every expectation of regularly being a top 25 team, will have good years where we can legitimately compete for the title, will have down years where we will struggle to make a bowl. Our last losing season was in 2003. I definitely think we have gotten over the hump of having losing seasons on a semi-regular basis.

You had Holtz followed by spurrier. For all the crap Holtz gets, he won 65% of his games and averaged a 10-3 record at notre dame. They have managed an average 8-5 record since he left.

This would be the equivalent of UK ending up with Bob stoops (solid coach with title 15 years earlier) and urban Meyer (most successful coach the previous decade) as our next 2 coaches. Would be interesting to see how we would fare with that scenario.

 

[TravellersGhost]

He was doing fine when his receivers were doing the bulk of the work (specifically Howard). USC's secondary seems to have issues making tackles, but I can replay that game, and illustrate for you the terrible decision making that Williams made in the red zone. It's not just me that said it either, the analysts called it out themselves immediately after the terrible plays. Deny it if you will, but Williams threw that football directly into the numbers of Skai Moore on two separate occasions.

I'm not denying what he did. I'm questioning what caused it. Our red zone defense had two sacks and two INTs. On only one of those plays did we rush more than 4 guys (nickel rushed once). But in all 4 plays Williams was forced outside of or to step up into the pocket.

 

[THEusccocks]

Your defense was clearly better...just the addition of Lewis at DEnd and the other new players and depth on the Dline made that apparent. BUT...you also had lots of trouble consistently stopping UNC from running and i saw lots of open receivers when Williams made a good throw. I can't even remember how many times i said that UNC should be running away with that game while watching it but would make one mistake after another or have the ball bounce the wrong way. Not only did Williams make two terrible throws right to Moore that were picked in the endzone, but he threw another interception on the USC 20. He was clearly rattled and lost UNC the game. You are definitely improved on D but it clearly remains to be seen whether the 13 points is the most accurate measuring stick or the 440 yards given up. I"m sure it's somewhere in the middle.

As far as our team...we have many concerns as well to keep us busy. I will say that if your think UNC "clearly has better talent" than us on Offense you are wrong. Our Oline is still young but physically matches up better than anytime in recent memory, our Wide receivers are also young but talented and deep. And our running backs are very solid... Our starter(Boom Williams) has game breaking ability that was the number one ranked all purpose back by rivals two years ago and our second best(Horton) was a four star as well that had an offer from Florida St among others. The big question for our offense is the QB's accuracy. His measurables are NFL calibler but he hasn't shown he can be consistently accurate and lead us to a big win(yet hopefully). You may recall his backup(Barker) choose UK over USC two years ago and Spurrier wanted him badly. I would bet Barker would be your starter this year if he choose the Cocks.

Our Defense is defiintely a question mark. We haven't stopped the run consistently since Ford was president. and if we can't this week if will be a long night. Two pieces to consider when looking at the 33 we gave up against ULL...we had three significant players out that game. We get two back for USC. Our senior starting MLB(Flannigan) has been out with a shoulder and is considered day to day. IF he is back and healthy then our run defense should immediately improve(we were playing a very mediocre Sr linebacker and true freshman in his place. The second player(Johnson) is a senior and listed as the 2nd string DT, but is by far our best interior pass rusher. He was missed in the opener while serving a one game suspension and will be back to hopefully add some pass rush and depth at DT for the run. Our hope is these guys help stabilize the D and our younger players with talent grow from game one to two.

I strongly believe three things will determine this game...

One...can we stop the run? If we can't the entire playbook opens up for what should be a very passing challenged USC team(at least for the short term because of inexperience and injuries). At that point we will be guessing like we were against ULL last week and it could get ugly.
Two...can our QB play well? Most UK fans are very comfortable with our offensive skill players and OLine(for the most part). The great unknown is whether or QB(who has historically struggled being accurate) can take the next step and play at least good or very good against a solid SEC defense. He was under 50% in completions last week and seriously missed 3 or 4 passes that could have been TD's or very big gainers. He also threw a terrible interception in the 4th quarter where our receiver was 4 steps behind his guy and it almost cost us the game. If he plays up to his potential, our offense can be potent. I'll say if Towles completes 60+% of his passes and doesn't turn the ball over, we win.
Three...as ususal, who wins the turnover battle and i will include in that...can UK hold Cooper in check? we don't have to shut him down by any stretch....but he can't go off on us and have a three TD game and 200 yards receiving..which he is more that capable of. If we do decent at containing him and slow the run we have a very solid chance.

hope that give some interesting insight...

Thanks for taking the time to post that. I know it took some time and I read the whole thing. I agree with a lot of it and disagree with some, but none of it is unreasonable. I will say that I can tell Kentucky fans are pretty high on their offense, and I personally feel much better about our defense than most of you all do, so it is going to be very interesting to see how that battle plays out. to the extent I have a major concern about our defense, it is in the secondary and particularly at DB. So if Kentucky's QB is on the mark he definitely has a chance to do some damage. Can we consistently get pressure on him like we did through much of the game against UNC? I think we can but I don't know much about Ky's Oline. We will find out soon enough.