James Franklin vs. Ball Coach
Who: No.9 South Carolina @Vanderbilt:
Where: Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashvegas, Tn.
Time: 7PM ET/6 CT tonight
TV: ESPN: Reece Davis, play-by-play, Jesse Palmer and David Pollack, color analysts, Samantha Steele, sideline reporter
Line: SC 6 1/2
Analysis: This is going to be a war.The Gamecocks are coming off an 11-win season in 2011, their best in history, and are now thinking SEC title and possible national title hopes. The ‘Ol Ball Coach has it going in Columbia. James Franklin has rejuvenated a once-downtrodden program. Franklin’s message to his players, to his recruits and to his fan base is that Vanderbilt is a world class university, it needs a world class football program to match it. He’s making tremendous progress as he’s got his players not only thinking they can win every Saturday, or in this case Thursday, he has them believing they can win every time out. I went to practice Tuesday a week ago and was extremely impressed. There was a lot energy, intensity and passion on that practice field. And a lot of talent to go along with those intangibles. The offensive line, anchored by left tackle Wesley Johnson (6’5″, 285), looks physical, athletic and very aggressive. Quarterback Jordan Rodgers was right on the money in his passes to receivers Jordan Matthews, a potential All-SEC receiver this season, and Chris Boyd, another standout. Look for backup receiver Joshua Grady to make noise catching the football and running the football out of the Wildcat formation. Grady is an athlete, and is fast as a gazelle. The defense will be anchored by defensive tackle Rob Lohr, who is a beast at a good 300 pounds. Lohr is very powerful and athletic. Archibald Barnes is a playmaker at linebacker. The secondary, led by safety Kenny Ladler and cornerback Trey Wilson, is outstanding. This is a solid football team, and Franklin has it going in the ’13 recruiting class with some stellar players, a ton of high three-stars and a handful of four-stars. He’s serious; Vandy’s serious. Franklin reminds me a lot of Jim Harbaugh and what he did at Stanford. He has the same passion, the same fire, the same energy.
But they’re playing a very good football team in the Gamecocks. Defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney (6’6″, 256) and Devin Taylor (6’8″, 267) are monsters and will dominate football games this season. The defense also has stellar players in linebackers Shaq Wilson (5’11”, 224) and DeVonte Holloman (6’2″, 241), and free safety D.J. Swearinger is stellar. SC lost a couple of good defensive backs off last year’s team in Stephon Gilmore and Antonio Allen, and they looked pretty vulnerable to the deep ball in the spring game. But in the spring they were missing Swearinger and a couple of others back there. So that could have been an anomaly. The offense, of course, has Marcus Lattimore back after a midseason brutal knee injury last year in which he tore his ACL and broke his patella. The injury of course knocked him out for the rest of last season and some. Ball Coach says Lattimore is back and ready to go. That’s the $64,000 question. How effective will Lattimore be? It’ll be interesting to see him handle the hits he’ll take and how he cuts. Connor Shaw looked excellent in the spring and seems like a very focused, mature leader for the Gamecocks at QB. He has become a nice passer to go along with his tremendous running ability. He’s got some good targets in the electric Ace Sanders and superior athlete Bruce Ellington, who’s also a standout on the hardwood. The line is big and talented averaging 307 across the front. They’re not Alabama, but who is on the o front. Brandon Shell (6’6″, 331) is a guy to watch at left tackle. He’ll be going against an ace pass rusher for Vandy in Walker May, out of Briarwood Christian School here in Birmingham. May is relentless, but he’ll be giving up about 80 pounds to Shell, so he’ll really have to outquick him to get to Shaw.
This is going to be an epic. Vandy is a totally different program under James Franklin. They believe they can win every time out. The Ball Coach has it going at SC, and he’s gotten the last four players of the year out of South Carolina including Lattimore and Clowney, five-star players and two of the best players coming out of high school, to come to Columbia. Clowney and Lattimore have proved it on the college level, too. SC has high goals this season, so there will be no looking past this game. They can’t afford to; it’s a game they could lose if they do. The keys to the game for me are: 1. Can the VU offensive line handle Clowney and Taylor, two of the best defensive ends in college football. That’s a tall order for Wesley Johnson and fellow tackle Andrew Bridges. 2. How is Lattimore going to play? Can he handle the hits he’s going to take? The VU defense is going to try and pound him. Can his knee stand up to the beating? Can he be effective in this game after a tremendously major knee injury? Ball Coach says he’s ready. This will be where the pedal meets the road for Lattimore. His ability in the running game will be key for the Gamecocks. If you can’t run the ball in the SEC it’s hard to win. So Lattimore will be under the guy tonight. 3. Can Jordan Rodgers get it done for Vandy at qb and can Vandy itself establish a running game with second team All-SEC running back Zac Stacy? The Vandy run attack was non-existent last year against SC and it costs them in a 21-3 loss. They need to be able to run the football to win just like the Gamecocks do. 4. Can the VU defense contain Shaw both passing the ball and when he tucks it and runs? He’s quite a runner. VU linebackers Archibald Barnes and Chase Garnham will have to be playmakers for the Dores. Defensive ends Walker May and Johnell Thomas will need to contain Shaw in the pocket, pressure him, get to him and make him beat the Dores through the air. Vandy’s secondary is good, so Shaw will be tested. 5. Will VU be too amped up for this game? They have put so much energy into winning this football game. Will they be overhyped and not execute as well? They’ve got to control their emotions and concentrate on executing. It’s good to be pumped up in football, but you’ve got to also concentrate and understand your responsibilities and execute them to win a football game against a very good opponent. It takes the passion and it also takes the execution.
I would love to pick the Commodores in this one. They’ve got the home field, they always play SC tough, beating them in 2007 and 2008, and have played them closely over the last five years. And they are a very talented football team. So is SC of course. I’ve been going back and forth on this one because I saw SC in the spring game and I saw VU in the spring game and watched them last week in practice. I’m going to take a risk and pick the 6 1/2 point underdog. Vandy gets it done tonight and upsets a juggernaut at home. The James Franklin magic continues in Nashville on ESPN tonight.
VU 24, SC 20