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Auburn Football: vs South Carolina Game Day Prediction

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Sep 27, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers receiver Quan Bray (4) returns a punt for a touchdown during the second half against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been two weeks since the 5-0 Auburn Tigers became the 5-1 Auburn Tigers. The trip to Starkville did not go as planned, and the Auburn football team has had to wait 14 days to have a shot at redemption. With South Carolina coming to town as a 19-point underdog, redemption should come around 10PM Central tonight for the Tigers.

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The Gamecocks are 4-3 overall and just 2-3 against SEC opponents. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way for Steve Spurrier’s crew. In fact, Carolina was expected by many to be undefeated at this point. Instead, three upsets – the season opener, a 52-28 blowout at the hands of Texas A&M, a 21-20 home loss to Missouri and a 45-38 loss in Lexington to the upstart Kentucky Wildcats – have derailed all the pre-season SEC championship and national title hopes fans had pre-season.

Two big reasons South Carolina has lost three games are substandard play on defense and lackluster special teams. The Gamecocks have allowed 31.4 points and 421.3 yards of offense on average in the first seven games of the season. They’ve also allowed big yardage on kick returns and have struggled in the return game themselves.

Combined, the defensive woes have been too much to overcome for a talented offense that has scored more than 35 points on average and accumulated 450.9 yards per game behind big-time running back Mike Davis, fifth-year senior quarterback Dylan Thompson, a talented group of receivers, and one of the best offensive lines in the SEC.

However, despite their shortcomings so far, South Carolina is capable of beating anyone. Remember, they defeated 6-1 Georgia 38-35 early this season. But, can they score an upset win over Auburn?

The Tigers, now ranked No. 5 in the nation, still have a dynamic offense. Through the first six games of 2014, Auburn has averaged 38.8 points per game and 487.8 yards of total offense, both of which rank in the top 25 nationally. And, believe it or not, the Tigers have scored more and gained more yardage through the first half this year than they did in 2013.

But Auburn can be better. It’s time for Nick Marshall to hit the second half stride he used in 2013 to propel the Tigers to the SEC Championship and a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

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    • Marshall should have a good game both on the ground and through the air, and he should be able to put up more than the 242.7 all-purpose yards per game the senior quarterback has gained so far this season. Marshall will distribute the football to Duke Williams, Sammie Coates, Quan Bray and a collection of speedy and physical receivers that should excel against a young and overmatched Gamecocks secondary.

    Cameron Artis-Payne has averaged 110.7 rushing yards per game this year, but we might see more of true freshman Roc Thomas moving forward. Of course, fans shouldn’t forget about lightning fast senior Corey Grant, either. With Artis-Payne, Thomas, Grant and Marshall carrying the football, the Tigers should put up big yards on the ground as well.

    Most importantly, however, and the biggest difference in the two teams, is the Auburn defense. The Tigers have held opponents to only 333.7 total yards and 120.7 rushing yards per game, which is a good sign facing the Gamecocks. Expect the Auburn defense to continue to create turnovers, and for the offense to capitalize better than they did two weeks ago.

    Auburn 38, South Carolina 28

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