Ahead of Auburn's trip to Columbia, South Carolina, our Christian Clemente chatted with Collyn Taylor of GamecocksCentral.com. Dive in for his assessment of the Tigers-Gamecocks matchup and how he sees things shaking out Saturday.

CC: How would you briefly recap this season for South Carolina? It feels like it's been a bit of a whirlwind... are there any underlying themes?

CT: It’s been a very, very weird year in Shane Beamer’s first season. The Gamecocks didn’t have a marquee win this year until beating Florida but followed it up with a loss on the road at Missouri where they were down 17 in the fourth quarter. Now they have to win one of their final two games to get to a bowl, which would be tremendous progress for a first-year staff.

One of the biggest issues this season has been the inconsistency at the quarterback position—they’ve started three different players, including one who was a graduate assistant at the start of August—and no one has really taken over the position.

The defense has probably really outperformed preseason expectations while the offense hasn’t.

CC: Offensively where has this team struggled and where have they excelled this year?

CT: Finding struggles this season offensively has been a lot easier than where they’ve played well. The Gamecocks, which were expected to have a good offensive line and rush offense, haven’t put it together there outside of the Florida game. When the offense has played well it’s done it through explosive plays and stretching the field vertically. They have a few players—Josh Vann, Jaheim Bell, ZaQuandre White—who’ve done well picking up chunk plays, but the Gamecocks haven’t gotten a lot of those this year.

Jason Brown, the third quarterback this season, is good at extending plays with his feet and excelled there against Florida but faced far too much pressure against Missouri.

The Gamecocks have really struggled offensively in large part, though, because of the run game struggles and poor offensive line play.

CC: What's the identity of the Gamecocks on defense?

CT: The defense is about as aggressive as I’ve seen it in previous years under Broyles Award finalist Clayton White. Auburn fans probably won’t like to hear this given how last year’s game went, but the Gamecocks are really good at forcing turnovers and giving the offense short fields.

It’s a defense struggling to stop the run against good teams, but it’s a defensive line and group of edge players who can really get after the passer. A completely reworked secondary has performed well above expectations and it’s a group that likes to play fast and physical and really tries to get the ball off teams.

CC: Who are a couple of X-Factors that can swing the game in South Carolina's favor?

CT: From an offensive standpoint, Josh Vann and Jaheim Bell are probably the two best skill guys in the passing game and ZaQuandre White is the biggest home-run hitter at running back. Juju McDowell has a chance to be one but hasn’t played much offensively in recent weeks, but he’s an electric kick returner when he gets the chance to be. Jason Brown, if he plays like he did against Florida, can create some plays as well, but it falls on how much time he’s getting from his offensive line.

Defensively, All-American candidate Jaylan Foster already has five interceptions and is playing out of his mind. He’s got the ability to make a game-changing play on the back end, and then edge rusher JJ Enagbare is one of the best pass rusher in the league and can really affect a quarterback like TJ Finley who likes to stay in the pocket at times. Cornerback Cam Smith has stitched together a couple of good games recently and is a ball hawk as well.

CC: Game prediction? Who wins and why?

CT: Until South Carolina gets any semblance of consistency offensively, it’s hard to pick them in any game down the stretch. Everyone thought the offense figured out their issues but through three quarters against Missouri the Gamecocks were averaging three yards per play.

The Gamecocks’ defense should be able to keep things within striking distance and there’s certainly a path to a South Carolina win if the offense picks things up, but there’s just not enough there through the first 10 games.

I’ll say Auburn wins 21-17 in a defensive struggle.

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