South Bound & Down
Fansided

SEC Football: Previewing the New Year’s Day SEC bowl games

By Abbey Giese

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide talks with head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers after the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 35-31 in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide talks with head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers after the Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 35-31 in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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SEC football - Will Muschamp
SEC football - Will Muschamp /

Outback Bowl

The South Carolina Gamecocks (8-4, 5-3 SEC) will play the Michigan Wolverines (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

This is not the first time these two teams will play each other in this bowl. South Carolina defeated Michigan 33-28 in the 2013 Outback Bowl game. However, the Gamecocks are not the favorite in this season’s matchup. The Wolverines are a pretty strong favorite to win this game, but South Carolina has already exceeded expectations for this season.

The Gamecocks have a very young team. Most of the current players are freshmen and sophomores. With such a young roster, many experts initially predicted South Carolina would not even be bowl eligible this season.

However, Will Muschamp has led the Gamecocks to back to back bowl games in his second year as head coach. South Carolina won five out of their last seven games, and the last two teams to defeat the Gamecocks were Georgia and Clemson, who will both be in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

The Gamecocks will want a strong finish to their better than expected season, but it will not come easy. Michigan has one of them the best defenses in the nation. The Wolverines rank No. 13 for points allowed per game with their opponents averaging just 18.2 points per game.

South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley has 16 touchdowns and over 2,500 yards, but he also has 11 interceptions this season. Michigan’s defense is good enough at stopping their opponents from scoring, so the Gamecocks cannot get away with too many turnovers if they want to win this game.

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