Carolina's New Face

cstv.collegesports.com Life after Marcus Lattimore has been a lot easier to overcome than life after Alshon Jeffery for the South Carolina Gamecocks. The current rushing attacks for Carolina have two backs that are rushing for more than anyone on the Kentucky roster. One of the backs is Conner Shaw. On the season Shaw has 232 rushing yards on 51 attempts. However, the leading back has rushed for an impressive 508 yards and added six touchdowns. These stats should tell us that the ground attack has not left South Carolina, rather it has gotten better in some views. For whatever reason, UK always seemed to fair pretty well against Lattimore and the South Carolina ground attack in recent history (outside of the last two years when we were not competitive with anyone). However, the air raid for the Gamecocks is different than it has been in years past. We as UofK fans are used to the massive receivers that South Carolina seemed to have for the longest time. Looking back in to previous years it always seemed that Carolina had a dominant position receiver that could absolutely kill a team. This year the tallest receiver on the team happens to be six foot one, but does not have the dominant presence that Alshon Jeffery’s had. The other receivers for the Gamecocks do not break six foot. This is a bit scary because it is looking an awful lot like the Florida team that we faced this past weekend. UofK put a huge emphasis on not letting the quarterback run which put a lot more pressure on the defensive backs. These big position receivers always troubled UofK in the past, but speed and a semi-mobile quarterback is the recipe for disaster for the Wildcats. To be successful this week the defense has to come up big and win the battle in the trenches. The defensive line has to put pressure on the quarterback and force him to make bad decisions. While this is easier said than done it appears to be the only way to win on paper. Our defensive backs match up a little better with this new era of Carolina receivers which have more of a focus on speed. Overall this is going to be a pretty tough week for the Cats. Not only are we not built to play on the road, but this is yet another top 15 team. In no way am I saying that we don’t have a chance, but a lot will have to go right for the Cats. It also does not help that the ol’ ball coach is still in commission for the Gamecocks. Go Cats @camyoung_KSR