Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks Preview and Pick

Opening Line: Gators -14.5 / Gamecocks +14.5 O/U TBA
3:30 PM EST Saturday November 14, 2009 on CBS

by Marasoft.com Staff

The Gators will play in the SEC Championship game against Alabama, but they may have to head into that game undefeated or they will not play in the BCS title game. The Gamecocks are already bowl-eligible, but they can really improve their bowl positioning with a huge upset win at home over the top-ranked Gators. The Gamecocks have a solid passing offense and they have to find out a way to score on Florida and their 2nd ranked defense that is only allowing an average of 232 yards per game.

The Gators are led by QB Tim Tebow (1,531 yds 11 TD 4 TD) and his main targets are TE Aaron Hernandez (43 rec 541 yds 2 TD) and WR Riley Cooper (32 rec 481 yds 5 TD). The Gators' rushing attack is led by QB Tebow (578 yds 9 TD) and RB Jeffery Demps (545 yds 6 TD), who is injured and his carries may be limited in this game. The Gamecocks are led by QB Stephen Garcia (2,421 yds 13 TD 6 INT) and his main targets are Alshon Jeffery (33 rec 613 yds 6 TD) and Moe Brown (29 rec 433 yds 3 TD). The Gamecocks' rushing attack is led by solid freshman Kenny Miles (488 yds 1 TD).

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The Gators are all about Tebow, who leads them in passing and rushing yards. However, he is only averaging 3.7 rushing yards per carry so the Gamecocks have to put pressure on him up front and not let him pick up big yards on the ground. The Gamecocks have the nation's 19th ranked defense, but they are much better at containing the pass than the run since their run defense only ranks 64th in the nation. That is not good since the Gators rank 8th in the nation in rushing yards. If the Gamecocks give up a lot of yards on the ground they have no chance to win this game, as the Gators will eat up the clock and keep the solid passing offense of USC on the sidelines.

The Gamecocks are all about the pass on offense, as they rank 34th in the nation is passing yards per game, but only 91st in rushing yards per game. Garcia has to have a good game and not turn the ball over for USC to have a chance at the upset. Florida also has the 2nd ranked passing defense in the nation and they have 15 interceptions. The Gators have 23 sacks this season and the Gamecocks have allowed 27 sacks this season, which only ranks 100th in the nation. The USC offensive line has to step it up in this game and give Garcia protection allowing him time to find his targets.

The Gamecocks may be the last real obstacle standing between the Gators and an undefeated regular season, as they are the last team Florida plays that currently has a record above .500. USC will have to play solid D and air it out often in this game, as they may have to get into a shootout to have any chance at a W.

The Marasoft Pick: Gamecocks +17.5