Staff Picks: South Carolina-Coastal Carolina, other Week 13 matchups

South Carolina returns to Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend, looking to snap a five-game losing streak, when Coastal Carolina comes into town on Saturday.

Kickoff is at 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network.

Here’s how the GamecockCentral and 107.5 The Game staff sees this game going, plus a few predictions on other key matchups this weekend.

George Bagwell: South Carolina finally gets the win they’ve needed, and it couldn’t come at a better time prior to the Clemson game. South Carolina is just too talented to lose this one. South Carolina 45. Coastal Carolina 17.

Elijah Campbell: Gamecocks need to emotionally rebound after the collapse at College Station and I believe they will. Coastal is a good team but I think the Carolina offense scores early on the scripted drive and unlike their SEC opponents, I don’t see Coastal making the defensive adjustments required to win. I also expect the Gamecock defense to have their fair share of forced turnovers and negative plays. South Carolina 31, Coastal Carolina 13.

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Chris Clark: For the first time this season, I think the Gamecocks get off to a faster start to where the team can finally play from ahead. USC’s advantage in the trenches shows through, and Coastal being without quarterback Samari Collier hurts. South Carolina 41, Coastal Carolina 13.

Terry Ford: When it comes to roster talent, this game on paper shouldn’t be close BUT…USC is coming off a historic collapse in College Station, Coastal Carolina has won 4 of 5 and the Gamecocks under Shane have had some meh performances vs G5 teams in the past…see Georgia State, Jacksonville State and Old Dominion. The fact that Coastal will be without their starting QB and that their defense is #121 in the country in defensive efficiency leads me to think that South Carolina should end their five game losing streak on Saturday. South Carolina 30, Coastal Carolina 13.

Griffin Goodwyn: Missing the postseason for the second time in three years will be a tough pill to swallow for the South Carolina football program. But the Gamecocks should get a massive confidence boost from Saturday’s game against Coastal Carolina ahead of the 122nd edition of the Palmetto Bowl. South Carolina 44, Coastal Carolina 13.

Tyler Head: SC hit its lowest point of the season in the second half collapse vs Texas A&M, it’s only right to question how that loss will affect them going forward. On paper, the Gamecocks are the better team and if they don’t have mistakes on top of mistakes, I think they’ll be fine. South Carolina 34, Coastal Carolina 17.

Mingo Martin: Don’t have much to say here. I’m sure South Carolina fans will enjoy watching a win for a change. South Carolina 31, Coastal Carolina 3.

Kevin Miller: Shane Beamer needs a win on Saturday. In fact, Beamer and his Gamecocks need to win in somewhat convincing fashion. I think that’s what will happen. Watch for interim playcaller Mike Furrey to establish the run well and attempt to get quarterback LaNorris Sellers and the receiving corps some confidence with simple throws. I also think the defense bounces back on Saturday after a tough second half against Texas A&M. South Carolina 38, Coastal Carolina 13.

Wes Mitchell: This one gets dangerous in a hurry if South Carolina lets the hurt of last week linger or the reality of a potentially lost season sinks in. But Shane Beamer’s teams typically play for him and the Chanticleers would be much more dangerous from a football standpoint if quarterback Samari Collier were healthy and playing. A lot of Coastal’s damage on offense this year — and they’ve been really good the last month or so — has been based on the added elements Collier brings to the field. This is a Chants defense that has surrendered points and yardage and should present an opportunity for the Carolina offense to finally put up a pretty big point total. South Carolina 38, Coastal Carolina 10.

Jay Philips: After a crushing defeat in almost any sport, it’s fair to ask how a team will respond it’s next time out, even against an opponent that’s a heavy underdog. That’s what Carolina faces this weekend against Coastal. The stats show us that the Gamecocks are significantly better, but will their attitude match? Coastal is a good Sun Belt team, but faces some issues of its own this week. I said on the show all week that after the first quarter we should know how inspired Carolina is. Doesn’t mean they’ll have put the game away by then, simply that they’ve come to play. I’ll take South Carolina 38, Coastal Carolina 23.

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Kendall Smith: South Carolina will earn its first win since September over Coastal Carolina this weekend. Shane Beamer says his guys are still motivated, and even though a bowl game is out of the question, I still expect the Gamecocks to come out and play well this weekend. South Carolina 34, Coastal Carolina 17.  

Jack Veltri: Shane Beamer has always done a great job of having his players ready to roll, regardless of circumstance. This will be a bit of a different situation, though, since the Gamecocks are out of bowl contention. However, I think Beamer will have these guys motivated to go out here, snap the losing streak, honor the seniors, and get right before Clemson next week. Shoutout to my good pal Mike Uva, who’s now working over at Coastal Carolina. Love ya buddy! South Carolina 42, Coastal Carolina 15.

Chris Wellbaum: South Carolina still has SEC players, and Coastal doesn’t. The Gamecocks should get a couple of scores from the defense and special teams to win this one comfortably. South Carolina 33, Coastal Carolina 12.

	Hawaii at UNLV	Harvard at Yale	Missouri at Oklahoma	Marshall at App State	Duke at North Carolina	Kentucky at Vanderbilt	Southern Cal at Oregon	Tennessee at Florida	California at Stanford
George Bagwell (83-45)	Hawaii	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Florida	California
Elijah Campbell (87-41)	UNLV	Yale	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Southern Cal	Tennessee	California
Chris Clark (81-47)	UNLV	Yale	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	Stanford
Terry Ford (73-55)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Griffin Goodwyn (88-40)	Hawaii	Yale	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Tyler Head (76-52)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Mingo Martin (81-47)	Hawaii	Harvard	Oklahoma	App State	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Kevin Miller (84-44)	UNLV	Yale	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Wes Mitchell (86-42)	UNLV	Yale	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	Stanford
Jay Philips (80-48)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Kendall Smith (85-43)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	App State	Duke	Vanderbilt	Southern Cal	Tennessee	California
Mike Uva (83-45)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California
Jack Veltri (79-49)	Hawaii	Harvard	Oklahoma	Marshall	Duke	Vanderbilt	Southern Cal	Tennessee	California
Chris Wellbaum (79-49)	UNLV	Harvard	Oklahoma	App State	Duke	Vanderbilt	Oregon	Tennessee	California

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