[SIZE= 24px][COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)]USC run defense braces for gale-strength rush game[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)] [/COLOR]
[SIZE= 18px][COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)]Miami’s Duke Johnson could find holes in Gamecocks’ defense[/COLOR][/SIZE]
SHREVEPORT, La. — On Friday, South Carolina’s players will visit Barksdale Air Force Base here. The trip, part of the team’s activities during Independence Bowl week, will be one final break from football before the Gamecocks take on Miami on Saturday.
A less-than-gracious South Carolina fan could point out that any exposure to defense might be a good thing for the Gamecocks, but it’s not so much through the air the team has been hurt this season. A visit to an Army base and a few pointers on ground defense? That might be more fitting.
South Carolina is 109th in the country in rushing defense, allowing 214.4 yards per game on the ground, and the Hurricanes will bring junior running back Duke Johnson with them to Independence Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson is the nation’s 13th-leading rusher at 126.7 yards per game. The first-team All-ACC selection rushed for more than 100 yards in six of the Hurricanes’ final eight games, including gaining 249 and 177 in back-to-back weeks against Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
“Stop the run, stop the run, every week, stop the run,” Gamecocks defensive line coach Deke Adams said when asked the goal for Saturday’s matchup. “Great running back. We have a challenge in front of us. He does a great job of stretching it out and cutting back, he has unbelievable change of direction.”
Johnson averages 6.97 yards per carry. South Carolina allowed 5.43 yards per carry, the 117th-highest total in the country during the regular season. Still, the Gamecocks feel confident they can stop Johnson and the Hurricanes’ ground game, linebacker Skai Moore said.
“That’s how I feel about everyone on the team, that we have the ability to make plays and make things happen,” said Moore, who is South Carolina’s leading tackler with 82 stops.
The Gamecocks’ confidence comes from their belief in themselves, Moore said. Recent results aren’t the source. Six of South Carolina’s past seven opponents have had at least one 100-yard rusher. Auburn and Tennessee each had two. Clemson’s Wayne Gallman rushed 27 times for 191 yards the last time the Gamecocks took the field.
“Every week you have to be motivated to play better than you played the last game, so we are motivated to play way better than we played against Clemson,” safety T.J. Gurley said.
The Gamecocks are expected to start Kadetrix Marcus (along with Brison Williams) at safety against the Hurricanes. Marcus, a senior, started seven games last year but has not started this season and has 18 tackles. At 6-foot-1, 194 pounds, he is considered by the coaching staff to be one of the most physical safeties on the team, which would explain a start against the Hurricanes.
Good run defense is based on “doing your job, fitting your gaps right and we have to make tackles,” Gurley said. “That’s what our coaches have been preaching, wrap up and make tackles. We are going to do it Saturday, we are confident.”
It will come as a relief to the Gamecocks that Johnson gets very little help in the Miami running game. Quarterback Brad Kaaya was the ACC’s offensive rookie of the year, but he does all his damage with his arm. Kaaya has minus-124 rushing yards this season.
After Johnson (who also is the Hurricanes’ second-leading receiver with 33 catches for 370 yards), Miami’s next-leading rusher is Joe Yearby, whose 80 carries are 138 fewer than Johnson has this season. As a team, Miami is 51st in the nation in rushing with 179.9 yards per game.
“We have to get our right assignments where (defensive coordinator Lorenzo) Ward wants us to be,” Moore said, “and make tackles.”
[COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)] [/COLOR]
[SIZE= 18px][COLOR= rgb(178, 34, 34)]Miami’s Duke Johnson could find holes in Gamecocks’ defense[/COLOR][/SIZE]
SHREVEPORT, La. — On Friday, South Carolina’s players will visit Barksdale Air Force Base here. The trip, part of the team’s activities during Independence Bowl week, will be one final break from football before the Gamecocks take on Miami on Saturday.
A less-than-gracious South Carolina fan could point out that any exposure to defense might be a good thing for the Gamecocks, but it’s not so much through the air the team has been hurt this season. A visit to an Army base and a few pointers on ground defense? That might be more fitting.
South Carolina is 109th in the country in rushing defense, allowing 214.4 yards per game on the ground, and the Hurricanes will bring junior running back Duke Johnson with them to Independence Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson is the nation’s 13th-leading rusher at 126.7 yards per game. The first-team All-ACC selection rushed for more than 100 yards in six of the Hurricanes’ final eight games, including gaining 249 and 177 in back-to-back weeks against Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
“Stop the run, stop the run, every week, stop the run,” Gamecocks defensive line coach Deke Adams said when asked the goal for Saturday’s matchup. “Great running back. We have a challenge in front of us. He does a great job of stretching it out and cutting back, he has unbelievable change of direction.”
Johnson averages 6.97 yards per carry. South Carolina allowed 5.43 yards per carry, the 117th-highest total in the country during the regular season. Still, the Gamecocks feel confident they can stop Johnson and the Hurricanes’ ground game, linebacker Skai Moore said.
“That’s how I feel about everyone on the team, that we have the ability to make plays and make things happen,” said Moore, who is South Carolina’s leading tackler with 82 stops.
The Gamecocks’ confidence comes from their belief in themselves, Moore said. Recent results aren’t the source. Six of South Carolina’s past seven opponents have had at least one 100-yard rusher. Auburn and Tennessee each had two. Clemson’s Wayne Gallman rushed 27 times for 191 yards the last time the Gamecocks took the field.
“Every week you have to be motivated to play better than you played the last game, so we are motivated to play way better than we played against Clemson,” safety T.J. Gurley said.
The Gamecocks are expected to start Kadetrix Marcus (along with Brison Williams) at safety against the Hurricanes. Marcus, a senior, started seven games last year but has not started this season and has 18 tackles. At 6-foot-1, 194 pounds, he is considered by the coaching staff to be one of the most physical safeties on the team, which would explain a start against the Hurricanes.
Good run defense is based on “doing your job, fitting your gaps right and we have to make tackles,” Gurley said. “That’s what our coaches have been preaching, wrap up and make tackles. We are going to do it Saturday, we are confident.”
It will come as a relief to the Gamecocks that Johnson gets very little help in the Miami running game. Quarterback Brad Kaaya was the ACC’s offensive rookie of the year, but he does all his damage with his arm. Kaaya has minus-124 rushing yards this season.
After Johnson (who also is the Hurricanes’ second-leading receiver with 33 catches for 370 yards), Miami’s next-leading rusher is Joe Yearby, whose 80 carries are 138 fewer than Johnson has this season. As a team, Miami is 51st in the nation in rushing with 179.9 yards per game.
“We have to get our right assignments where (defensive coordinator Lorenzo) Ward wants us to be,” Moore said, “and make tackles.”