Gamecocks seeking bowl eligibility
The victory South Carolina needs to reach bowl eligibility should come Saturday when the Gamecocks (5-4) take on FCS foe Chattanooga (6-4), which has dropped its last two games to Furman by six points and Mercer by four.
Especially with the Clemson game looming the following week, however, it might be easy for the Gamecocks to take this one lightly. But don’t try to sell that to coach Will Muschamp.
“I think our guys are very mature and understand that it’s about our preparation this week,” he said. “I really always challenge our guys. To me, each week as a player, as a coach you make a decision about your effort, your energy, about your effort, your toughness, your discipline each week to bring it on Tuesday.”
That approach has to carry on through the week leading up to the game, he added.
“Our guys understand that it’s not really about the opponent regardless of we play,” Muschamp said. “It’s about us and our preparation and how we go about our business.
“That’s really our mindset every week. We can’t control who we play or where we play or what time. At the end of the day we can control what we do, and that’s our preparation. That’s every week for us.”
The Mocs started the season with four consecutive victories but have gone only 2-4 since. They are scoring at just under 23 points a game but have held their opponents to just 18 a game. That ranks ninth in the country among FCS teams. This will be the first FBS opponent this season for the Mocs.
“They’re very talented up front,” Muschamp said. “Isaiah Mack, No. 8, is a really talented inside player. All three of their big guys inside present some issues for you.” Mack (6-3, 305) is a senior defensive end who has 7.5 sacks in the last four games. He has 8.5 sacks for the season among his 76 tackles, which are second to linebacker Marshall Cooper’s 89.
Muschamp would like to see improvement in one key area for his defense, and that would be tackling. It has been somewhat of an issue all season. Muschamp calls tackling an issue of “want to.”
“We’re a little thin at the safety position,” he said. “We’re a little banged up. We haven’t been as productive at the linebacker position as we would like to be, quite frankly.
“Those two positions have really hurt us as far as explosive plays.”
