Wildcats and Gamecocks tee it up in Columbia

Sports Network | October 7, 2009

Columbia, SC (Sports Network) - The South Carolina Gamecocks have earned their way into the Top-25, and they will need an SEC victory over Kentucky this weekend to keep or improve their ranking.

Kentucky won its first two games of the season, but the schedule has been brutal since that point. First, the club proved to be no match for top-ranked Florida. Then, last week, the Wildcats had to face third-ranked Alabama and fell by a 38-20 final. Coach Rich Brooks' club can't afford to fall to 0-3 in SEC play in this, the first true road game of the season for the Wildcats.

South Carolina is 3-0 at home and 4-1 overall. Steve Spurrier's team has won its last three outings since suffering its lone loss to Georgia on the road by four points. Last weekend, the Gamecocks beat up on South Carolina State as expected by a 38-14 final.

The Gamecocks own a 13-6-1 series advantage over the Wildcats, including a 24-17 triumph over Kentucky in the most recent meeting last season.

Kentucky is scoring 25.0 ppg, and there are some talented players on the offensive side of the ball. Let's start with wideout Randall Cobb, who has made 21 catches for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Cobb is a converted quarterback who is still learning the receiver position, but he is a threat to score every time he touches to ball. Tailback Derrick Locke is another player to watch, as he has rushed for 244 yards and two scores in addition to his significant contributions as a receiver and special teams returner.

"Locke is a warrior.", says coach Brooks of his tailback.

Quarterback Mike Hartline has completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 653 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately, six interceptions have hurt the team.

Kentucky began the season with a shutout victory over Miami-Ohio, and the defense obviously played very well in that tilt. Unfortunately, things have gone down hill since. After allowing 27 points in a win over Louisville, the Wildcats were victimized for 41 points by Florida and 38 by Alabama. There is room for improvement against both the run and the pass, as foes are gaining 4.9 ypc on the ground and 12.5 yards per completion via the air. With just five takeaways and 11 touchdowns allowed, the defense clearly needs to improve.

Kentucky posted 20 first downs and 301 total yards against a tremendous Alabama defense last weekend, and the fact that the offense registered two touchdowns is somewhat impressive considering the level of competition. Locke showed his versatility by rushing for 75 yards and leading the team with six catches for 63 yards. Cobb caught a touchdown pass, and Hartline threw for 168 yards. Unfortunately, the quarterback was intercepted three teams, a major factor in the loss. It also didn't help matters that the defense yielded four touchdowns to the Alabama offense along with 204 rushing yards.

"We didn't throw it as well as I wanted, but the thing that eventually cost us the game was mistakes," said coach Brooks. "You can say some of them were forced, which they were, but four turnovers is not the formula you need with no takeaways to beat the number three team in the nation."

South Carolina lacks a star player on the offensive side of the ball. Still, the team is scoring 27.2 ppg while gaining a solid 372.2 total ypg. Stephen Garcia is the man at the helm of the offense, and he has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,035 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions. Garcia's top target is Moe Brown, who has 18 grabs for 283 yards and two scores. Jarvis Giles leads the ground attack with 231 yards, and Brian Maddox has three rushing touchdowns. The fact that South Carolina has only committed five turnovers in five outings has been key to its strong start.

While the South Carolina offense has been solid, the team's defense has been stellar, holding foes to 16.8 ppg and 264.4 total ypg. The run defense is limiting opponents to 114.2 ypg at a clip of 3.2 ypc. The effort against the pass has been strong as well, holding opposing quarterbacks to 10 yards per completion. With nine takeaways and 14 sacks, USC has made its share of big plays. Eric Norwood is the best player on the roster, and the defensive end/linebacker recently became the program's all-time sack leader. This season, he has team-highs of 30 tackles, six sacks and two interceptions to his credit.

In the victory over South Carolina State last week, Garcia threw a pair of touchdown passes to Brown, and the Gamecocks posted 213 of their 377 total yards on the ground. Defensively, they did surrender a pair of rushing scores and 326 yards to an FCS opponent, but the overall effort was solid.

"Moe played very well tonight," said Garcia after the win. "He ran some great routes tonight, and got open on some man coverage. It was a really big night for him."