Everything you need to know before South Carolina faces Jacksonville State

South Carolina begins a vital final month of the regular season with four straight home games. It will start this stretch with a matchup against Jacksonville State on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (2-6, 1-5 SEC) haven’t had a great year. But winning this weekend could start to shift the tide.

Before kickoff (Noon, ESPNU), here’s what you need to know about the Gamecocks (Yes, Jacksonville State’s mascot is also a Gamecock).

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How they got here

Despite this being Jacksonville State’s first season at the FBS level, it has proven to go toe-to-toe with teams, even when it was an FCS school. The Gamecocks beat Florida State in 2021 and took Auburn to overtime in 2015.

It’s not really relevant to now but this team has been solid this year. The Gamecocks are 7-2 (5-1 CUSA) with its only losses coming versus Coastal Carolina and Liberty.

Jacksonville State is coached by Rich Rodriguez, who has been a head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona. He’s 16-4 since joining the Gamecocks last year.

Where they sit in the rankings

The Gamecocks are not ranked in the AP poll or College Football Playoff rankings right now. It’s notably harder for Group of Five teams to get ranked.

In the College Football Power Index (FPI), Jacksonville State is ranked 94th with a -5.6 FPI. For comparison, South Carolina comes in at No. 43 with a 4.7 FPI.

In the SP+ rankings, the Gamecocks check in at No. 91.

Jacksonville State is ranked 90th in the Massey Ratings. It ranks No. 109 in offense and No. 91 in defense. However, it has the fourth-worst strength of schedule, coming in at No. 130.

ESPN gives South Carolina an 80.1 percent chance to win on Saturday. Jacksonville State is a 15.5-point underdog, despite having a better record this year.

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Players to know

Look for this Gamecock squad to run the football in heavy doses. Just last week, they ran it 55 times for 265 yards and four touchdowns against FIU.

The big names to keep an eye on are Malik Jackson and Zion Webb. Jackson is Jacksonville State’s main running back, rushing for 615 yards and four touchdowns on 113 carries. Webb is the team’s starting quarterback and has ran the ball 82 times for 460 yards and four touchdowns.

However, just because Webb is the starter doesn’t mean Rodriguez will go with someone else under center. Logan Smothers, another quarterback on the roster, has rushed for 255 yards and six touchdowns this year.

There’s also some big names to watch for on the defense. In the secondary, there’s Jeremiah Harris, who has the best PFF ranking amongst the defense. He’s made 43 tackles, had two pass deflections and an interception.

The Gamecocks’ leading tackler is linebacker Quae Drake, who has 63 so far this year, with two pass deflections and an interception.

One of the big things will be who wins the battle down in the trenches. And Jacksonville State has some defensive linemen who can be disruptive. Chris Hardie and Jaylen Swain have combined for 8.5 sacks and 70 tackles.

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Path to victory

On paper, South Carolina should win this game. It’s a heavy favorite for a reason, despite not having a great year.

These last four games have been tough, but if there’s a good time to get it going, this has to be the game to do so.

Jacksonville State will bring its best and make it tough for South Carolina to come away with a win. It’s clear that it will run the ball at a high rate and make some plays defensively.

The key will be to bring pressure just like it did last week against Texas A&M. Outside of one bad quarter, South Carolina played fairly well by not allowing a touchdown for three quarters. Clayton White’s group brought a lot of pressure and had some big plays. Can they do it again against arguably a weaker foe?

Offensively, South Carolina needs to get back on track. Spencer Rattler is too good to have as mediocre of a game as he did last time out. When this team plays at home, they are significantly better, averaging 41 points a game this year.

It’s pretty simple. Rattler needs to play better, the offensive line needs to block well and the run game needs to keep it up with Mario Anderson and Dakereon Joyner leading the way.

And then on special teams, things need to improve quickly. This hasn’t been the best year for Pete Lembo and co. so far. But expect there to be some trickery during these next few weeks to create a spark.

But the biggest thing is to take things one game a time. Obviously, the players and coaches know the deal. One more loss and there won’t be a bowl game this year. So it’s smarter to look at the smaller picture and just try to win one week at a time.

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