South Carolina looks to bounce back from Georgia loss against UCF

Earlier this year, a group of Penn State players dug a hole and buried a DVD of a particularly ugly loss to Temple.

You could understand if the same sort of thing happened in Columbia this week after a 52-20 loss at the hands of Georgia.

There are already more than a few shovels around the Gamecocks’ program looking to bury it after a 1-2 start to the season. But Saturday’s game against Central Florida (noon ET, ESPNU) looks like a good chance to get things back on the right track.

The Knights hit rock bottom last week, falling to 0-3 with a 16-15 loss at home to Furman, an FCS school. The defense has been decent this season, allowing just less than 21 points per game, but the offense has been among the worst in the nation.

UCF is dead last (128th) in scoring at 12 points per game, 127th in rushing offense, 110th in passing offense and last in total offense.

Last week, most of the limited success for UCF offensively came from its version of the Wildcat, with quarterback-turned-receiver Nick Patti taking the snaps. The junior ran for 58 yards and a score on 14 carries in a losing effort.

The folks in Las Vegas are looking for better things from South Carolina, installing the Gamecocks as a 14.5-point favorite this week.

But not everyone is convinced.

“We have to play a lot better than we have been playing or we’re always going to be in trouble,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “UCF is a good team that hasn’t played all that well, but they’re certainly capable. We will try our best to put a decent team, a good team, out there for our fans this week.”

With a trip to Missouri coming up on the schedule, this would be a good time to get whoever the next quarterback is more comfortable. Whether it’s Perry Orth or true freshman Lorenzo Nunez taking the snaps, this could be just the sort of confidence-building game the Gamecocks need.

A shutdown day from the defense would also be most welcome, if for no other reason than to rinse the taste of Athens out of its collective mouth.

Otherwise, it might be time to move a little dirt.

UCF KNIGHTS CLOSER LOOK

Top player, offense: Bo Schneider, QB, Fr. — Four different players have taken snaps for the Knights this season. Justin Holman was the incumbent but went down with a finger injury. UCF coach George O’Leary announced that Schneider will get the starting nod this week, and the true freshman is 14 of 30 for 109 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions so far this season.

Top player, defense: Drico Johnson, SS, R-Jr. — It’s not generally a good sign when your safety leads the team in tackles, but Johnson tops the charts with 21. He also has two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery this season.

Top player, special teams: Caleb Houston, P, R-Jr. — Houston is seventh nationally with a 47.1 average on his 20 punts so far this season.

Randy Capps

Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.