The Verdict: Florida can’t break South Carolina in 2022
South Carolina football superfan and lawyer Chris Paschal writes a column for Gamecock Central called “The Verdict.”
The Verdict: Florida can’t break South Carolina in 2022
Last Fall, The Athletic came out with a piece where anonymous coaches in the SEC analyzed and diagnosed the issues facing the 2021 Gator Football Team.
Because it was behind a paywall I won’t discuss the specifics, but the words “soft” and “uninterested” came up while discussing Florida football.
Florida’s rallying cry or team mantra is “in all kinds of weather.” No matter the time, no matter the place, no matter the weather, Florida will be up for the challenge.
Before last year’s rendition of the South Carolina-Florida game, I mentioned that I had my doubts Florida would be up for the challenge of playing in a cold, loud Williams-Brice Stadium in November. And as I had hoped, the game was over in Williams-Brice Stadium by halftime.
Carolina asserted its will against the Florida Gators last season and made them quit. The Gators will look to return that favor this season in The Swamp.
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As a Gamecock fan, I have heard the slew of excuses by opposition fanbases and college football pundits trying to discredit Carolina wins. From “special teams won the Georgia State game” to “Kentucky was missing Will Levis” to “Jimbo Fisher has lost the A&M locker room,” we have heard it all.
Funny enough, I don’t hear those same excuses used for Florida’s wins. Florida beat the PAC-12 Champion. Florida almost beat Tennessee. Florida almost beat LSU. Florida beatdown Texas A&M. Why? Because the outside narrative regarding the Florida Gators is that this is a team that is on the up-and-coming. And while Gator fans might not believe that this Gator roster is playing with more confidence.
Regardless of the fact that A&M was missing half of their roster due to suspensions, injuries, and the flu, Florida did impress me on first watch in College Station.
After a subsequent (brief) look over the box score, I noticed that Florida had a single offensive play go for over 25 yards, and that was an Anthony Richardson touchdown run for 60 yards. (In comparison, Carolina had four offensive plays go for over 25 yards last week.) Despite the lack of explosive offensive plays, Florida absolutely dominated the Aggie defense, gaining almost 500 yards of offense and scoring 41 points.
WIN! MarShawn Lloyd-autographed Gamecocks football
Florida’s offense is at its best when it controls the line of scrimmage and runs the football. And despite what all the analytics say about the need for explosive plays, Florida’s offense is quite content running the football 40 or more times a game, controlling the clock, and breaking your will. Florida is going to try to do to Carolina this year what the Gamecocks did to the Gators last season: make the visiting team quit.
Now a big difference in this year’s matchup compared to last season’s is that the home team does not (at least to this point) possess a defense that can shut down the opponent. (Enter “but Marcus Satterfield (fill in the blank)” commentary here – I know, I know.)
It’s tough to make an opposing team quit if their offense can keep pace with your offense.
Last season, Carolina’s defense stymied the Gator offense while the Carolina offense put up 40 points. Are the Gators able to hold the Gamecocks to 10 points through the majority of the game like the Gamecocks were able to do to the Gators last season? I’m not sure, but even if Carolina’s offense struggles in The Swamp, there is an alternative solution: Carolina could make Florida uncomfortable on offense.
Two statistics need to hold true in Gainesville for the Gamecocks to have a chance.
Carolina leads the SEC in solo tackles and Carolina leads the SEC in forced interceptions. For whatever reason, this Carolina defense regressed against Missouri and Vanderbilt after impressive showings against Kentucky and Texas A&M.
The Aggie/Wildcat version of the Gamecock defense must show up in Gainesville. There will be times against Florida where a Carolina defender is going to have to make a solo tackle. So far this season, at least statistically, Carolina has been able to do that.
And while Florida loves to run the ball, Anthony Richardson is eventually going to put the ball in the air. There will be opportunities for the Carolina defense to force a turnover. If Carolina is unable to tackle the Gator running backs and Anthony Richardson, this will be a blowout. If Carolina is unable to make Anthony Richardson uncomfortable and force a mistake out of him, this will be a blowout.
In the entire history of Carolina Football, the Gamecocks have won twice in The Swamp. Twice. This is a massive endeavor for a Carolina team that’s a little beat up and searching for sustained confidence. While so much of the focus this season has been on the offense – and rightfully so – the Gamecocks will need to make a few key plays on defense for a chance to win this game.
Don’t ask me why, but after seeing the successes of last week, I think this Carolina offense will put some points on the board. It’s like when a shooter in a basketball game sees the ball go in the basket. This Carolina offense saw the ball go in the basket. But for Carolina to win, this game will be about Burch and Pickens and Rush and Cam and the plenty of capable defenders we have on this roster.
Go Cocks, Beat Florida.
