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August 27, 2008
USC - NCST Preview
Scott Hood
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
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USC-N.C. STATE PREVIEW
What: N.C. State (0-0) at USC (0-0)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
When: Thu., Aug. 28, 8 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN (Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer, Erin Andrews); Gamecock Radio Network, 107.5 FM In Columbia (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Duce Staley); Replay on SportSouth.
It was once one of the most bitter rivalries in this part of the college football world. But now, after meeting every year from 1968-1991, the South Carolina-N.C. State feud has been relegated to secondary status as a result of USC's decision to join the SEC in 1992. The two teams have not met since 1999 when tropical storm conditions ruined Lou Holt's debut as Gamecock head coach.
The closeness and ferocity of this series is evident by N.C. State's slim lead (26-25-4) in the all-time series. Thursday's matchup will mark the 56th all-time meeting between the schools, tying the Wolfpack with Wake Forest for the third-most games played against USC behind Clemson and Georgia. N.C. State will carry a four-game winning streak over USC into the game. The last Gamecock win in the series occurred in 1988 in Raleigh. The last win for USC over the 'Pack in Columbia was a 48-0 thrashing in 1987. Gamecock fans, no doubt, hope for a similar result on Thursday night.
Here's how the two teams matchup on both sides of the ball:
USC OFFENSE v. N.C. STATE DEFENSE:
After watching the quarterback position struggle for the majority of the last three seasons, Steve Spurrier has turned to redshirt junior Tommy Beecher after three years of standing on the sidelines.
Beecher will make his first collegiate start against the Wolfpack after being named the starter a few days after the completion of spring drills. Spurrier has stuck with the Concord, N.C. native over the last four months despite the fact he's thrown just 25 career passes.
The good news is Beecher has completed 16 of those throws for a 64.0 completion percentage and 194 yards with two touchdowns. Spurrier will certainly accept those numbers over a course of an entire game.
Spurrier has promised that Beecher will receive a full and fair opportunity to succeed, even if he falters early, contrary to the perception that he enjoys yanking quarterbacks in and out of the lineup.
With an inexperienced quarterback, Spurrier hopes to receive significant contributions from the players around him. Running back Taylor Rank worked hard in the off-season, attended all the workouts and kept his nose clean, earning the second start of his career.
However, the number of carries he receives before senior Mike Davis enters the game is a major question. Spurrier said Tuesday that Davis will step on the field early despite the fact he missed about two weeks of practice time with a shoulder injury and then a stomach virus.
The story surrounding Davis took a bizarre twist on Wednesday when reports surfaced that the Columbia High graduate wasn't starting due to disciplinary action for breaking into a locked refrigerator at the team's Williams-Brice Stadium complex. But Spurrier insisted Wednesday that Davis hadn't earned the right to start after missing so much practice time.
Sophomore Brian Maddox, dropped to third on the depth chart, should also see action. He carried six times for 14 yards last season.
When Beecher drops back to pass against the Wolfpack defense, he'll do what USC quarterbacks did all of last season – look first for Kenny McKinley. However, the group of receivers behind him appear to be stronger and deeper this season with Dion LeCorn, Moe Brown, Freddie Brown, Jason Barnes, Joe Hills, Matt Clements and freshman C.C. Whitlock all ready to contribute.
Tight ends Jared Cook and Weslye Saunders will look to become better all-round tight ends (read: improve their blocking) after emerging as legitimate weapons in the passing game last season.
Even with the presence of Beecher in the starting lineup, the most scrutinized unit on the field Thursday night might be the USC offensive line, which is trying to rebound from a mediocre 2007 season.
The most watched position along the offensive front will be left tackle where Hutch Eckerson and Jarriel King are battling for the starting job. Spurrier said Tuesday that both behemoths should share snaps against the Wolfpack.
An impressive defensive line is built around juniors Willie Young, a fast defensive end, and Alan-Michael Cash, a 286-pound defensive tackle. Both player could give USC's offensive line plenty of problems.
The most intriguing name on N.C. State's defensive line depth chart is former Gamecock Shea McKeen, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound junior from New Jersey. He left USC in May of 2006 and transferred to Nassau Community College in New York.
While the defensive line should be a strength, the back seven is a major concern for N.C. State. All three starters at linebacker last season have departed, leaving an inexperienced group in their wake. As a result, the linebacker position is in rebuilding mode.
The six Wolfpack players listed on their two-deep at linebacker have combined for only five starts. Redshirt sophomore Nat Irving, the starting weakside linebacker, has four of them. He'll probably have to be serve as the foundation at the position for this year.
Middle linebacker Ray Michel (6-0, 224 pounds) started one game last season and has been a reliable backup in the past, while 6-foot-0, 210 pound SLB Robbie Leonard, a converted safety, has never played linebacker in a collegiate game. No wonder O'Brien recently described the depth at linebacker as "thin."
The N.C. State secondary will try to duplicate the efforts of last year's unheralded unit which finished No. 28 in the country in passing defense. Senior J.C. Neal is the new leader of the defensive backfield. He started six games and made 40 tackles. The starter at the other safety spot is redshirt freshman Justin Byers.
The top cover corner is senior Jeremy Gray, who is entering his second season as a starter. He started seven games and made 62 tackles last season.
KEY USC OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: QB Tommy Beecher, RB Taylor Rank, RB Mike Davis, WR Kenny McKinley, WR Dion LeCorn, TE Jared Cook, OL Hutch Eckerson, OL Jarriel King.
KEY N.C. STATE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: DT Alan-Michael Cash, DE Willie Young, WLB Nate Irving, S J.C. Neal.
COACH'S COMMENT: "I really believe our team will be pumped up and eager to play our best Thursday night. I know our fans are. I've grown to really appreciate the Carolina football fans. They get tremendously excited this time of year and the reason is they have hope maybe something really good can happen this year. Hopefully we've got a team that can give them hope and then get the results. But time will only tell if we have that type of team" - USC head coach Steve Spurrier.
N.C. STATE OFFENSE v. USC DEFENSE:
N.C. State head coach Tom O'Brien has given the keys to the car to redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, a versatile athlete from Richmond, Va. that won a five-man competition for the job. He threw for 3,009 yards and rushed for an additional 1,132 yards rushed during his senior season in high school.
While impressive, those numbers obviously didn't come against a SEC defense. It's a sure thing that the speed Wilson will encounter Thursday night at Williams-Brice Stadium from the USC defense will be off the charts compared to whet he's had to deal with previously. How he adjusts to that speed is one of he game's more intriguing storylines.
Considering Wilson will be making his first career start in a hostile environment, it will be up to his teammates to rally around him. But how many weapons will he have at his disposal? Obviously, an effective running game is a quarterback's best friend, but two of N.C. State's top three running backs (Jamelle Eugene and Toney Baker) are sidelined with injuries.
That means the burden to get a running game established will fall mainly on senior Andre Brown, who had 1,772 career yards in his first three seasons. His best year came in 2005 when he led the Wolfpack with 667 yards. Brown started five games last season after Baker, the opening game starter, suffered a season-ending knee injury after just 26 snaps.
Brown was N.C. State's second-leading rusher last season behind Eugene with 447 yards on 95 carries, a respectable average of 4.7 yards per rush. There is very little experienced depth behind Brown, so O'Brien will likely stick with him for as long as he can. The backup is sophomore Curtis Johnson, who had 84 yards on six carries last season.
But running back isn't the only position to feel the wrath of the injury bug. Leading receiver Donald Bowens will sit out the 2008 season with a stress fracture in his back. The top two receivers on N.C. State's depth chart are sophomores Jarvis Williams and Owen Spencer. They combined for 13 receptions in 2007, with Spencer averaging 14.6 yards per catch, an indication he might be able to stretch the field.
O'Brien spent a large part of pre-season camp trying to find five players for the offensive line. The best might be right guard Meares Green, who has started 14 games in his career. The O-Line features three juniors and two seniors among the starting five.
USC returns 10 of the 11 starters on defense from the Clemson game. But when you consider Jasper Brinkley and Nathan Pepper are also back after missing most of the 2007 season, the Gamecocks have plenty of ammunition to stop opposing offenses.
With the N.C. State passing attack expected to struggle in the absence of Bowens, USC should focus on shutting down N.C. State's running game in the early portions of the contest with a solid defensive line led by sophomore DT Ladi Ajiboye, Pepper and defensive ends Cliff Matthews and Jordin Lindsey.
If they succeed in accomplishing that and force Wilson into throwing the ball with regularity, it will allow USC to blitz Wilson relentlessly and rattle him into making the type of mistakes that affect all young quarterbacks at this level.
The opener will provide USC fans the first look at the 4-2-5 package that defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson plans to employ frequently. Spur Darian Stewart, a free safety last season, appears to have battled back from a heel injury and should play. Speedster Chris Culliver, a one-time N.C. State commitment, is now the free safety.
KEY N.C. STATE OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: QB Russell Wilson, TB Andre Brown, WR Owen Spencer, OL Meares Green.
KEY USC DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: MLB Jasper Brinkley, NT Ladi Ajiboye, DE Cliff Matthews, OLB Eric Norwood, CB Captain Munnerlyn.
COACH'S COMMENT: "I think (the game against USC) is important for the program. It's important that we go and we play hard and we play smart. You only get so many opportunities to do this. That's one good thing about being able to play on Thursday night, especially this Thursday night because it's the first one. Everybody that doesn't want to watch politics can watch football" - N.C. State head coach Tom O'Brien.
SYNOPSIS: With most experts predicting a better season for the Gamecocks after the five-game losing streak concluded the 2007 season, stumbling against the inferior Wolfpack would be disastrous for the Gamecocks. This is game they should win. However, Steve Spurrier's first three years with the Gamecocks have started out with undistinguished wins over Central Florida, Mississippi State and Louisiana-Lafayette. The same thing could happen here. However, the DNA of this USC team appears to be a little different from its predecessors. Don't be surprised if they come out and play 60 minutes of solid football against a Wolfpack team still trying to find its footing under second-year coach Tom O'Brien. But the talent and depth in Raleigh still falls short of what you need to compete in a BCS conference. The voters in the pre-season ACC poll obviously saw plenty of deficiencies they voted the Wolfpack last in the conference's Atlantic Division. Could N.C. State win? Yes, if the adequate defensive line is able to seize control of the line of scrimmage and limit USC to about 14 points. But don't count on that happening.
PREDICTION: Spurrier wants to mix it up early, allowing Beecher to get comfortable in his role. The Gamecocks should probe the interior of the N.C. State with runs inside and then outside by starter Taylor Rank, Mike Davis and Brian Maddox. When USC throws the ball, Beecher will rely on depend upon receivers like Kenny McKinley and Dion LeCorn with medium range throws. If Spurrier wants to go deep, the target will likely be Moe Brown. N.C. State's offense has been severely impacted by the injuries to RB Jamelle Eugene and WR Donald Bowens, both of whom will miss the game. With a redshirt freshman at quarterback staring down one of the best defenses in the SEC, having any success through the air will be difficult. The Wolfpack are in grave danger of becoming one-dimensional, a no-no when you face a SEC opponent. That will be a recipe for disaster. Russell Wilson is talented young quarterback, but trying to score against an aggressive Gamecock defense while also trying to deal with 80,000 Gamecock faithful screaming at the top of the lungs will prove too much for someone making his first career start. N.C. State will struggle just to reach double digits, let alone win the game.
The Pick:
USC 27, N.C. STATE 10.
