After falling to 6-3 last week against Georgia, the Gamecocks return home to begin their final stretch of games. We’ve got predictions for how they’ll do against the Gators tomorrow.
Thomas: If we don’t beat Florida by two touchdowns, something is seriously wrong. We shouldn’t struggle with this team at all. Seriously, if we play down to their level at this point in the year that is nothing but terrible. We play better defense and have an extremely better offense than them. I expect Bentley to cross 300 yards by about halfway through the third, and Michael Scarnecchia will get to play. 38-10 Gamecocks.
Demetri: Watch this be the game where the Gators really rally for Randy Shannon. Ha ha! Just kidding! Florida stinks. Randy Shannon stinks. The two power houses in the Sunshine State are very clearly counting down to the season just being over. Muschamp knows this defense well. The offense has made one great play all season and it was the result of Butch Jones Butch Jonesing all over the place. I am still not in love with the Cocks’ offense, but I think it will get the job done. Carolina 27 Florida 10.
Katie: Predictably, my prediction this week is again that South Carolina will win. Unlike some past weeks, though, I’m pretty confident in this actually happening because Florida is…uh…very ungood. They’re pretty much bad at everything. It’s great. A small part of me fears this will be the game USC loses that they absolutely shouldn’t for this season, but I think the Gators’ overall badness will prevent them from getting out of their own way, even if the Gamecocks don’t look great.
Kody: I’m a little divided on how I feel about this game. I pegged it as the Gamecocks’ best chance for an SEC upset before the season started, and as things stand now, I think it’s an even more winnable matchup. To me, the biggest question is whether USC walks in with inflated egos and plays down to the competition (ala the Kentucky game). I’m not too worried about Florida being fired up and playing for pride, because honestly, that team looks like it has quit in just about every respect, and they seem to want the season to be over already. Nonetheless, Florida always has talent, and the Gamecocks have only had a couple comfortable wins this year. I’ll take USC 24-10 in an ugly one.
Kaci: The Gators are in really rough shape right now (which is very satisfying to me as an ardent Florida hater) and the Gamecocks should be able to win this one. Florida just isn’t really doing anything well right now and they just got blown out by Missouri, which is pretty embarrassing for them. I don’t think Carolina will blow them out because nothing is ever that easy, but I think the Gamecocks will pull off a nice win to finish off SEC play. I’ll say Gamecocks 27-14.