GAMECOCKFANATICS OFFICIAL PREVIEW & PREDICTION THREAD:
Who: Appalachian State Mountaineers (7-1, 4-1 Sunbelt Conference) vs South Carolina Gamecocks (4-5, 3-4 Southeastern Conference)
When: Saturday November 9, 2019
Kick-off: 7:00 pm ET
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
TV: ESPN2
The Gamecocks continue their home stand with their second straight night contest, as they take on a strong non-conference opponent in Appalachian State this Saturday night, televised on ESPN2. The Mountaineers come into the game just losing their top 25 ranking due to their upset loss to Sunbelt Conference rival Georgia Southern, but will still be a formidable opponent at 7-1. The Gamecocks meanwhile are coming off of an encouraging SEC victory over East Division rival Vanderbilt, and are still in the hunt for a season-ending bowl bid.
The Coaches
USC Gamecocks
Head Coach: Will Muschamp (age 48), 4th year, 26-22 (54-43 as Head Coach - 8th year)
Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers: Bryan McClendon
Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs: Travaris Robinson
Quarterbacks: Dan Werner
Running Backs: Thomas Brown
Offensive Line: Eric Wolford
Tight Ends: Bobby Bentley
Defensive Line: John Scott Jr.
Special Teams/Linebackers: Coleman Hutzler
Special Teams/Nickel Backs/Sam Linebackers: Kyle Krantz
Outside Linebackers: Mike Peterson
ASU Mountaineers
Head Coach: Eliah Drinkwich (age 50), 1st year, 7-1
Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers: Ted Roof
Associate Head Coach/Cornerbacks: Charlie Harbinson
Assistant Head Coach/ Offensive Line: Shawn Clark
Special Teams Coordinator: Erik Link
Safeties: Greg Gasparato
Running Backs: Garrett Riley
Wide Receivers: Pat Washington
Outside Linebackers: D.J. Smith
Defensive Line: Anwar Stewart
Tight Ends: Justin Watts
The Series Match-up
This year’s contest will be the 10th all-time between the two programs, going back to their first encounter in 1972. The two teams played regularly back in the Independent era of the Gamecock program, including several games in the late 1980s that featured face-offs between the Gamecocks’ head coach Joe Morrison, and the man who would succeed him in then-App State head coach Sparky Woods. But the this will be the first time both programs have squared off against each other since 1988, before the Gamecocks joined the SEC. The Gamecocks hold a commanding 8-1 series lead, losing their lone game to the Mountaineers 39-34 in 1975.
This year’s contest may be the most difficult one yet for the South Carolina, as Appalachian State have moved up from the FCS ranked to join the FBS mid-major Sunbelt Conference, and has found consistent success at that level.
Key Match-ups For The Game
Appalachian State comes in with an impressive overall record, but they do not play in a very competitive conference, nor play against very competitive opponents. Their biggest claim to fame this season is their 34-31 win against in-state rival and ACC member North Carolina, the same team that South Carolina lost to 24-20 in our season opener. Otherwise, the opponents the Mountaineers have played thus far have a combined record of 29-38, with only Louisiana and Georgia Southern having winning records at this point. GSU defeated App. State.
Despite this, USC currently is another opponent for ASU with a losing record in 2019, something we hope to change very quickly. The biggest offensive weapons for App. State start with their junior QB Zac Thomas. Thomas is not a very prolific passer, averaging just less than 200 yards per game, but he’s efficient, completing 63% of his attempts for 14 touchdowns against only 3 picks.
His WR targets are also not prolific but they are a-plenty: juniors Corey Sutton, Thomas Hennigan, and Malik Williams all average under 60 receiving yards per game – there’s only one receiver in the Sunbelt thus far averaging more than 80 per game – but they are all 50+ YPG guys, and will force our secondary to play honestly all game long.
The biggest offensive impact player is junior RB Darrynton Evans, who is 3rd in the Sunbelt in YPG at right at 100 per game through 8 games, with 10 rushing touchdowns. Evans is supported by Jr. Marcus Williams and Thomas, who both average around 7-8 carries and 40 yds per game, and they have 8 rushing touchdowns between them. Thomas is averaging north of 5 yards per carry, so our front 7 will have to keep an eye on him on the ground.
On defense, the Mountaineers are among the top 3-4 in their conference in most categories. Their top defensive players are junior DL Demetrius Taylor, who leads the team with 5.0 QB sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. He’s the big bad guy on the Mountaineer defensive line we’ll have to contain. Second on the defense is senior linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, who leads App. State in total tackles, is second behind Taylor in TFL with 9.0, and is tied with several other Mountaineers for 2nd behind Taylor in sacks, with 2.5.
Sophomore defensive back Shaun Jolly leads Appalachian State with 3 interceptions, but no one else on the team has more than 1 pick. Not a big turnover-producing team, the Mountaineers as a team only has 6 interceptions, good for a tie for 7th place in the Sunbelt Conference. But they lead the Sunbelt in Pass Defense.
South Carolina Will Win If
Appalachian State is a solid team, and can defeat Power 5 opponents who are struggling to execute. The advantages are on our side with the game being played in Williams-Brice. The Gamecocks need to bring the physical, SEC style defense that Coach Muschamp and staff have been trying to establish as our identity. The secondary will need to stay strong on the App. State receivers, and the Gamecock defensive line needs to dominate the line of scrimmage.
The rushing attack is the strength of the Mountaineer offense, with 21 rushing touchdowns, but plays off of one primary back in Evans. If the Gamecocks rush defense can contain Evans the same way they did to Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn (gained 87 yards on 20 carries, but 0 touchdowns), then we will control App. State’s offense, but they are more stable at the QB position than Vanderbilt was in our game. But if our defense can utilize our superior talent depth and physicality, and our secondary doesn’t give up the big pass play bomb, we’ll wear the Mountaineers down and pull away.
Appalachian State Will Win If
The Mountaineers have a balanced offense that relies on the strong rushing game of Evans, and the big pass play once opposing defenses are lulled into sleep. This mid-major team is good enough to catch power 5 teams looking past them, and at 4-5 with Texas A&M and Clemson left on the schedule, the Gamecocks cannot afford to do that this week. If the Mountaineers are able to jump out to an early lead, they will silence the pro-Gamecock crowd, and force South Carolina to play catch-up, and give themselves a confidence boost that will carry them to a victory..
Gamecock Fanatics Prediction
South Carolina 38, Appalachian State 24
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