JUSTIN HALL

South Carolina inched closer to a bowl game with the 24-7 Homecoming win over Vanderbilt.

Head coach Will Muschamp called the win “workman-like” in his post-game press conference. The Gamecocks (4-5, 3-4) need to go at least 2-1 down the stretch to become bowl eligible.

The 1st opponent standing in the way is Appalachian State.

The Mountaineers suffered their 1st loss of the season against Georgia Southern. They were held to just 7 points through 3 quarters, giving Gamecock fans reason to believe this game could be an easy win.

However, South Carolina shouldn’t take Appalachian State lightly as it’s still playing for its best season ever at the FBS level.

With so many freshman at key positions, the Gamecocks do not know what to expect each week.

There are 3 areas I believe give South Carolina the edge against the Mountaineers.

TALENT

You’d be hard pressed to find any position group where Appalachian State has an edge over the SEC Gamecocks. If USC can simply play to its conference level, it should have little problem with the Mountaineers.

RUSHING ATTACK

Deshaun Fenwick and Kevin Harris produced against Vanderbilt. Rico Dowdle is expected to return this week from his injury and should allow for offensive coordinator Bryan Mc-Clendon to open up the offense. The bigger question is how healthy is Tavien Feaster heading into the final 3 games of 2019?

ATMOSPHERE

Williams-Brice. At night.

A win moves the Gamecocks closer to a bowl berth. A loss would have the fanbase watching the final 2 games with their eyes closed.

Muschamp still has a lot to prove, even with the freshmen leading the offensive charge. If USC wants to regain positive momentum for the program, a bowl game has to be reached this season.

The game will air on ESPN2 starting at 7 pm and can be heard on WNKT

(107.5 FM) or the TuneIn Radio phone app.

Justin Hall is the director of media/broacasting for the Lexington County Blowfish. He’s also the co-host of the ‘5th Quarter Post-Game Show’ on WVOC (560 AM & 103.5 FM) with former Gamecock Tim Frisby.