| Herald-Journal
The South Carolina football team accepted an invitation on Sunday to play at the Gasparilla Bowl, which starts at noon on Saturday in Tampa, Florida.
The Gamecocks (2-8 and losers from six consecutive games) will face Conference USA champion Alabama Birmingham (6-3) at Raymond James Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC. The USC hasn’t played since December 5, when they lost 41-18 in Kentucky.
The USC won all three games against the Blazers, with the first clash taking place in 2003 and the last win by 49-6 in 2012.
USC interim coach Mike Bobo said during a videoconference on Sunday night that there was no vote among players about playing the bowl. Players returned to campus last week for meetings and weight training.
“There is no vote in the SEC,” said Bobo. “If you come to play at the SEC, you come to play ball. I told them that we are going to play a game of bowling and the guys who want to play we are going to report on this date and if you don’t want to play, you need to cancel. ”
Bobo will coach the team, while new coach Shane Beamer returned to the program on Sunday after returning from his assistant duties in Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship victory over Iowa State.
These 10 players signed with South Carolina
“I think it’s an advantage, I like that we play early,” said Bobo. “The guys are here and we don’t have to practice a few days and send them home. I talked about how long this season has been for these players, not just physically, but mentally. I think it’s good that we’re going to be playing this Saturday. these workouts and go out there and compete.
“As I told them (Sunday) at night, the season hasn’t been exactly what we expected. It was a very disappointing 2020, but we have another opportunity to put our name on something. We will make sure to give our best foot forward and I thought the guys responded well. ”
Bobo declined to address any other changes to the list, saying he would not announce a depth chart until the day before the game, because it did the program no good to release that information.
Main receiver Shi Smith, linebacker Ernest Jones (the team’s main defender) and left-guard holder Sadarius Hutcherson announced in the aftermath of the final game of the regular season that it was their last game in college when preparations for the draft were beginning. of the NFL. Part-time departure security Shilo Sanders left the team transferred to Jackson State.
“We know we are short of players, we know what we have and we will get ready to play and you will see who will not be there when it comes to bowling,” said Bobo. “I just don’t want to give our opponent any advantage over who enters and who leaves. It’s not like in the NFL, where we have to say who is playing.”
A revelation from the squad that Bobo was willing to grant was that first year quarterback Luke Doty would make his third game in a row. Doty took over to start the second half of the eighth game against Missouri. Collin Hill, a fifth-year senior at Dorman High, started the first eight games.
“We will continue to represent the guys in the quarterback this week, but Luke will be the starter and we will put together a game plan to help him succeed,” said Bobo.
There is a chance that Gamecocks can receive the Xavier Legette wide receiver. He lost six games to undisclosed injuries, hasn’t played since November 7 against Texas A&M and hasn’t received a pass since October 10 at Vanderbilt.
The coaching staff will remain with the team during the bowling game, except for offensive line coach Eric Wolford, who is leaving to assume the same role in Kentucky. Offensive analyst Landon “Big Farm” Martin, a former Newberry tackle, will assist in the offensive line.
The Blazers had four consecutive games canceled from November 14 to December 6, before winning their last two games at Rice and winning the championship at Marshall. The two best and best known teams that played resulted in defeats to Miami (31-14) and Louisiana (24-20).
UAB was third in Conference USA with 200 yards per game, led by Spencer Brown (111.1 yards per game with 10 touchdowns) and DeWayne McBride (73.2 yards per game with four touchdowns).
Quarterbacks Tyler Johnston III and Bryson Lucero played a considerable amount of snaps this season with Johnston going a long way in winning the conference championship, completing 12 of 22 passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns. Brown ran 30 times for 149 yards in that game.
USC sophomore runner Kevin Harris comes into play with 1,138 running yards, the fifth highest total of the season in school history. He led the SEC in yard racing during the regular season.
► Tickets for the Gasparilla Bowl cost $ 60 for levels 1 and 2 side and $ 30 for levels 1 and 2 endzones. Tickets can be purchased at the following link: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8211007/2020-union-home-mortgage-gasparilla-bowl-tampa-raymond-james-stadium.