Staff picks: South Carolina-Florida, Week 11 highlights

South Carolina heads on the road trying to win three straight SEC road games for the first time in over a decade.

The Gamecocks kickoff at Florida Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., SEC Network) trying to win consecutive games against the Gators since 2010 and 2011.

Here’s how the GamecockCentral staff sees this game going, along with a few other highlights in Week 11.

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Chris Clark: Anthony Richardson’s running prowess and ability to create plays may prove to make a significant difference in this game, The Gamecocks may not be able to keep pace from a points perspective on the road in Gainesville. Florida 34, South Carolina 24.

Terry Ford: Carolina’s issues stopping the run will lead to a close loss in Gainesville. Florida 34, South Carolina 30.

Pearson Fowler: Carolina’s struggling run defense is facing too tall a task with one of the most dynamic rushing attacks in the SEC. Carolina should be able to score some points against a porous offense, but with Marshawn Lloyd not 100 percent, Carolina will struggle to sustain drives and the tough yards will tilt Florida’s way in the second half. Florida 41, South Carolina 27.

Joe Macheca: Florida 42, South Carolina 35.

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Wes Mitchell: With some of Florida’s defensive struggles, there is an opportunity for South Carolina’s offense to carry over its momentum from the Vanderbilt game and put up some points in this one. But Anthony Richardson and the Gators’ running game is scary considering how easily Missouri and Vanderbilt were able to get to the edges against Carolina. I think the Gamecocks will need to score into the 30s and steal a possession or two to win it. Florida 35, South Carolina 27

Jay Phillips: This game has been tough to gauge all week. Both teams want to run, and do. Both teams want to throw, and don’t do so with great success. Both teams have issues and strengths on defense. Turnovers and special teams become important. Say all that and UF is still an eight-point favorite. Call me crazy but I’ll go Carolina. South Carolina 37, Florida 34.

Michael Sauls: This game is going down to the wire. The Gamecocks finally got their offense moving last week but so did Florida. These are two teams that are hungry to prove themselves and I think South Carolina will fall behind late but a big play from Pete Lembo’s special teams will set up a win at the last second for the Gamecocks. South Carolina 28, Florida 24.

Kendall Smith: This game is a mystery to me, because while South Carolina’s offense could match up well with Florida’s defense, South Carolina’s defense could struggle against Florida’s offense. I think it all comes down to stopping Richardson. If the Gamecocks can do that, I like their chances. I don’t think Florida is all too nervous to host South Carolina, giving me similar vibes to last year. I’m going with my gut. South Carolina 27, Florida 13.

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Collyn Taylor: South Carolina’s defense has struggled and Florida is going to try and run the ball, control the pace of the game and keep the Gators’ defense off the field. They have the potential to do it. This game has a chance to be a shootout, and it can be. The Gamecocks’ offense should have success against a Florida defense that gives up a ton of big plays. The Gamecocks have won just twice in Gainesville ever and haven’t in a while. Florida wins in an offensive slugfest. Florida 40, South Carolina 30.

Mike Uva: South Carolina has only won in Gainesville twice and both were under Steve Spurrier (2010 and 2014). Shane Beamer was on his staff in 2010 and understands what it takes to go down and win in the Swamp. The Gamecocks will take advantage of a vulnerable Florida rush defense to earn back-to-back years with wins against the Gators. South Carolina 30, Florida 24.

Jack Veltri: If South Carolina is going to win this game, it will have to stop Florida’s rushing attack. The Gators are 0-4 when they run for less than 210 yards. So it can be done. Offensively, the Gamecocks looked much better against Vanderbilt and they’ll get another crack at a below-average defense. They should be fine if they can limit the turnovers. If they don’t, it could be a long afternoon. Lastly, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (The Swamp) is one of the loudest places to play as a road team. Set the tone early and the Gamecocks will escape with a win. South Carolina 30, Florida 17.

Picker	TCU at Texas	Washington at Oregon	UNC at Wake Forest	Alabama at Ole Miss	UCF at Tulane	Maryland at Penn State	Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina	Texas A&M at Auburn
Chris Clark (58-31)	Texas	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Southern Miss	Auburn
Terry Ford (58-31)	Texas	Oregon	Wake Forest	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Texas A&M
Pearson Fowler (51-38)	TCU	Oregon	UNC	Ole Miss	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Auburn
Joe Macheca (47-24)	TCU	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Texas A&M
Wes Mitchell (58-31)	Texas	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Auburn
Jay Phillips (59-30)	TCU	Oregon	Wake Forest	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Southern Miss	Auburn
Michael Sauls (51-38)	TCU	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Southern Miss	Texas A&M
Kendall Smith (52-37)	TCU	Oregon	UNC	Ole Miss	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Auburn
Collyn Taylor (57-32)	Texas	Oregon	Wake Forest	Alabama	UCF	Maryland	Coastal Carolina	Auburn
Mike Uva (63-26)	Texas	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Texas A&M
Jack Veltri (59-30)	TCU	Oregon	UNC	Alabama	Tulane	Penn State	Coastal Carolina	Texas A&M

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