South Carolina Gamecocks on upset-alert vs UCF

Sitting at 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, the South Carolina Gamecocks are still very much in the hunt for a berth in the BCS National Championship, but they need to be weary of their upcoming opponent this week.

Coming off of an upset-win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley, the Central Florida Knights are riding a wave of momentum, and on Saturday, the Knights will have a chance to prove themselves, as USC comes to Bright House Networks Stadium.

"“It’s huge — you can say it’s just the fourth game of the year, but I think everybody realizes it’s a big game,” Bortles said. “It’s on national TV. I don’t think any of us have ever played a nationally televised game. It’s a bigger platform. Everybody is going to want to watch Jadeveon Clowney. Us being able to share the field with him is an experience and an opportunity.”"

After nearly blowing a big lead against the Vanderbilt Commodores, USC has shown a noticeable weakness in their secondary, something that UCF quarterback Blake Bortles is capable of exposing. Bortles has been the primary reason for their 3-0 start, including the win over Penn State in which he completed 20/27 passes for 288 yards, three touchdowns and one interceptions.

The USC defense will need to step-up this week if they hope to slow down the UCF offense and avoid a devastating home-loss that would certainly knock them out of the BCS title-race, and likely any hopes of a BCS at-large berth.