The South Carolina Gamecocks will look to get back in the win column this Saturday, as the travel out west to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Coming off a blowout loss to arch-rival Texas last weekend, the Sooners will also be looking to rebound and salvage a quickly fading season.
This weekend will mark the first time the two teams have crossed paths in their long histories. The Sooners do boast one of the richest pedigrees in college football but have recently fallen short of their lofty standards. With third-year head coach Brent Venables looking to get things back on track, the Gamecocks are sure to be in for another tough road test.
Can head coach Shane Beamer and Carolina get it together, or will the Sooners hand them their third straight loss? Let’s find out, as we dive into this week’s South Carolina Gamecocks game preview.
Gamecocks Travel to Take on The Sooners
Rough Season in Norman
The Sooners’ inaugural season in the SEC has been rocky, to say the least thus far. After winning their first three games of the season, they have proceeded to drop two of their last three. The Sooners could have easily been sitting on a three-game skid, if not for Auburn’s fourth-quarter collapse.
Now, with his team entering the week unranked for the first time in almost two seasons Venables will have to rally his players in order to avoid a third loss. Venables touched on his team’s struggles during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Looking at our body of work on the season where we’re at we’re not playing winning football on offense,” Venables said. “We’re giving ourselves a chance to win on special teams and playing good on defense. Looking where we are falling short on offense, and there’s a lot of different areas.”
Oklahoma struggling on offense sounds almost nonsensical given their long history of high-scoring seasons. Ever since Lincoln Riley left for Oklahoma however, this has sadly become the norm. Injuries and their star quarterback being benched have compounded these issues, leaving the Sooners scrambling for answers.
Oklahoma Offense in Shambles
Coming into the season, many Sooners fans were expecting this year to be the one where they begin to put everything together under Venables. Former five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold would be taking over for the departing Dillion Gabriel, and the wide receiver room was loaded with talent.
Fast forward to where we are now, and Arnold has been benched while Oklahoma’s top-five pass catchers are all out with injury. Now, the Sooners are relying on redshirt freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. to lead the offense. Coming off a win in his first start against Auburn, Hawkins struggled against an elite Longhorns defense last week. Despite these struggles though, Beamer isn’t overlooking the talented underclassmen.
“You watch with Michael, the new quarterback, he is able to make throws,” Beamer said. “Obviously, he brings an athletic element to the position being able to run, as well. It is a challenge when you face a running quarterback that can improvise and get out of the pocket and make plays.”
Hawkins does have the potential to make plays, but the lack of talent around him is a lot to overcome. The Sooners’ injury woes at receiver combined with their utter lack of a run game should be manageable for a talented Carolina defense. The Sooners defense is where the real threat lies for the Gamecocks.
New Age Oklahoma Defense
While the offense has taken a step back since Riley’s departure, the defense has taken several forward. Under the tutelage of Venables, the Sooners have made larger improvements defensively every year. This season has been no different, as Oklahoma boasts one of the top units in the country.
Before last week’s blowout against Texas, the Sooners were allowing just 16 points a game on average. Oklahoma also excels at sacking the quarterback and forcing turnovers as they currently rank top ten in both metrics. Beamer touched on the Sooners’ opportunistic nature when it comes to creating turnovers, and the danger that poses.
“The have a fantastic defense,” Beamer said. “Very opportunistic. I think they are number seven in the country in takeaways defensively. They do a great job of flying around and creating turnovers. They have really talented guys at all three levels of their defense.”
Turnovers have been a thorn in Carolina’s side the past few weeks, so the Sooners represent a real problem in this area. Protecting the ball will be priority number one for LaNorris Sellers and company come Saturday.
Injury Update for Carolina
The Gamecocks are also dealing with some injury issues of their own heading into Saturday. Wide receiver Jared Brown and defense tackle Deandre Jules are both expected to miss their second consecutive game this week, as they recover from undisclosed injuries.
Beamer also gave an update on veteran offensive lineman Jakai Moore, who is still recovering from an undisclosed injury he suffered in fall camp. While there was some hope we would see Moore in the back half of the season, Beamer said on Tuesday it is “unlikely” as of now that we see the sixth-year senior in action this fall.
In more positive news, starting right tackle Cason Henry was listed as probable on Wednesday’s availability report. Henry was knocked out early against Alabama last Saturday and is currently listed as a co-starter alongside Jatavius Shivers.
Final Thoughts
This game truly feels like a “must-win” for both teams. Carolina needs this win in order to salvage what could still be a promising season, while Oklahoma is looking to avoid a total collapse. Both sides are desperate, which means they’ll both be giving everything they have.
The key to Carolina winning will be protecting the ball. The defense should have little problem containing a depleted Sooners offense, but if Sellers and the rest of the offense gift Oklahoma extra possessions then things are liable to get ugly. A clean game from the offense is essential, and if the Gamecocks can manage that then they should leave Norman with the victory.
