Furman @ South Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 18, 2010 ) Furman 19, South Carolina 38

A 3-1 start has dissipated into 3-3, and following a bye week to take stock and refocus, South Carolina is eyeing a second-half surge, beginning with Saturday’s home game against in-state FCS member Furman. “(Our players really) want to finish with a good season,” Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said at his Tuesday press conference. “We do have a lot of senior players, fourth-year players, and hopefully senior leadership will kick in and we can start playing better. … We have to see if we can become a lot better team, starting this week."

Prior to last week’s bye, South Carolina was upset in back-to-back weeks by Missouri (21-20) and Kentucky (45-38), failing to protect double-digit fourth-quarter leads in both contests. The Gamecocks, however, have not lost three straight games since their 7-7 season in 2009. Furman, meanwhile, also has seen a good start (2-0) turn sour with four straight losses and also had a bye last week to reassess things.

TV: Noon ET, SEC Network. LINE: None

ABOUT FURMAN (2-4): The defending Southern Conference-champion Paladins, based in Greenville, S.C., opened with wins over Gardner-Webb and Mercer before their four-game skid started with a 10-7 road loss to Presbyterian and has continued through the 37-31 double-overtime home loss to Coastal Carolina on Oct. 4. True freshman P.J. Blazejowski will be making his second career start at quarterback and is the third signal caller to start for the team this season after returning starter Reese Hannon suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in the season opener. The Paladins rank only 97th in FCS total offense (316.3 yards per game) but do check in 14th in total defense (303.8).

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (3-3): It’s homecoming week and a rare schedule break for the Gamecocks, who played four of their first five games against teams who have been ranked in the top 25 at some point this season. Quarterback Dylan Thompson ranks third in the SEC with 262.8 passing yards per game, but South Carolina could be without second-leading rusher Brandon Wilds, who’s battling a knee injury. The defense has been the main problem for the Gamecocks as they rank 84th or lower in FBS rushing (176.8 yards allowed per game), passing (264.3), total defense (441.2) and scoring defense (35 points).

EXTRA POINTS

1. South Carolina leads the all-time series, 27-20-1, but has won 12 of the past 13 games, including the last meeting, a 38-19 victory in 2010.

2. From 1982-86, Furman went 4-1-1 against FBS foes, including a 28-23 win over the Gamecocks, but is 1-21 since.

3. South Carolina starting SS D.J. Smith will miss the first half to serve a suspension for a third-quarter targeting ejection in the team’s Oct. 4 loss to Kentucky.

PREDICTION: South Carolina 48, Furman 10