South Carolina at Auburn

South Carolina offense vs. Auburn defense
• The Gamecocks' coach Steve Spurrier is resisting the temptation to air it out, and is staying committed to the ground game. True freshman RB Marcus Lattimore is a big reason why. Lattimore has an outstanding combination of quickness and power, and he does an excellent job of picking up yards after contact. The South Carolina offensive line has a newfound aggressive mentality in the zone blocking scheme of first-year running game coordinator Shawn Elliot. However, they will be tested by a physical Auburn front seven. The Tigers are loaded down the middle with DTs Nick Fairley and Zach Clayton backed by MLB Josh Bynes, who is an instinctive and aggressive run stopper, so the Gamecocks' best chance at getting Lattimore his yards will be attacking off-tackle. The Tigers had some problems keeping contain on the edge last week, and SLB Craig Stevens showed signs of rust in his first action after serving a two-game suspension. On the other side, WLB Daren Bates lacks prototypical size and struggles at the point of attack. Consistently challenging Stevens and Bates to the outside makes sense because the odds of Lattimore finding room between the tackles are slim.