Tuff Enough?

We know All-SEC linebacker Jasper Brinkley and the University of South Carolina defense are “tough enough,” but what about the Gamecocks’ offense?

Obviously, the answer to that question depends on the week …

And while starting quarterback Chris Smelley had a career afternoon in last week’s win over Mississippi, the truth is that head coach Steve Spurrier’s offense has continued to sputter in this, his fourth season at South Carolina (4-2, 1-2 SEC).

The Gamecocks rank 8th in the SEC in scoring, averaging just 23.4 points a game. More troubling, they rank 10th in the SEC running the football - which is critical to establishing consistent offensive success in the biggest, toughest football conference in America.

Today, South Carolina travels to Lexington to take on Kentucky (4-1, 0-1 SEC), which hung tight last week with No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa before eventually falling 17-14.

It’s one of those “make-or-break” games for both teams, a contest that will ultimately determine which program goes on to challenge Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt (yes, Vanderbilt) in the SEC East, and which team ends up going to a crappy, Patriotic-sounding, non-New Year’s Day bowl game.

The Wildcats are slight favorites over the Gamecocks (2.5 points), but they too have been plagued by inconsistent offensive production, and like South Carolina they rely on an imposing defense to win games.

We’ll see which “D” has what it takes to win this battle …