The South Carolina Gamecocks and the Vanderbilt Commodores will face off in their season openers on Thursday, September 1st at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Contest will be doled out at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Las Vegas has the Vanderbilt Commodores as a -4.5 point favorite and the over/under is currently placed at 42.5 points.
South Carolina:
South Carolina lost some fire power when their star WR Pharoh Cooper was drafted to the NFL. They also witnessed the transfer of QB Connor Mitch to Division II’s James Madison. Furthermore, they said goodbye to their ole’ ball coach, Steve Spurrier. To make the opening game even more challenging, new head coach Bill Muschamp will also be without LB Skai Moore.
Skai Moore was the Gamecocks leading tackler over the past three campaigns. He suffered a season ending neck injury in the spring. Senior Perry Orth and freshman Brandon McIlwain are the candidates to take over at the signal-caller position.
Last year’s offense seemed to just give up during the course of a grueling year. The Gamecocks ended the season ranked 110th in the country in scoring with 21.9 points per game. Unfortunately, the defense also underachieved when it counted the most. They dropped to 71st in the nation, yielding 27.5 points a game.
It’s totally possible that the Gamecock’s could be starting with a true freshman on the road in a conference match-up. Furthermore, they have unproven talent at the wide receiver position. Finally, they have a untested defensive line and a unproven secondary. South Carolina will suffer some growing pains throughout the 2016 season and week one should be no different.
Vanderbilt:
Head coach Derek Mason has been doing his best to survive in the rugged SEC. This year he should be assisted by the return of his quarterback Kyle Schumer. Schumer didn’t play many snaps last year but did post 500 yards and five touchdowns more than any Gamecocks starter.
Vanderbilt will also benefit from the return of leading rusher Ralph Webb. Webb had a solid year posting over 1,100 yards and five rushing scores. Consequently, the Commodores offense was nothing to write home to mom about.They ranked 124th in the country and averaged 15.2 points a game. Obviously, there is plenty of room for improvement.
There is no secret how the Commodores managed to win four games. They held teams down with a stout and savvy defense. Vanderbilt ranked 22nd in the nation, surrendering only 21 points a contest. With a solid front line and with a scrappy defensive backfield they managed to sit in the top half of the country in most defense statistics. A Pretty impressive achievement considering they competed against some of the superb offenses in the SEC.
The Commodores will once again lean on their sturdy defense that returns seven starters from last years squad. They will need it when they come up against some of the high power offenses in the conference. The offense needs to keep the chains moving via the ground attack while Kyle Schumer adapts to his full time role at quarterback. If they can mire opponents into low scoring affairs, they should be competitive when the fourth quarter roles around.
The Hun’s Prediction:
South Carolina’s Head Coach Will Muschamp stated that he would not name his starting gunslinger until right before the contest gets underway. He’s attempting to make it harder for the defense in Nashville to to scheme against his offense. So basically, nobody has truly stepped up to the plate and proven his merit at that position.
Who’s Muschamp really fooling? The Gamecock’s offense will be average at best this year. All you have to do is put one and one together. An unproven quarterback and a weak offensive line spells big trouble against a feisty Commodore defense. Vanderbilt should be able to make the Gamecock’s one dimensional and limit their chance in the red-zone.
Vanderbilt may not light up the score board by any means but they should be able to take advantage of an untested defense. The Commodores should find some success running the football and might capitalize on some play action when it counts the most.
This game should be ground out five yards at a time and that plays right into the Commodore’s hands. Vanderbilt should find a way to keep South Carolina to field goals while they muster up a few seven point trips of their own. Give me the Commodores.
Vanderbilt -4.5
