Pre South Carolina (Week 5, 2013)

                The offense made its statement at Penn State against their defense, most notably the offensive line. Despite losing starting left tackle Torrian Wilson to a knee injury against FIU, the reshuffled O-line demonstrated their flexibility, containing the Penn State D-line from getting a sack on Blake Bortles and allowing Storm Johnson to run for 117 yards, including a 58 yard rushing TD. With Wilson returning, we hope to see more of the same from our replenished O-line against an even bigger test, Jadeveon Clowney and the Gamecocks’ defensive line. A point to note however, Clowney is playing injured with bone spikes. While that does not mean he’s no longer a threat; we can hope his injury slows him down enough for our blocking scheme to be able to contain him. Expect extensive use of tight ends and fullbacks to help contain the pass rush to keep Blake clean long enough to move the ball down the field. South Carolina’s secondary will have their hands full keeping our multitude of receivers in check, we have an even matchup in that regard. It’ll be paramount that our offense is able to maintain some sort of rhythm, ideally scoring early to get momentum on our side and not give up an early lead to the Gamecocks. If history shows us anything, it shows that UCF, at least its offense, is not geared for a come from behind game. If the offense is able to answer the other team when they score on us, we should be able to stay in this game.

Both teams have an explosive and productive pass offense so expect the secondary to have their work cut out for them on both sides. Gamecock QB Connor Shaw has demonstrated tremendous football IQ, making smart decisions with the ball and not forcing throws en route to throwing 7 TDs and more importantly 0 INTs this season. If the pass rush fails to get to Shaw, he will find the holes in our secondary in no time. UCF’s pass rush has been lackluster thus far this season and look to improve each week. At the same time, the D-line has to be careful not to over pursue and give Connor Shaw an opportunity to show off his 4.64 40-time and scramble for large gains. The South Carolina rushing game  We’re without starter Willie Mitchell at the outside linebacker spot so our linebackers may have their hands full containing the Gamecock rushing offense featuring 3 players who have rushed for over 100 yards on the season.

                In this matchup, look for the defense to try to limit the big plays made in the air. As I see it, our best shot at winning this game is to contain the production of the passing attack and the quick strikes and force South Carolina to run the ball, coming at our strong linebacker corps and preventing quick drives. The early game will be vital; history shows that UCF has never had much of a come-from-behind offense. If we allow South Carolina to gain an early lead, it’ll be a tough fight to regain momentum against the SEC athletes we’re lining up against. Special Teams will be a factor in this game, any mistakes on either side in special teams could be a game changer. If every facet of the team works as they should, we should easily be able to stay in this game and upset the favored Gamecocks.