5 burning questions for South Carolina-Florida: Can the Gamecocks contain the Kyles?
South Carolina football hits the road for the first time in the 2020 season this weekend, traveling to Gainesville, Florida to take on the No. 3 Gators. The Gamecocks are hoping to bounce back from a season-opening loss to Tennessee and pull off the big upset, as they are three-score underdogs heading into the matchup.
Here are five of the most pressing questions facing coach Will Muschamp’s squad as we near Saturday.
How much can the defense pressure Kyle Trask?
The Gamecocks were close to upsetting the top-10 Gators at home last season, leading 20-17 heading into the fourth quarter. But some disputed calls and a standout performance from UF quarterback Kyle Trask made the difference. A year later, Trask has only gotten better — he threw for a staggering 416 yards and six touchdowns in Florida’s season opener against Ole Miss.
And Trask put up those totals with a crisp 71.5% completion rate. Only sacked once all game while completing passes to 11 different players, he clearly can pick apart a defense when given the opportunity. It’s up to South Carolina’s defensive front, led by Buck lineman Kingsley Enegbare and end Aaron Sterling, to limit his opportunities to do so.
Can the secondary contain Kyle Pitts?
Far and away Trask’s favorite option in that Ole Miss victory was tight end Kyle Pitts. It’s not hard to tell why — at 6-foot-6, 246 pounds, he possesses a rare blend of power, speed and athleticism that make him one of the nation’s best and a terror to defensive coordinators in his path. He caught eight passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns against the Rebels.
How exactly South Carolina plans to slow him down could define the contest. The Gamecocks got good news when Will Muschamp said starting cornerback Israel Mukuamu was ready to play after missing the second half of the season opener with a groin injury, but the Gators still have enough offensive options to make double teams a risky proposition. USC’s secondary was spotty against Tennessee, allowing some open looks that the Vols failed to take advantage of. Florida, Pitts and Trask likely won’t be so forgiving.
Will the offensive line step up?
Muschamp didn’t sugarcoat things after the Tennessee game — the Gamecock offensive line needed to play better, especially at right guard and right tackle. The first half in particular was a struggle, and new starting QB Collin Hill wasn’t mobile enough to evade the pressure the line let through, leading to a sputtering attack overall.
The second half was somewhat better, and Hill settled in behind the unit and produced solid numbers that the USC coaching staff was pleased with. Florida’s defense didn’t perform so well in its opener either, giving up 35 points, but the Gators have the reputation and talent of a tenacious defensive squad, especially when it comes to dialing up pressure, so the O-line will have to be better prepared from the get-go.
Does any wide receiver emerge alongside Shi Smith?
Senior Shi Smith was expected to be South Carolina’s No. 1 option at wide receiver this year — but in the season opener he was less the No. 1 option as he was the only option. Catching 10 passes on 14 targets for 140 yards while only one other wideout recorded a reception, Smith was about as good as fans could hope for.
But can he continue to get open and make plays if defenses key in on him and dare the other Gamecock receivers to burn them? It’s possible, but the offense would look a lot more sustainable if a running mate emerged alongside him. Sophomore Xavier Legette caught a nice 42-yard deep ball against the Vols but needs to be more consistent; converted QB Dakereon Joyner is unquestionably talented with the ball in his hands but didn’t get a single touch against Tennessee; and freshman Luke Doty, who’s splitting time between quarterback and wide receiver, didn’t even see the field, though Muschamp promised to get him involved this week.
Can the Gamecocks steal a win back, or at least show improvement?
If South Carolina loses, as most observers think it will, it will be off to its first 0-2 start since the winless 0-11 campaign of 1999. A lack of nonconference opponents to open the season and a 10-game SEC slate will do that to you — trying to compare this historically weird year to other seasons is foolish.
In the context of just this season, though, every game — and every loss — takes on a heightened importance. Heading into Saturday’s matchup, ESPN’s Football Power Index projects South Carolina to win just 2.9 games this season. After losing to Tennessee, the Gamecocks simply don’t have many games left that are expected to be all that competitive, with FPI giving them no better than a 39.1% chance in all but two games. That means they’ll have to “steal” a win against a favorite to avoid a 2-8 or 3-7 season.
Florida might be the toughest win to steal back; the Gators are ranked No. 3 for a reason. But USC did it against Georgia last season. And short of a win, at least hanging tough and making things close will give fans reason to believe some of the closer games later in the year might swing South Carolina’s way.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
