Ahead of Auburn's matchup with South Carolina, The Auburn Plainsman reached out to The Daily Gamecock's co-sports editor Michael Sauls, for a Q&A previewing this year’s Gamecocks team. Here’s what he had to say prior to the matchup.
Q: How do you expect South Carolina’s offense to do against Auburn’s defense?
A: I think our offense has shown some improvements this season and I hope we do well against Auburn. We've put up over 300 yards a game twice already this season and put up over 400 against Vandy. Granted, the Auburn defense is on another level than Vandy so it will definitely be a tough game for us but I think if we continue to get Kevin Harris and the run game going then we might have a chance on Saturday.
Q: How do you expect South Carolina’s defense to do against Auburn’s offense?
A: Hopefully the defense can build off of it's showing against Vandy. After playing poorly against Florida our guys on defense were able to turn it around and it was good to see them bounce back. I do think the defense might have some trouble containing Tank Bigsby and Seth Williams but hopefully they'll be ready come Saturday.
Q: What are the expectations for this team?
A: I go into every game thinking "we got it, maybe we'll win this one" and oftentimes by halftime I'm proven wrong. I really want this team to be successful and with all the talent we have on the roster I think we have the potential to be contenders in the SEC East and the SEC in general. Unfortunately, recently all that talent hasn't really translated to wins on the field so it's hard to be optimistic. Since we're playing an all SEC schedule that just makes everything 10x harder so I'm honestly just hoping that we make it to .500.
Q: Who are some players to look out for on both sides of the ball for South Carolina?
A: Offensively a guy that has started to stand out is running back Kevin Harris. He's carried our offense in the last couple weeks and is second in the SEC for rushing yards. You've also got to look out for Shi Smith at wide receiver, he's really coming into his own this year and has already become the go to guy in the passing game. He has 26 receptions already this season and saw 22 of those in the first two games. On the defensive side of the ball linebacker Ernest Jones already has 29 tackles this season and defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare is tied for second in the SEC with 3 sacks. You definitely have to look out for those two guys. Jordan Burch is another guy who has made the most out of his playing time and I wouldn't be surprised if he made some noise against Auburn.
Q: How does Will Muschamp feel about getting to play Auburn this year?
A: From what I heard in the press conference, Mushchamp respects the Auburn program and coaching staff. He praised Bo Nix, (WR whose first name I didn't catch) Schwartz, Seth Williams, Tank Bigsby and others on offense and the linebacker group on defense.
Q: Score prediction?
A: I think we'll give Auburn a run for their money but end up losing a close one. Final score 35-28.
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Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
