Showdown at the Swamp

The No. 7 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks will try and bounce back from last week’s crushing 23-21 loss to the LSU Tigers.

The Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw will help lead the offensive attack, as Shaw has thrown for 910 yards and nine touchdowns with four interceptions on the year.

Complementing Shaw is running back Marcus Lattimore. Lattimore has rushed for a total of 584 yards so far this year, while rushing for 10 touchdowns. Led by Shaw and Lattimore, the Gamecocks will try and solve a stingy Florida Gator defense that has given up an average of 12.3 points allowed per game this year.

Florida is led by quarterback Jeff Driskel, who is a passing threat and rushing threat, as he has thrown for 836 yards this year, and four touchdowns, and has only thrown one interception all year, as well as rushing for 326 yards.

Lightening the load for Driskel is Gator running back Mike Gillislee, who has rushed for 615 yards this season and seven touchdowns. This is a game that has major SEC Championship implications, as well as BCS National Championship implications.

Kansas State vs. West Virginia

Kansas State Head Coach Bill Snyder may be in his early 70s, but he sure isn’t coaching like it. Snyder will take his No. 4 ranked Kansas State Wildcats to Morgantown to face off against the No. 13 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers.

Kansas State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) will face a West Virginia team that is hungry for revenge, after getting crushed by the Texas Tech Red Raiders 49-14. Kansas State is led by dual-threat quarterback Collin Klein, who has thrown for 1074 yards this season and seven touchdowns, while rushing for 510 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.

Klein helps lead an offense that is averaging 40.8 points per game. The Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith will try and bounce back from probably his worst game of the season against Texas Tech, and he will try and do it against a Kansas State defense that is averaging 16.5 points allowed per game.

West Virginia receiver Stedman Bailey will try and continue to be Smith’s main passing outlet, as he has 766 receiving yards this season and 14 touchdowns. Kansas State will try to move to 7-0 on the season, but it will be tough, as West Virginia is undefeated at home this season.

Ohio State vs. Purdue

Urban Meyer will try and get his Ohio State Buckeyes into shape, after last week’s nail-biting 52-49 victory over Indiana. Purdue comes into this match-up (3-3, 0-2 Big 10), but you can bet that Urban Meyer will not take the Boilermakers lightly.

The Buckeyes are led by Heisman Trophy candidate and dual-threat quarterback Braxton Miller, who has thrown for 1271 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, while rushing for 912 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Purdue defense will also have its hands full in stopping Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde, who will be going for his third straight game, rushing for 140 yards or more. As a team, the Buckeyes are averaging 452.4 yards of offense per game.

The Purdue offense will try and attack a struggling Buckeye defense, which has given up 87 points in the last two games.

The Buckeyes will be looking to move to 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Big Ten, while Purdue is looking to avoid its third straight conference loss.

Contact Chris Ginley at [email protected].