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1) Will USC be able to run the ball and stop the run?
Usually, stopping Kentucky from running all over your defense wouldn't be a problem. But this year, nothing is coming easily.
Oh, and Raphael Little - Kentucky's running back - guess where he's from? You guessed it: South-Freakin'-Carolina. Apparently every team in the SEC has some kid from South Carolina that for whatever reason USC didn't recruit, and they all seem to have the game of their lives against the Gamecocks. If Little comes out looking like Barry Sanders, don't say I didn't warn you.
2) Will it be Blake Mitchell or Antonio Heffner at quarterback?
It shouldn't really matter which of the two quarterbacks starts, USC should be able to beat Kentucky. Period.
In a perfect world, Spurrier would start Heffner, things would go well, Carolina would win the game easily and Blake Mitchell's ankle would have plenty of time to heal during the bye week so he would be totally healthy for Vanderbilt.
But the fact that I'm honestly worried about whether our quarterback is totally healthy for Vanderbilt is a pretty good sign that this is not a perfect world.
3) How good is Kentucky?
When I watched Kentucky play Louisville in their opening game, I was impressed. Then I watched them get blown out by Indiana, and I was not impressed. Then I watched South Florida absolutely spank Louisville, and I realized that I wasn't as impressed as I once thought I was.
After being impressed, not impressed and even more not impressed, I have come to the conclusion that Kentucky really is not good at all.
Nobody likes saying stuff like this, because if we lose to Kentucky, I'll come off looking like a total idiot. But if you've ever read any of my columns, you know that coming off looking like a total idiot doesn't really faze me. So, I'll go ahead and say it: Kentucky is bad. They are the worst team left on USC's schedule.
If Carolina doesn't find a way to win, my column Monday will just be me typing out the sounds I make while crying myself to sleep.
4) How will the State Fair affect the game?
Well, the actual football won't be changed by the fact that the fair is in town, but everything else will be. Day games are bad enough by themselves, but pair them with thousands of extra people driving hundreds of extra minivans, and it creates an interesting situation.
The traffic gets worse, the parking gets worse and kids are all over the place.
Also, just the smell of those deep-fried Twinkies makes my arteries clog a little bit.
5) Can Sidney Rice keep his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown reception going?
Sidney Rice is quickly climbing his way up my list of all-time favorite Carolina football players. The kid is a beast. All he does is show up and catch touchdown passes.
Unfortunately I'm not the only one that has noticed this, and as the year goes on, he will continue to get more and more double coverage, meaning his chances to make big plays will be limited. But, seeing as he accounts for almost half of Carolina's receiving touchdowns and exactly one-third of the offensive touchdowns the Gamecocks have scored this season, I'd say him continuing to produce is important.
And by "important" I mean "absolutely vital unless either somebody else steps up big time or Carolina plans on losing every game for the rest of the season, thereby sending me into a downward spiral of depression, fueled by an endless supply of sarcasm-riddled hate columns."
But I figured "important" was the best way to put it.
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