Independence Bowl: Only one of Miami and South Carolina will finish above .500
Duck Commander Independence Bowl
Miami (6-6) vs. South Carolina (6-6)
Shreveport, La.
Dec 27, 2014
This is yet another bowl game between teams that fell short of expectations this season.
Miami has been rebuilding under coach Al Golden and has yet to progress to the level that fans expected when he was hired. In fact, the 6-6 season is his worst since his first campaign in 2011 when they were ineligible for the postseason.
South Carolina was picked to finish first in the SEC East, but was blasted by Texas A&M in the season opener and never fully recovered. The 6-6 campaign was the worst in coach Steve Spurrier’s tenure since 2007 when they didn’t qualify for a bowl game. Two of his teams have finished 7-6, but the last was in 2009. The Gamecocks have won 11 games in each of the last three seasons.
South Carolina will have its hands full with Miami’s top three offensive threats in quarterback Brad Kaaya, running back Duke Johnson and receiver Phillip Dorsett, who led the team with 31 catches for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
Kaaya was named the ACC Freshman of the Year. His 2,962 yards are the fourth-best by a freshman in ACC history and 25 touchdowns matches the fourth-most in Miami history. Running back Duke Johnson has complemented Kayaa well. After flirting with 1,000-yard seasons the past couple years, he finally broke through with 1,520 and 10 touchdowns. He became the Hurricanes’ all-time leading rusher with 3,387 career yards.
South Carolina has one of the nation’s worst rushing defenses, allowing 214.4 yards per game. It also allows 433.6 yards per game and 31.2 points per game. Nine different players have rushed for at least 100 yards on the Gamecocks this season, including Furman’s Hank McCloud.
But for as bad as the South Carolina defense has been this season, the offense has been able to pick up most of the slack and has the ability to get into a shootout if it needs to. That might be the case if the Miami offense, which can be pretty potent, is allowed to get into a rhythm.
Vegas odds: Miami (-3.5)
FUN FACT
South Carolina running back Mike Davis needs just 73 yards to join Archie Rogers as the only running backs in school history to have multiple 1,000-yard seasons..
PREDICTIONS
Graham: This is Duke Johnson’s final game and I think he makes the most of it against a bad South Carolina defense. Al Golden might not have had a great season, but this game could be the start of a better 2015. Miami 38, South Carolina 35.
Nick: Which team wants to finish 7-6. Which team cares? Do either? This is the ultimate crapshoot and the ultimate “game that looks good until you see the records of the teams.” SEC. For no good reason. South Carolina 23, Miami 20.
Sam: Both of these teams are pretty puzzling and haven’t played up to their potential this year. In the end, Duke Johnson and Brad Kaaya should be able to do what they want against the South Carolina defense. Miami 30, South Carolina 24.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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