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McElwain says struggling Gamecocks will have plenty of fight left for Gators
By John Hollis
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Jim McElwain says that struggling South Carolina has plenty of fight left and is bound to eventually win a close game at some point.
The first-year Florida coach just hopes it’s not this coming Saturday when his 11th-ranked Gators travel to Columbia for the SEC finale for both teams.
“They’ve been in all these games,” McElwain said Monday. “I don’t want to be the guy that lets them over the hump.”
The Gamecocks, who have been coached by interim coach Shawn Elliott following Steve Spurrier’s abrupt resignation last month, limp back home with a disappointing 3-6 record and 1-6 mark within conference play after dropping four of their last five games.
Three of their six losses have come by 4 points or less, including last weekend’s heartbreaking 27-24 setback at Tennessee.
A lack of playmakers on offense has been the biggest culprit behind South Carolina’s struggles. The Gamecocks enter this weekend ranked 106th nationally in scoring offense at just 21.7 points per game, but they haven’t fared much better on defense as reflected by their 91st national ranking in total defense (428.0 YPG) .
They’re paying a heavy price for poor recruiting in recent years.
Junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper has been one of the few bright spots as he ranks 3rd in the SEC with 656 yards off 48 catches and 5 touchdowns.
Florida, on the other hand, clinched the SEC East crown and punched its ticket to Atlanta for the SEC title game with last weekend’s 9-7 win over Vanderbilt, but the Gators struggled mightily. Only a late Austin Hardin 43-yard field goal prevented one of the biggest upsets of the college football season.
McElwain said he sees a South Carolina team that continues to play hard despite the setbacks and knows his team will get the Gamecocks’ best shot.
That means the Gators will have to play considerably better.
“They’re playing to go to a bowl game,” McElwain said of the Gamecocks. “They’ve got a chance to play the SEC East champs. That’s a heckuva lot of motivation there.”
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
