South Carolina will not be looking for an easy victory when it hosts the University of Central Florida for their fifth meeting in history on Saturday.
UCF may not make many appearances on the South Carolina schedule, but head coach Steve Spurrier and some remaining players remember the most recent game against this team, with the Gamecocks digging themselves out of a 10-point deficit in the first half and barely scratching out a win 28-25. The Gamecocks will have to bulk up from their last game in order to get their first win at home against the Knights.
In that game, Shaw was taken out in the first quarter after UCF linebacker Terrance Plummer took him to the ground, injuring his shoulder. The game was left in the hands of running back Mike Davis. Davis rushed 26 times for 167 yards with three touchdowns to give the Gamecocks victory. UCF was handed its only loss of the season by the Gamecocks in that game.
The biggest winning margin between the two teams was in 1996 with a Gamecocks win, 33-14. The other two games were in 1997 and 2005 with the scores of 33-31 and 24-15, respectively.
The game in 2005 was the opening game of the season and debut game with Spurrier as the head coach, in which South Carolina went 7-5 overall.
Although neither team has won a national championship, UCF has won four conference titles in the American Athletic Conference compared to South Carolina’s lone SEC East championship title. This is the second non-conference game this year for the Gamecocks after their win against UNC 17-13 in the season opener. Losing the following two games in conference play may give South Carolina enough fire to burn out the Knights for the fifth time in a row come Saturday.
Losing against Furman last week dropped the Knights 0-3 overall this season. This may be their turning point on Saturday if the Gamecocks cannot hold them off.
With the home field advantage as seen in the 2014-15 season, South Carolina seems to play better with the support of the crowd by their side.