10-3 (7-1), 1st Conference USA - West
vs
7-5 (3-5), 5th Southeastern - East
For the South Carolina Gamecocks it is a season of what ifs. Don't get me wrong, they had a good season but their losses to Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, and Tennessee were all of a touchdown or less. The Gamecocks did beat Clemson in the final game of the season in a 31-28 back and forth game.
At this moment the Quarterback is Blake Mitchell. Mitchell was 2nd string for part of the season because of a bar fight he got in during the season. In his 7 games, Mitchell has thrown for 1466 yards and 6 touchdowns. Syvelle Newton also played quarterback but has now moved to defense to help out the Gamecocks there. Sidney Rice is the best athlete on the team and the leading receiver with 951 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns. He presents a matchup problem for even the best cornerbacks in the country. In the backfield Cory Boyd is the leading rusher with over 700 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Houston has won most of its games by an overwhelming offense. The Cougars average almost 440 yards of offense and rely mainly on the arm of their quarterback Kevin Kolb. In 13 games this year Kolb has thrown for 3423 yards with 27 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Those are amazing numbers for a guy that throws as much as he does. He has three receivers that have over 600 yards in Donnie Avery, Vincent Marshall, and Jeron Harvey.
Just when you think Houston only does it through the air Anthony Alridge and Jackie Battle enter the picture. Alridge leads the team in rushing yards with 904 yards while Battle leads the team in rushing touchdowns with 13.
The Houston Cougars are a statistical dream but I think they used their weaker schedule to build up such numbers. They have a victory over Oklahoma State, but when they played a team with talent all around the ball as they did in Miami, they were held to only 13 points. I tend to go with the tested team in this case. I think the Ole Ball Coach will have his team focused and prepared to play. Blake Mitchell will use this game as a springboard into next season and Sidney Rice will have a big game catching the ball.
South Carolina 27-17
Brian -
South Carolina
Husker Mike -
South Carolina
Ron -
South Carolina
Mountain Lair -
South Carolina
Mr. Cornnation -
South Carolina
Brian from CFR-
South Carolina
Charlie -
South Carolina
Chris -
Otto -
South Carolina
Mrs. Cornnation -
South Carolina
