South Carolina-Furman: Five Keys To a Gamecocks Victory

As Jacksonville State and James Madison proved over the last few weeks, no games are a gimmie in college football. 

As No. 13 South Carolina gets visited by the Paladins, they must not overlook this talented team. The chances are high for a victory, but with a lack of focus, there could be an upset.

Many fans view this game as a statement game, where South Carolina should beat a team they are supposed to beat by a large margin...historically, this has not happened. 

No surprises on the advantage chart this week.

Position	South Carolina Advantage	Even	Furman Advantage
Quarterback	X
Running Backs/Fullbacks	X
Wide Receivers	X
Offensive Line	X
Defensive Line	X
Linebackers	X
Defensive Backs	X
Special Teams	X
Coaching	X

On paper, there is not one matchup advantage that Furman holds over South Carolina. Luckily for Furman, the games aren't played on paper.

Here are the five keys to a Carolina victory. 

1. Treat this game as a big-time SEC game. 

South Carolina must get up for this game. They have to feel amped and ready to hit and score. The usually lackadaisical approach to a lower-tier game is what gets some teams upset.

Emotion is an underrated aspect of football, and South Carolina has shown more of it this year then ever. If the No. 13 ranking and Heisman hype of Marcus Lattimore gets this team's heads in the clouds, look for a talented and well-coached Furman team to make a game out of it.

2. Get a large lead early.

To me, this is another underrated aspect of playing these smaller schools. Teams that let these small teams hang around early allow their emotion level and confidence to soar.

Hang 14 to 28 points on them early, and watch the magic happen. Once again, emotion is an important aspect of football, and that's a great way to get them out of their game early.

3. Get the passing game involved more.

South Carolina has only scored one passing touchdown this season. However, this has more to do with the emergence of the running game than the lack of talent in the passing domain.

Stephen Garcia needs to score a few times through the air in this game. A quick-strike offense will help get the score high early.

Also, Garcia needs a confidence boost. He has played a lot better than his stats or critics admit. He has made decent choices with his passes and has shown good touch on the long ball. The issue is, when they get inside the 20, it becomes the Lattimore show.

Get the man some touchdowns.

4. Apply pressure on the quarterback from the front four.

After sacking Aaron Murray three times, one would think that the coaches are happy with the effort of the front four.

Nope.

They want more. Devin Taylor has actually turned into more of a threat than Cliff Matthews. This front four has the potential to dominate...and they haven't yet. Now is the time for a huge performance out of Matthews.

5. Create turnovers.

South Carolina needs to keep the offense on the field to score points. The quickest way to do that?

Take the ball away.

There is little doubt that South Carolina has one of the top defensive backfields in the country. However, that has not translated into interceptions.

They need to snatch a couple away.

Overall, I think this game will be the blowout that it needs to be, setting up an interesting matchup against Auburn.

Prediction: South Carolina wins, 56-10.