Quarles, Williams ruled out for Saturday’s game
Normally when an FCS opponent comes in to play an FBS team, it鈥檚 a warm-up act for a bigger game down the road. But Coastal Carolina shouldn鈥檛 be much of one.
The Chanticleers that are coming into Williams-Brice Stadium this weekend are 10-1 on the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 and are No. 7 in the most recent FCS coaches poll.
The most impressive thing about Coastal Carolina this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 has been its offense. The Chanticleers are averaging 45.5 points per game and more than 512 yards of total offense per game, with a shade under 284 of those coming on the ground.
Throw in the fact that the Gamecocks have struggled with FCS teams the last couple years, and you have the recipe for an upset.
鈥淔rom the standpoint of the secondary, it really doesn鈥檛 matter if they鈥檙e 1-AA,鈥� secondary coach Grady Brown said. 鈥淲ith skill guys, if you鈥檙e good, you鈥檙e good. That doesn鈥檛 change very much, so that will be a good challenge for us this week.鈥�
Even more challenging for the Gamecocks is that they will be without defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles, safety Brison Williams and possibly defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
Quarles has had a recurring headache throughout the week, causing him to miss practice.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a bad habit of hitting people with my helmet and leading with my head,鈥� Quarles said.
Williams has a bruised forearm, and Clowney is dealing with the same foot problems that he has had all 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 long. The junior practiced on Wednesday, but was sore again on Thursday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to bother him the rest of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒,鈥� defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said. 鈥淚鈥檝e got to do a good job of resting him. We鈥檙e going into the 11th game of the 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒. If he doesn鈥檛 know what we鈥檙e doing on defense now, he (will) never know.鈥�
With a depleted defense, South Carolina has to face off against Coastal Carolina receiver Matt Hazel, who coach Steve Spurrier said could play for any team in the SEC. The senior has hauled in 49 passes this year for 734 yards and six touchdowns.
Coastal Carolina senior wide receiver DeMario Bennett spent two 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒s with the Gamecocks before transferring to the Chanticleers. This 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒, Bennett has 570 receiving yards and four touchdowns and is no doubt ready for a shot at his old team.
鈥淚 know he鈥檚 going to be excited to come back and play in this stadium,鈥� said redshirt junior defensive back Victor Hampton, who was around when Bennett was still with South Carolina. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he ever got a chance to play (a lot) on this field, so I鈥檓 sure he is going to be ready to make some plays out there. So I鈥檓 going to come ready. I鈥檓 not going to take him lightly.鈥�
While Coastal has two good receivers it can rely on, it also has a tailback who could also play for any team in the SEC. Running back Lorenzo Taliaferro is a 6-foot-2, 230-pound bruiser who has averaged over 133 yards per game this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 and has racked up 23 rushing touchdowns in 11 games.
The good mix of running and passing the Chanticleers have going for them this 麻豆小蝌蚪传媒 has been the biggest reason they have the record they have.
鈥淲e are going to have to tough it up and stop the run, like we did the second half of last game and get them off the field,鈥� Spurrier said. 鈥淭hey stay out there a bit (and) they are very good on third downs, because they have a lot of third-and-ones and third-and-twos. We鈥檝e got to come ready to play.鈥�