September 9, 2015 | ISSUE no. 1
from the abyss
Can Jon Hoke and the Tampa 2 turn the Carolina defense around?
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carolina VS. Kentucky
CONTENTS CONTENTS
6 FROM THE ABYSS Can Jon Hoke and the Tampa 2 turn the Carolina defense around?
ON THE COVER: Junior linebacker Skai Moore takes down Georgia’s Brendan Douglas during first-quarter action on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
4 12 14 16 18
OPPONENT PREVIEW: Basement Cat Wildcats can haz quick offense, but no can haz defense ILLUSTRATION SENIOR PROFILE: Gentleman Baller A gentleman off the field, T.J. Gurley gets mean on it OPINION: Kentucky Nightmare A loss to Kentucky? Carolina’s been there. Will they go there again? TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
CAROLINA FOOTBALL
2015 SCHEDULE 9/12 vs. NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte, N.C.
9/12 9/19 9/26 10/3 10/10
PUBLISHER: Charlie Nutt | charlien@free-times.com, ext. 129 MANAGING EDITOR: Patrick Wall | sideline@free-times.com PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lisa Heinz | lisaw@free-times.com, ext. 121 SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Joey Ayer | joeya@free-times.com, ext. 150 GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Dré Lopez | drel@free-times.com, ext. 145 CONTRIBUTORS Travis Bell, Paul Collins, Chris Dearing, James Harley, Scott Hood ILLUSTRATOR: Dré Lopez ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Angie Bledsoe | angieb@free-times.com, ext. 131 Hyatt Drake | hyattd@free-times.com, ext. 153 Ginny Kuhn | ginnyk@free-times.com, ext. 130 Sue Miller | suem@free-times.com, ext. 134 Jessica Rowland | jessicar@free-times.com, ext. 141 Jerry Viles | jerryv@free-times.com, ext. 140 ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Xavier Edwards | xaviere@free-times.com OFFICE MANAGER Anton Dela Cruz | antond@free-times.com, ext. 132 VICE PRESIDENT-OPERATIONS Jen Coody | jenc@free-times.com, ext. 124 THE SIDE LINE IS PUBLISHED BY RESORTS MEDIA LLC 1534 Main St., Columbia, SC 29201 PO Box 8295, Columbia, SC 29202 (803) 765-0707 • free-times.com Advertisers in The Side Line assume responsibility for the entire content and subject matter of all advertisements. In case of error or omissions in advertisement, the publisher’s sole liability shall be to publish the advertisement at a later date. Notice of error must be made within ten days of first insertion. © 2015 Resorts Media. All rights reserved.
10/17 10/31 11/7 11/14 11/21 11/28
vs. at vs. at vs. vs. at at at vs. vs.
W 17-13
KENTUCKY
Columbia, S.C.
7:30 pm
GEORGIA
Athens, Ga.
6 pm
CENTRAL FLORIDA Columbia, S.C.
TBA
MISSOURI
Columbia, Mo.
TBA
LSU
Columbia, S.C.p.m.
TBA
VANDERBILT Columbia, S.C.p.m.
TEXAS A&M
College Station, Texas
TENNESSEE Knoxville, Tenn.
TBA TBA TBA
FLORIDA Columbia, S.C.
TBA
CITADEL Columbia, S.C.
TBA
CLEMSON Columbia, S.C.
= SEC game
TBA
OPPONENT PREVIEW
BY Chris Dearing
KENTUCKY
WILDCATS CONFERENCE: Southeastern 2014 RECORD: 5-7 (2-6 SEC) 2015 RECORD: 1-0 (0-0 SEC) SERIES RECORD: Carolina leads, 17-8-1 COACH: Mark Stoops YEARS AS COACH: 2 RECORD AT KENTUCKY: 7-17 LAST MEETING: Kentucky 45, Carolina 38 RETURNING STARTERS: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense)
The student section comes alive as “Sandstorm” is played before the Kentucky game on Oct. 5, 2013. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Basement Cat Wildcats can haz quick offense, but no can haz defense
S
running backs in Boom Williams and Kemp. The receiving corps will be led by Ryan Timmons, Blake Bone, Dorian Baker, Garrett Johnson and Jeff Badet. “It’s one of the most experienced offenses in the league,” says Carolina co-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward. “It’s going to be a challenge to slow those guys down.” The Wildcats lost defensive standouts Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith, but have talented transfers Melvin Lewis Virginia offensive coordinator and Ryan Flannigan up front. Shannon Dawson to revive the Defensive deficiencies caused Air Raid attack the Wildcats Kentucky’s season-closing skid; utilized in the late 1990s. Quarterback Patrick Towles, if the Wildcats hope to become bowl-eligible in year three of who accounted for more than the Stoops era, an improve3,000 yards of total offense last ment on that side of the ball is a year, will be the triggerman of necessity. the attack. He will have plenty of weapons at his disposal in
outh Carolina fans still have nightmares of Kentucky running back Jojo Kemp running roughshod through the Gamecocks defense. The Wildcats scored 21 points in the final eight minutes last season to come back from a 14-point deficit to defeat South Carolina, handing the Gamecocks their second straight fourth-quarter loss. Kentucky opens Carolina’s home slate Saturday, and the Wildcats hope to work that magic again. Kentucky started 5-1 a season ago but faded down the stretch, and didn’t qualify for a bowl. Mark Stoops is entering his third season as Kentucky’s head coach, and a revamped offensive attack has long-suffering Kentucky fans hoping a bowl game is in the near future. Stoops brought in former West
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THREE TO WATCH Jon Toth, C Toth, a junior on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, is one of the nation’s best centers. He’s the best of four returning starters on the offensive line — one that stymied the Gamecock pass rush during last year’s upset win. A year more experienced, the line could pose problems for a retooled Gamecock D-line.
Boom Williams, RB It was Jojo Kemp who ran wild over Carolina last year, but Williams is equally a threat. As a true freshman, Williams ran for three touchdown runs of more than 50 yards, a kickoff return for 75 yards en route to 1,159 all-purpose yards as a true freshman. When Williams finds space, he can do some pretty nasty things — but he often runs straight into trouble.
Melvin Lewis, DT Ends Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith combined for 12 sacks last season. With Jason Hatcher suspended for the game there is concern on how Kentucky’s defensive front seven will hold up against a balanced South Carolina attack. The burden to pressure the quarterback falls on Lewis, a 6-foot-4, 332-pound wrecking ball who’s a borderline-elite player.
carolina VS. Kentucky
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South Carolina’s J.T. Surratt, left, and Skai Moore wrap up South Alabama running back Kendall Houston during third-quarter action on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina South Carolina’s offensive line keeps Georgia defenders away from quarterback Dylan Thompson, background, on Sept. 13. photo by Paul Collins / Gamecock Central
from the abyss Can Jon Hoke and the Tampa 2 turn the Carolina defense around?
BY SCOTT HOOD
I
f something had not gone terribly wrong, Jon Hoke would not be here.
Overlooking nothing after a frustrating 2014 season in which the Gamecocks blew three seemingly insurmountable fourthquarter leads, Steve Spurrier put the shaky South Carolina defense under the microscope in January shortly after the Gamecocks returned from the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana. Upon close inspection, Spurrier saw a disconnect between
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coaches and players, and a unit saddled by stale schemes and fraught with inadequate talent, enthusiasm and energy. New eyes, new voices and new perspectives were essential to pull the defense from the abyss, Spurrier decided. His solution? Lure his old friend Jon Hoke away from the NFL and make him the chief decision-maker and play-caller for
the Gamecock defense — even if he were to share the defensive coordinator title with Lorenzo Ward, who’s been at Carolina since 2009. Since joining the program in early February, Hoke has focused on four key areas: assignment, alignment, technique and key (that is, focusing on specific players). “Those are the four things we need to make sure we’re sound in, then continue to make sure we understand the importance of getting takeaways in the football
game,” Hoke says. “College football players are just trying to develop fundamentals like everybody else. I don’t see it as much different than a rookie mini-camp [in the NFL].” What you won’t find on Hoke’s list of priorities is scheme. Hoke firmly believes technique trumps tactics. In other words, even the most ingenious scheme amounts to nothing if you lack players capable of lining up correctly, playing with full effort, recognizing offensive formations and executing proper fundamentals carolina VS. Kentucky
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Redshirt junior Jordan Diggs upends up Kentucky’s Alexander Montgomery during third-quarter action on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013. New defensive co-coordinator Jon Hoke moved Diggs from spur to strong safety. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
and discipline when the ball is snapped. That’s why Hoke set out to simplify the Gamecock defense with an objective of allowing the players to play instinctively without thinking too much or playing too fast. “We’ve got a simple scheme,” says Ward. “The guys are getting better. When you have good players, you can play simpler.” Carolina’s base scheme will be the 4-3 — four down linemen, three linebackers — with a number of subpackages, including the five-defensive back nickel package, the Tampa 2 (similar to Cover 2, except the middle linebacker drops into deep middle coverage; the scheme prioritizes speed over size) and the zone blitz, wherein a defensive lineman to drop into coverage to replace a blitzing linebacker or defensive back. However, as Carolina demonstrated last season, poor tackling poisons all the water in the well. “Hopefully, we are much better tacklers,” says Spurrier. “We’ve practiced it pretty well. We’re teaching guys to take the right angles and use your teammates
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to help you. Hopefully, it will pay off. But I tell our guys all the time that practice is practice. You need to practice well, but then you need to take it to the ballpark. Our coaches have certainly put in the time and effort to make this defense of the best we’ve had here. Time will tell how we’re doing.” Carolina’s poor tackling technique was clearly evident to Hoke when he watched video of last season’s games. “If you can’t tackle on defense, it’s hard to play defense,” he says. “You have to leverage the ball. There’s always going to be somebody inside-out and always somebody outside-in. If you leverage, you will tackle with the proper shoulder.” “Don’t overthink it,” he continues. “Somebody is going to make a lot of money on a manual talking about tackling, but it’s really about leverage on the tackle, which is where you’re coming from and which arm and leg are free. If your outside arm and leg are free, you tackle with your inside shoulder. You should
always tackle with your leverage side.” How many tackles did Carolina miss last season? A lot, Ward concedes. “We didn’t play very well in space and so we missed a lot of tackles,” Ward says. “Hopefully, we’re better now. I think the entire defense has taken it to heart, the way we played, execution of assignments, the whole nine yards.” Even before Hoke’s arrival, Gamecock coaches set out to transform the front seven of the defense, particularly the underperforming defensive line, which struggled to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The pass rush was virtually nonexistent last season (see: the Clemson game) as the Gamecocks finished dead last in the SEC in sacks with 14 and amassed just 27 quarterback hurries. By contrast, Gamecock opponents had twice as many hurries. Video rarely lies, and the Gamecocks defensive linemen, for whatever reason, were unable to fight their way through blocks last season. As a result, Carolina
signed six new defensive linemen on National Signing Day in February. Three from the junior college ranks are expected to contribute immediately: Greenwood, South Carolina, native Marquavius Lewis, who quickly landed starting role at defensive end; Ulric Jones; and Dante Sawyer. “We’ve got some players that have done pretty well in practice, and hopefully they will do well in the games,” Spurrier says. “If not, we’ve got some young guys and some junior college guys that are ready to go. We have some competition up front this year that maybe we didn’t quite have last year.” Lewis was one of the top JUCO defensive ends in the country last year, and he seems to be the pass rusher Carolina was lacking in 2014. But can he terrorize SEC quarterbacks? Saturday’s game will offer clues. Big and fast, the 6-foot-3, 291-pound Sawyer displays the rare combination of mobility and quickness to play defensive end, but he has the size and strength to excel at the three-technique defensive tackle spot (meaning he carolina VS. Kentucky
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South Carolina defensive co-coordinator Lorenzo Ward on the sideline against Texas A&M on Aug. 28, 2014. The Gamecocks allowed 680 yards against the Aggies; head coach Steve Spurrier hired Jon Hoke as defensive cocoordinator during the offseason. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
lines up on the outside shoulder of a guard), one of the most important positions in Hoke’s 4-3 scheme because he is responsible for generating pressure on the quarterback through the middle. “[Sawyer] is a D-end that is playing three-technique,” says Ward. “He’s a smart, intelligent, instinctive player. He is playing the three-technique because that is what he is in this system. The No. 1 position you want to recruit in this scheme is a three-technique, because that guy has got to be dominant. He is going to be in a lot of one-on-one situations. It works well for us to have a guy like Dante, who was recruited as a defensive end but weighs 280, 290 pounds and can move. It’s a good position for him to be in.” Beside the additions of the
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new players, Carolina’s defensive coaches hope veteran linemen who failed to fulfill expectations in 2014 — players like Darius English — experience a bounceback season. If they do, that will increase the chances for a defensive line rebirth. Even the youthful secondary added a key piece: Isaiah Johnson, a graduate transfer from Kansas. Johnson, a fifth-year senior safety, should provide much-needed experience and maturity to the third level of the Gamecock defense. Multiple freshmen were baptized by fire last season, but Johnson is a proven commodity. He racked up 148 tackles and six interceptions in two years with the Jayhawks, earning Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year
honors in 2013. He was Kansas’ second-leading tackler in 2014 with 75 total stops. “I really like Isaiah back there,” Spurrier says. “He is a very mature young man going into his fifth year. He wants to play for a winner; that’s why he transferred. He has been a good leader and a good player for us at safety.” In order to squarely fit his players with the physical demands of each position, Hoke made a couple of important personnel decisions in the spring: senior T.J. Gurley was switched from safety to spur linebacker (the fourth linebacker employed when Carolina faces spread offenses); Jordan Diggs — who’s taller, bigger and faster than Gurley — shifted from spur to strong safety.
Gurley’s unrelenting physical style should find an ideal home on the second level of the Gamecock defense, as he will frequently line up in the box and help defend the run as well as cover tight ends and slot receivers when opposing quarterbacks throw the ball. “He loves to tackle, so you have to like that about a safety,” Ward says. “He’s playing the nickel role in our spur defense, so he will have the opportunity to do that a lot more. He’s closer to the box. T.J. is a safety who plays better closer to the line of scrimmage. He probably holds the key to the defense. We’ll blitz him or drop him in coverage. He does a lot of things for us.” Last year’s linebacking corps returns en masse, led by Skai Moore, Carolina’s leading tackler. Moore (middle linebacker), Jonathan Walton and Larenz Bryant (outside linebackers) sit atop the depth chart at the three spots. Until the end of camp, the Gamecock coaches doubletrained Walton and Bryant to play on both the weak and strong sides. “You have to double-train them,” Ward says. “In this system, if you have some smart guys, it will work out well for us in the future if we can get them doubletrained, because if one goes down you can keep your best players on the field by moving one to other position and bringing another guy on.” If the season-opening game against North Carolina is any indication, the Hoke’s adjustments seem to be working. The revamped Gamecock defense yielded 440 yards but held the Tar Heels’ uptempo offense to 13 points in the win, thanks in large part to Skai Moore’s two end-zone interceptions. There were still tackling problems in the secondary, and the pass rush was largely ineffective, but the performance still offers promising returns. The real tests, though, will come when the Gamecocks open SEC play. carolina VS. Kentucky
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SENIOR PROFILE
BY Chris Dearing
Senior defensive back T.J. Gurley pumps his fist after making a big third-quarter hit against Georgia on Sept. 13, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
SPUR HOMETOWN: Cairo, Georgia
T.J. GURLEY HEIGHT / WEIGHT:
5-10 / 199
EXPERIENCE:
3 VL
Gentleman Baller
But in between the white lines of the football field, Gurley unleashes a mean streak that’s earned him the reputation as one of the Gamecocks’ hardest hitA gentleman off the field, T.J. Gurley gets mean on it ters. He likes it that way just fine. “I’ve never really been one to shy away from contact,” Gurley s a reporter, you’re supposed to be impartial. But T.J. Gurley is one of those studentsays. “I think being physical is athletes that you can’t help but pull for. The South Carolina senior spur from Cairo, one of my best assets as a player.” Georgia, is always smiling in interview sessions. He delivers answers in a slow Co-defensive coordinator Southern drawl, preceding his responses with a “Yes, sir” or “No, sir” nearly every time. He Lorenzo Ward — who was known for playing at full speed seems laidback and honest, and not one bit coached up.
A
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carolina VS. Kentucky
then I have to zone read like a linebacker in Cover Two — hold off a seam and stuff like that. I have to know what the offense is doing and know where my key is on the field. I feel like it fits my skill set a lot because I can tackle and cover. It’s a good position for me.” Ward agrees that switching Gurley to the position, which requires a player to be physical enough to play close to the line but athletic enough to cover wide receivers, will pay dividends for both player and team. “He’s closer to the box,” says Ward, referring to the defensive area between the offensive tackles extending approximately seven yards deep in the defensive backfield. “He’ll be blitzing and be in position to tackle a lot more. T.J. is a safety who I think plays better when closer to the line of scrimmage.” Gurley’s aggressive play got him on the field as a true freshman in 2012. He was one of four true freshmen that played in the season opener, and he later made two starts. His first came against Missouri, when he had to replace a suspended D.J. Swearinger. His second came against Florida, during which he suffered a season-ending knee injury in punt coverage. “Yes, sir, that was tough to overcome,” says Gurley. “I had never really had a major injury like that, so I had to work hard in rehab and do everything I was supposed to do to get back on the field.” He played in all 13 games as a sophomore, making two starts against Georgia and Arkansas. He started strong, registering
20 tackles in the first two games of the season, but sputtered to a disappointing season, recorded just 10 more tackles over the final 11 contests. Gurley bounced back last season, when he was one of the highlights of a struggling defense. He was second on the team with 80 tackles, 49 of which were solo stops. He had at least five tackles in every regular season game, and picked his second career interception against East Carolina. Gurley has high hopes that the Gamecock defense will return to form during his senior season. “We’re staying humble and listening to the coaches,” Gurley says. “We have to play our technique this season and everything will be good. We’re just trying to be a great defense and go out and do what coach Hoke is telling us to do.” That this is Gurley’s final season hasn’t really dawned on him yet; he doesn’t think that will creep into his mind until his final home game. But at this point, he wouldn’t trade the journey for anything. He was around for two 11-win seasons and wants to erase the sour memory of the 2014 season. He thinks the defensive unit will make that happen. “We need to get back to playing our style of ball and we’ll be a lot better,” Gurley says. “We missed a lot of tackles last year and didn’t listen to what coach told us to do and we were doing our own thing. We have to get back to our roots. We’ll be fine.” Spoken like a true Southern gentleman.
AVG/G
Receiving
YDS
AVG/G
Senior defensive back T.J. Gurley intercepts a third-quarter pass intended for East Carolina’s Justin Hardy on Sept. 6, 2014. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
when he was a safety at Alabama — sees a little bit of himself in Gurley’s game. “He’s not scared of anything,” Ward says. “He will get in your face and lay the wood. It makes receivers think when they’re coming across the middle. That’s never a bad thing.” Gurley has manned the safety spot for three seasons, but new defensive co-coordinator Jon Hoke moved Gurley to the spur, a hybrid linebacker/safety
position. Gurley believes the move suits his skill set a little better, as he’s now closer to the line of scrimmage and can get more physical. “The switch has been better for me,” Gurley says. “It takes everything I do well and lets me help the overall defense better. We’ll be straight this year.” “I just have to read my keys,” he continues. “I have to be like a linebacker sometimes: I have to be a corner in Cover One, and
GAMECOCK Game STATs Passing GP QB RTG COMP-ATT-INT PCT
YDS
TD
Rushing
AVG
TD
Connor Mitch Pharoh Cooper Perry Orth Total
Brandon Wilds David Williams Connor Mitch Pharoh Cooper Shon Carson Perry Orth Total
1 1 1 1
102.5 50.0 200.8 117.77
GP 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
ATT 14 10 10 4 4 2 44
9-22-0 1-2-0 2-2-0 12-26-0
40.9 50.0 100.0 63.63
GAIN LOSS NET 51 42 47 20 75 7 242
0 0 3 0 0 0 3
51 42 44 20 75 7 239
September 9, 2015 | ISSUE no. 1
122 0 24 146
3.6 4.2 4.4 5.0 18.8 3.5 5.4
1 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 1 0 1
LG 27 0 15 27
LG 10 9 15 7 48 7 48
122.0 0.0 24.0 146.0
51.0 42.0 44.0 20.0 75.0 7.0 239.0
GP
NO.
Defense
GP
UA
A
TOT
TFL/YDS
Skai Moore Isaiah Johnson Chris Lammons Cedrick Cooper Jonathan Walton Jordan Diggs
1 1 1 1 1 1
4 4 4 3 2 1
6 1 1 2 2 3
10 5 5 5 4 4
0.0-0 0.0-0 0.0-0 1.0-1 0.0-0 0.0-0
Brandon Wilds Pharoh Cooper Terry Googer Jerell Adams Carlton Heard Total
1 1 1 1 1 1
4 3 2 2 1 12
AVG
44 45 39 18 -6 140
TD
11.0 15.0 19.5 9.0 -6.0 11.7
0 1 0 0 0 1
|
LG
AVG/G
20 27 22 16 -6.0 27
44.0 45.0 39.0 18.0 -6.0 140.0
freetimes
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OPINION
BY james harley
The Gamecocks enter to “2001” before the Kentucky game Oct. 5, 2013. Photo by Travis Bell / Sideline Carolina
Kentucky Nightmare A loss to Kentucky? Carolina’s been there. Will they go there again?
O
h, wouldn’t it be nice to return to those days when one could assume an automatic victory over Kentucky? Well, the past is past, no matter how not too distant it is, thanks to last year’s unexpected letdown. Though to be honest, the new sense of skepticism applies more to the season as a whole than to the single game against the Wildcats. In other words, as bad as things may get, the Kentucky game actually still provides a beacon of hope for Gamecock fans who crave any sign of returning to those 11-win glory days. At the same time, there is optimism among the Kentucky faithful that third-year coach Mark Stoops is building a program that will finally change the fairly entrenched perception of the Wildcats as just another SEC bottom-feeder. In two
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years, Stoops has lifted this team from consecutive 2-10 seasons in 2012 and 2013 to a 5-7 record last year, the closest Kentucky’s come to a winning season since 2009. Stoops is optimistic about the future as well, fueled by the three top-40 recruiting classes he’s landed during his short tenure. Still, preseason oddsmakers see Carolina as the better team, favoring the Gamecocks by a touchdown at home. That’s a fairly safe call, given that the last two meetings have each been won by a score (each team’s won once) and that Kentucky has never won a night game at Williams-Brice Stadium. But even with Carolina predicted to win, Kentucky’s rise is cause for concern. And while vengeance for last year’s loss should motivate the Gamecocks, there are some on-field matchups that need special attention in order to secure a victory. Kentucky’s primary advantage is clearly at quarterback. While
South Carolina could still be testing multiple inexperienced signal-callers, the Wildcats return junior Patrick Towles, the SEC’s fifth leading passer in 2014. Highly productive, Towles threw for 2,718 yards last season, and he completed 70 percent of his passes in the win over Carolina. While Towles lost key receivers in Demarco Robinson and Javess Blue, leading wideout Ryan Timmons returns, as do experienced sophomores Dorian Baker, Blake Bone and Garrett Johnson. Like Carolina’s, Kentucky’s receivers are young, but the overall experience level in terms of playing time and production is substantially higher on the Wildcats’ side. Kentucky’s offensive advantage may also extend to the running back position. Leading rusher Stanley “Boom” Williams returns along with Jojo Kemp, who ran for three touchdowns in last year’s game, including two in the fourth quarter to bring Kentucky back from a 14-point deficit, and still haunts Carolina fans’ dreams. Indeed, the strength of Kentucky is its offense, which improved its per-game scoring average from
21 points in 2013 to 29 points last season and which is expected to continue to improve. On the surface, this may seem especially problematic given that Carolina has been lambasted for its poor defense. But as disappointing as last year’s loss was, much of the blame for it must go to the offense, which turned the ball over in several key instances — virtually handing the game to Kentucky when it was on the line. So what gives Carolina the advantage this time around? Other than having the home field, it’s a holistic thing where we have to hope that this year’s team is simply bigger, faster and less prone to fourth-quarter miscues than last year’s. Most agree that it wasn’t so much Kentucky’s strengths as Carolina’s weakness that downed the Gamecocks. The idea that the Wildcats’ win was a fluke is reinforced by the fact that Kentucky went on to lose its final six games. Hopefully, that’s true. If it is, we should expect to see a double-digit victory for the Gamecocks. If it’s not? Then we can expect a long and painful season. Gamecocks 41, Wildcats 27. carolina VS. Kentucky
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NEW ISSUE
SEPTEMBER 23 COVERING THE
UCF/USC GAME Call your ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE for INFORMATION
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TALES FROM THE TAILGATE
O
ne block down the street from Bank of America Stadium, there’s a little place called The Dog House. It has beer, liquor and televisions — and for the first game of the 2015 football season, many North and South Carolina college football fans, discour-
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aged by high ticket prices, found it a good spot to root for their teams. Ticket prices ranged from $70 to $258 — “Super Bowl prices,” Steve Spurrier quipped. And even though many Tar Heel and Gamecock fans had wished they were on the inside of the
stadium, watching your team just outside the venue in a local watering hole is like none another. By the first quarter, you’ve shared a few high fives and hugs, and by the second quarter you can even remember some new names. By the third quarter, people
words & Photos BY Sean Rayford
are trying to bribe you with booze, thinking your presence is a good-luck charm. And by the fourth quarter, you’ve got 30 or 40 new best friends. It isn’t the same as being inside the stadium for the battle of the Carolinas, but that’s the beauty of it.
carolina VS. Kentucky
OUR DELICIOUS MENU ITEMS ARE MADE FROM SCRATCH DAILY
HERE’S A TASTE...
4 Corners Salad
Sliced & chilled grilled chicken w/ spring mix and romaine, avocado, roasted red and yellow peppers, corn, tomatoes, goat cheese, green onions, dates and croutons tossed together w/ our signature herb vinaigrette.
Award Winning Grilled Shrimp & Grits Grilled over hickory with choice of original, lemon pepper, or blackened seasoning presented over “Certified South Carolina” stone milled pepper jack grits.
NOW OPE N! THE V ILL AGE AT SA N DHILL 150 Forum Dr • (803) 865-1001 w w w. j p 4 c o r n e r s . c o m
Wood Fired Baby Back Ribs
Slow cooked then grilled over hickory. Basted w/ our signature BBQ sauce.
FREE APPETIZER with purchase of Entree Expires 9.30.15 | Limit One Per Table
We Support Our Troops! 10% Discount for Retired and Active Military September 9, 2015 | ISSUE no. 1
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go gamecocks! ken tuc ky
Do you need assistance with a legal matter? Handling a legal matter on your own may lead to an undesirable outcome. Before handling a DUI, criminal charge, personal injury or civil matter on your own, let attorney Marion M. Moses consult with you to explain your rights.
Former state prosecutor, over 14 years experience practicing law.
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carolina VS. Kentucky