USC defense sets sights on Shockley

If USC's football team hopes to leave 92,000-plus red-and-black clad fans disappointed Saturday evening in Athens, the Gamecock defense will have to bring its A-game.

In a nationally televised affair with then-ranked Boise State, UGA senior quarterback D.J. Shockley threw for five touchdowns and rushed for another, setting a school record for total touchdowns. He was responsible for 285 yards through the air and another 85 on the ground - 374 total yards of offense.

Facing the monumental task of trying to hamper the multi-faceted Shockley will be the Carolina linebacking corps, anchored by senior Ricardo Hurley and junior Mike West. Last week against UCF, the two combined for 11 total tackles and half a sack. Their goal will be to confine Shockley to the pocket, forcing him to throw into a talented Gamecock secondary containing reigning SEC Defensive Freshman of the Year Ko Simpson and sophomore cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who led Carolina in tackles last week with nine.

"We've got to eye the quarterback a little bit more, because I think he's more dangerous back there in the backfield than what we saw last week (in UCF QB Steven Moffett)," Hurley said.

Even if Shockley is kept corralled in the pocket, he still has plenty of options at receiver. Georgia lost last year's starting wideouts Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown to the spring's NFL draft, but as with most top-tier programs, coach Mark Richt's Bulldogs simply reload. Junior WR Sean Bailey had four receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns, while true freshman Mohamed Massaquoi caught two passes for 47 yards. The most dangerous weapons in Richt's passing attack, however, might very well be his tight ends, senior Martrez Milner and junior Leonard Pope. The tandem had 156 yards of receiving on six catches, with Milner finding paydirt with a touchdown of his own.

Georgia's offense doesn't end with Shockley and his receivers. A healthy stable of capable and highly recruited running backs includes sophomores Danny Ware, Kregg Lumpkin, and Thomas Brown and senior Tyson Browning. The four rushed 19 times for 87 yards. Compile that with Shockley's rushing statistics, and the Dogs had an impressive ground game against the Broncos, gaining 172 yards.

Hoping to slow the down the running attack will be an improved Carolina defensive line, looking to be bolstered by the addition of senior end Charles Silas, coming off a one-game suspension. Co-defensive coordinators Tyrone Nix and John Thompson have installed a quirky defensive front scheme that occasionally has the linemen standing up, as evidenced in last week's victory against UCF.

"We're basically trying to confuse the offensive linemen, confuse their blocking schemes a little bit," Hurley said.

Thompson has matched wits with Richt, UGA's offensive architect and primary play-caller, twice before. The last meeting was in 2002, when Thompson was defensive coordinator at the University of Florida. Thompson won that matchup, as his defense only gave up 13 points to Richt's offense.

The game is going to be covered on national television by ESPN, the second time in as many weeks that USC and UGA have received such exposure. Hurley, for one, can't wait for the opportunity on a grand stage to square off against Shockley.

"I'm looking forward to it man, I'm looking forward to it," Hurley said. "I've heard a lot about him, and I'm just looking forward to playing him."