While the Gamecock offense has been a slowly descending Hindenburg of a unit, their defense has continued to put out respectable numbers and performances this season, even if they aren’t quite the top-ten unit they were a year ago.
Clayton White returns for his 5th straight season as the defensive coordinator, so at this point, you generally know the scheme: it’s a multiple front, 1-gap defense that goes with a whole lot of man coverage with plenty of blitzing, and there’s a big focus on getting the edge rushers into 1v1 matchups with offensive tackles and letting them do their thing.
It’s routinely been a fast, aggressive, and physical unit under White, and that remains the case this year. They’ve got 36 tackles for loss and 15 sacks, plus 12 takeaways, but they’re also giving up 150 rush yards per game and have had some issues with busting some explosive pass plays. Essentially, they’re an extremely dangerous group, but can get bitten by over-aggression at times.
The defensive front for the Gamecocks features edge rusher Dylan Stewart, a 5-star freshman All-American last season who’s now having to step up to the be team’s featured star player. He’s been good, and has crazy talent, but thus far only has 3.5 sacks and leads the team with 9 TFLs. Good numbers, for sure, but not quite the gamewrecking numbers that many were projecting he’d have. Still, a 6’6” edge rusher with blinding quickness makes him a force to be reckoned with, and he’s still right in the discussion for being a top-ten NFL pick in two seasons.
He’s flanked by DE Bryan Thomas Jr, who’s had plenty of playing time for USC the last few years but now finally has a full time role. Thomas leads the team with 4 sacks, rushing from the opposite end of Stewart.
Up the middle, nose tackle Nick Barrett has pulled off a couple of sacks, and Alabama fans will recognize Monkell Goodwine as a full time player.
The linebacker trio of Shawn Murphy, Justin Okoronkwo, and Fred Johnson are all getting their first shot at full-time playing roles, and Alabama fans will recognize both of the first two guys as former Tide backups. Okoronkwo in particular was a guy who excelled on special teams last season and likely would have been in the rotation this season had he stayed.
In the secondary, Jalon Kilgore returns for his third straight season as the nickel and has 157 tackles to his name as one of the top run-support defensive backs in the nation. He was getting quite a bit of buzz this offseason as a possible first round pick next year, though South Carolina’s general malaise this season has seen pretty much all of their players lose some of their shine.
I really worry about Alabama’s tackles vs USC’s edge rushers in this one. The Tide’s pass blocking has been mostly excellent lately, but this is the kind of defense that can give Alabama’s larger tackles fits. On the other hand, the inexperience in the second level and spotty open field tackling from the Gamecocks could lead to the Tide getting more explosive plays than we’ve seen lately. I think this game breaks Alabama’s trend this season of long, clock-eating drives, and the Tide has a few more ruined drives than normal, but also scores on some big plays with more overall possessions than we’ve seen lately.
I like something like 33 points for the Alabama offense in what feels like a frustrating day, but winds up with the Tide scoring just a little more than normal.
