Ask the Expert: A closer look at the South Carolina defense
South Carolina's defense might not have great depth across the board but they could present the most difficult challenge yet for Kentucky's offense. That's worth mentioning because of the way the Cats' offense has struggled so far in 2017.
Last year's game between Kentucky and South Carolina was a defensive struggle in Lexington. This year both teams have a different look.
The Gamecocks are surrendering 20.5 points per game through two contests against NC State and Missouri. Those number, their average points allowed, is the most important defensive stat to track. And it's an acceptable number given the offenses they have faced.
"It was two different challenges for them defensively facing off against State and then Missouri," GamecockCentral.com's Chris Clark told Cats Illustrated this week. "Against State you think of the run game. They have the shorter pass game. They don’t push the ball down the field a ton but they can confuse you. They’ll shift around. They’ll use a lot of different motions and formations and they’ll run a lot of the same or similar base plays out of different looks.
"But against State they gave up some yardage but they made enough plays to win the game. Missouri was an even better performance because that presents a challenge playing them in space. They go so fast at the snap. I think they’re the fastest team in the country in terms of tempo and time between fast. They go extremely fast and Drew Lock’s a talented guy. They were able to create three turnovers overall against Missouri including a couple of interceptions off Lock, and they didn’t turn the ball over themselves any, which is going to help you tremendously."
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Kentucky probably has more in common with NC State, offensively, than with Missouri. But the Gamecocks have already faced two very different tests.
Last year's South Carolina defense was opportunistic just as this year's bunch has been. But Clark said last year's defense struggled to get off blocks to slow down opposing run games. They also surrendered too many explosive plays in the passing game.
Through two games "those things look better," Clark added.
"I still don’t think this is a group that’s going to ascend to the top of the conference rankings but in terms of eyeball test they’re better," Clark said. "They had some guys who contributed early last year as true freshmen who’ve stepped up. They’re bigger, they’re stronger. They are playing blocks better as a whole. They are able to create some pass rush in certain situations. I think they’ll continue to develop some guys. Depth is still a concern."
There's not much experience behind the starters anywhere on the back seven and depth is still a concern almost across the board on defense.
But the Gamecock defense is holding its own so far. And while the numbers have been pretty good, Clark said most of the numbers don't matter nearly as much as some fans might think.
"Will Muschamp is obviously a really good defensive coach. He knows what he’s doing," Clark said. "He’s been a part of some really talented, some really good defenses. He’s going to play the thing strategically. People may look and say, ‘Well Missouri rushed for this many yards per carry, they had this many passing yards.’ And they don’t really care about any of that. They care about the scoreboard that shows 13 points. And sort of the strategy there was, ‘Don’t let anything go over your head.’ They did let one long pass go to the tight end, which was a bust in coverage, but other than that they forced Missouri into mistakes and played really good red zone defense."
Could the Gamecocks have a different defensive recipe against Kentucky, a team that might be more suited on paper to grind it out than Missouri, but less prepared to make explosive plays?
We'll find out Saturday night.
