Showdown in Starkville: Gamecocks take to road again to face Miss. State
What: South Carolina (1-0) at Mississippi State (0-1)
Where: Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field (61,337), Starkville, MS.
When: Sat., Sept. 10, 7 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: ESPN2 (Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham, Laura Rutledge); Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Langston Moore); Sirius 113/XM 190
Will Muschamp and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, now in his eighth season, locked horns last year when the former was the defensive coordinator at Auburn. Saturday night they square off for the first time as head coaches. The Gamecocks last visited Starkville in 2011 when they prevailed, 14-12. However, the game is probably best remembered for Marcus Lattimore’s season ending knee injury while blocking. Muschamp said Thursday night he wanted the Gamecocks to play angry and desperate. We know Mississippi State is a desperate team after a shocking opening game loss to South Alabama. The Cowbells will be ringing.
ALSO SEE: Josh Low's Weekly Thoughts - Keys to victory, power rankings, predictions for this week | Carolina Confidential - Inside team scoop on Gamecocks week of practice | The Insider Report - Which target could have a big game this week?
WHEN SOUTH CAROLINA HAS THE BALL
Perry Orth took a major step towards cementing his status as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback with a solid second half at Vanderbilt as he led USC on three scoring drives and just enough points to depart Nashville with a hard-fought victory.
Considering the Gamecocks still have two more road games on the schedule (at Miss. State, Sept. 24 at Kentucky before the calendar turns to October, Orth will likely remain USC’s best option at the most important position in football. His familiarity directing the Gamecocks offense in hostile environments served USC well last week in the second half and could again in Starkville in the face of thousands of cow bells ringing practically nonstop.
The future for the Gamecocks was on display in Nashville at the offensive skill positions as redshirt freshman RB A.J. Turner (13 rushes for 70 yards; 3 catches for 27 yards) and wide receiver Bryan Edwards (8 receptions for 101 yards) combined for 24 touches on 62 offensive plays run by the Gamecocks, meaning one of those two had a prominent role on nearly 40 percent of USC’s snaps.
Look for the same thing in Starkville. If anything, the duo’s ‘touch percentage” will only increase as they consistently prove themselves in games and Muschamp’s confidence with their production grows every week.
Along the offensive line, Saturday should mark the return of Alan Knott to action. Knott was slowed by a hand injury throughout preseason camp and then was suspended for the opener. If Knott starts at center, Corey Helms would probably slide over to right guard with D.J. Park returning to right tackle. Mason Zandi (LT) and Zac Bailey (LG) man the left side.
Mississippi State’s best defensive player is senior DE A.J. Jefferson, a Ted Hendricks Award candidate. Jefferson was spectacular in Week 1 with seven
tackles, including a career-best four tackles for loss and two sacks. Jefferson has started 14 games and recorded 28.5 tackles for loss, sixth all-time in MSU history. His four TFL led all SEC players in Week 1 and ranked second nationally. His two sacks are tied for the SEC lead.
Senior MSU linebacker Richie Brown eclipsed the 200-tackle mark for his career with six tackles against South Alabama. Brown enters the South Carolina game with 203 career tackles. Last season, he was the Bulldogs’ leading tackler with 109, becoming the first MSU player to collect 100+ tackles since Cam Lawrence in 2012. Brown is on the Watch Lists for three national awards this season - Nagurski, Butkus and Campbell Trophy.
KEY PLAYERS ON OFFENSE: QB Perry Orth, QB Brandon McIlwain, RB A.J. Turner, WR Deebo Samuel, WR Bryan Edwards, C Alan Knott, LT Mason Zandi.
KEY PLAYERS ON DEFENSE: DE A.J. Jefferson, DT Torrey Dale, STAR J.T. Gray, MLB Richie Brown, WLB Leo Lewis, CB Jamoral Graham, CB Lashard Durr.
WHEN MISSISSIPPI STATE HAS THE BALL
Remember South Carolina’s embarrassingly woeful defensive performance in the first game of the post-Jadeveon Clowney Era when they were ripped to shreds by Texas A&M, surrendering 680 yards in total offense?
Last Saturday was sort of the equivalent for the Mississippi State offense in the 21-20 loss to South Alabama. Sure, the Bulldogs gained 382 total yards and didn’t commit a turnover, but they mustered just three points in the second half, none in the final 21 minutes of action.
Mississippi State learned the same harsh lesson the Gamecocks did in 2014 – quickly replacing one of the greatest players in school history is very difficult. Dak Prescott is arguably the greatest player in MSU program history as he set 38 school records and started 27 consecutive games at quarterback.
Technically, Nick Fitzgerald won the starting job in camp, but threw just three passes in last Saturday’s opener before being replaced by junior Damian Williams, who started one game in 2013, served as Prescott’s backup in 2014 and redshirted in 2015 as Fitzgerald moved into the backup role. Williams came on during the third series and finished with career highs in completions (20) and passing yards (143).
However, Williams struggles noticeably when asked to throw the ball down the field, so Mullen will likely stick to bubble screens and short passes to keep Williams within his comfort zone. Muschamp cautioned earlier this week that the bubble screen is a staple pf Mullen’s system and the Gamecocks must do a better job defending the play this week than they showed at Vanderbilt.
Senior running back Brandon Holloway returns for his second straight season as the Bulldogs’ top running back. Holloway is one of only two FBS players returning in 2016 who registered at least 400 rushing yards, 300 receiving yards and 500 kickoff return yards a season ago, joining Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey.
But Holloway was not MSU’s leader rusher in the South Alabama loss as Williams carried 12 times for 93 yards. Holloway had 38 yards and one TD on 11 rushing attempts in the opener.
Fred Ross, a Biletnikoff Award candidate and first-team All-SEC performer a year ago, has recorded at least 100 yards receiving in four of his last six games dating back to last season. Ross is one 100-yard outing shy of tying the MSU career record of David Smith, who had eight from 1968-70.
Ross broke the MSU single-season record for catches in 2015 with 88. For his career, he has hauled in 133 passes (fifth in MSU history) for 1,645 yards (9th in MSU history) and 10 touchdowns (10th in MSU history).
KEY PLAYERS ON OFFENSE: QB Damian Williams, RB Brandon Holloway, WR Fred Ross, WR Donald Gray, LT Elgton Jenkins.
KEY PLAYERS ON DEFENSE: DE Marquavius Lewis, DT Taylor Stallworth, LB T.J. Holloman, LB Jonathan Walton, LB Bryson Allen-Williams, CB Rashad Fenton, CB Chris Lammons, S Chaz Elder.
SYNOPSIS: Mississippi State was 32-65 in the eight years prior to Dan Mullen’s arrival as head coach. So he has done a great job turning around the program. Dak Prescott raised the level of the program two or three notches during his three years at quarterback, ascending to No. 1 two years ago. What happened when he left? South Alabama happened. Believe it or not, Mullen is the third-longest tenured SEC coach at his current school behind only Les Miles (12) and Nick Saban (10). Mullen guided the Bulldogs to the winningest six-year stretch in school history (50-28 from 2010-15) and back-to-back seasons of at least nine victories for the first time. But this year’s Mississippi State was voted to finish last in the SEC West for many reasons, and some of them were on display last Saturday. Yet, the Gamecocks must be careful. Muschamp has preached all week that a different Bulldogs team will show up in Starkville in Week 2. He’s probably right. But without Prescott, the MSU offense has clearly taken a major step backwards and the secondary looks vulnerable. The Gamecocks carry a seven-game winning streak against Mississippi State into Saturday night’s game. It won’t be easy – it never is on the road in the SEC – but Orth’s vast experience competing in enemy stadiums, his quiet and confident demeanor and an improved, aggressive defense will pull the Gamecocks through.
PREDICTION: Gamecocks 24, Mississippi State 16.
ALSO SEE: Film prep - What will the Gamecocks have to do to stop Mississippi State's offense? | A close look at MSU's personnel and how they match up with USC | Defending Mississippi State's screen game
