South Carolina plays the same brand of smash-mouth football that Florida has begun to master.
Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, the man who brought the “Fun ‘n’ Gun” offense to the Southeastern Conference, has adjusted his system to suit his players.
South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore leads the SEC in rushing attempts with 129 carries for 584 yards. The Gators’ Mike Gillislee is second with 120 carries. He is also second in rushing yards with 615.
UF’s Jeff Driskel and USC’s Connor Shaw average just 18.5 and 18 pass attempts per game, respectively. They rank last and next to last in the SEC.
“We don’t throw more than 20-25 passes a game and try to run the ball and play super defense and excellent special teams,” Spurrier said. “I would think both teams are trying to do that.”
Athletic linebackers, a ball-hawking secondary and increased depth have Florida’s defense ranked 13th in the nation.
South Carolina ranks No. 12.
Since these two teams are so similar, facing each other in practice might be the best preparation for the Gators.
“We practice against our defense every day, so I feel like they’re going to have a good game because of that,” right guard Jon Halapio said. “[The defense is] pretty much used to a mobile quarterback and a good running back.”
Perhaps the only difference between these two is each team’s performance against LSU. The Gators wore down the Tigers with 176 rushing yards and 25-straight runs to close out a 14-6 home victory on Oct. 6.
South Carolina didn’t fare as well during their visit to Baton Rouge, La., last week. LSU pestered Shaw all night and gained 258 rushing yards.
Florida’s performance against LSU gives the Gators confidence going into Saturday’s matchup.
“I feel like we can do that against anybody, really,” Halapio said. “Just the way we practice. Just the way our mentality is this year. We’re just really relentless, especially up front. Yeah, pretty much, we can wear down anybody. I feel pretty strong about that.”
Florida has dropped its past two games in the series with South Carolina, adding motivation to its attempt to beat the Gamecocks at their own game.
Florida squandered a chance at an SEC title game appearance in 2010, when these two teams last faced each other in Gainesville.
Senior safety Josh Evans called losing that game a feeling he’ll never forget.
“It’s definitely revenge, man,” he said. “You also want to go out there and just to get this win. It would mean a lot to this team and definitely the roll we’re on this year.”
A win on Saturday puts the Gators two games up in the SEC Eastern Division. For the Gamecocks, a win keeps them in national title contention and continues their recent success against Florida.
“We realize it’s an extremely important game down there in The Swamp,” Spurrier said. “Hopefully, our guys will be ready to play their best one of the year.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
