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Plenty of coaching storylines are alive in this one, from Will Muschamp’s surprise bowl berth in his first season leading South Carolina to the departure to Oregon of South Florida coach Willie Taggart. This season, Taggart engineered the Bulls’ first 10-win campaign, bringing the program up from a 2-10 record in his first season in 2013. Assistant T.J. Weist will lead the Bulls in the bowl game. Charlie Strong will take over after that.
The 11th annual Birmingham Bowl will be played at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Gamecocks last played in this bowl in 2009, a 20-7 loss to Connecticut when it was the PapaJohns.com Bowl.
The Bulls (10-2) and Gamecocks (6-6) could put up a ton of points, based on these matchups:
When South Carolina has the ball
Jake Bentley vs. South Florida pass defense: Though Bentley was third on the depth chart at the start of the season, he took the reins of the offense after the bye week to rescue a flagging offense after six games. In his first three games, he couldn’t have been better with wins over UMass, Tennessee and Missouri. In those games, he completed 73 percent of his passes for 622 yards and six touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception until his fourth game at Florida. He also helped the Gamecocks score more than 20 points for the first time this season.
The Bulls’ defense, meanwhile, is last in the American Athletic Conference, allowing 277 passing yards per game. It allowed 18 touchdowns, which was less than five conference foes. In its last three games, USF allowed at least 331 passing yards in each game (all wins, by the way), and a combined eight touchdowns with five interceptions.
Edge: South Carolina
Rico Dowdle vs. USF run defense: Similar to Bentley, Dowdle came on late in the year after he began the season recovering from hernia surgery and third on the depth chart. Like Bentley, he had big games against UMass, Tennessee and Missouri, with 127 and 149 rushing yards and a touchdown each in the last two.
The Bulls had the third-worst rush defense in the AAC at 205 yards allowed per game, and they gave up 27 rushing touchdowns. Linebacker Auggie Sanchez was third in the AAC with 108 tackles and six sacks.
Edge: South Carolina
Deebo Samuel/Hayden Hurst/Bryan Edwards vs. USF pass defense: Though he missed three games, Samuel led the Gamecocks in receiving, and provided he avoids a hamstring injury flare up, can be counted on. He caught 45 passes for 593 yard, was also the team’s fifth-leading rusher with 94 yards and five TDs, and even threw a TD pass. Hurst set the school single-season record for receptions by a tight end — 42 going into Thursday’s game.
Remarkably, Samuel and Hurst are each looking for their first TD catch of the season. Edwards and K.C. Crosby have a combined seven. Samuel and/or Hurst could break through against a leaky USF secondary.
Edge: South Carolina
When South Florida has the ball
Quinton Flowers (below) vs. South Carolina pass defense: The Bulls are 10th in America in total offense and fifth in yards per play, mostly because of Flowers. Flowers was the AAC Offensive Player of the Year and was in the top 20 in the country in nine offensive categories. He set five program records. He could be tested against the Gamecocks, who have exceeded some defensive expectations after they were fifth in the SEC in passing defense at 204 yards per game. Darius English and his nine sacks could play a role here.
Edge: South Florida
Flowers and Marlon Mack vs. run defense: Flowers and Mack’s combined nickname is the “9 to 5” offense because Flowers wears No. 9 and Mack No.5. USF has a nation-leading 16-game streak where it’s scored at least 30 points. Mack is the program’s career rushing leader (3.559 yards) and holds 13 program records. He has 1,137 yards and 11 TDs this season. Flowers leads the team with 1,425 rushing yards this season. The Gamecocks were ninth in the SEC in rushing defense and were especially suspect against Mississippi State (290 yards), Georgia (326), Western Carolina (236) and Clemson (250).
Edge: South Florida
Rodney Adams/Marquez Valdes-Scantling/Tyre McCants vs. pass defense: Chris Lammons and the South Carolina defense has its work cut out for them with Adams, who has 60 catches for 755 yards and five TDs. Valdes-Scantling also has five TD catches and McCants has four. The latter two combined for 42 catches. Lammons and Jamarcus King, each with three interceptions, will have chances to add to that total. The Gamecocks were second in the SEC behind Georgia with 14 interceptions.
Edge: South Florida
Special teams
D’Ernest Johnson of South Florida led the AAC with a 12.4-yard average on 17 punt returns, including an 83-yarder for a touchdown. Teammate Jonathan Hernandez was fifth in the league punting at 41.2 yards on average. Adams was fifth in the AAC on kickoff returns at 24 yards on average. On kickoff returns, USC’s Samuel and A.J. Turner have proven effective as they’re each in the top five in the SEC in returns, both with more than 24 yards per attempt. Elliot Fry, meanwhile, made 12 of 16 field goal attempts and became the Gamecocks’ all-time leading scorer.
Edge: Push
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
