The South Caronia Gamecocks entered the 2012 college football season as one of the favorites to make it to the national championship game.
The team has performed well all season, including in a dominating performance against then-No. 5 Georgia in a 35-7 win. But last Saturday the Gamecocks lost to LSU on the road 23-21, and dropped down to seventh in the college rankings.
With a loss on their resume, the only chance South Carolina has to make it to the title game is to run the table. In order to do that, coach Steve Spurrier must lead South Carolina to a win this Saturday against his former team, the No. 2 ranked Florida Gators.
The game is easily the most anticipated game of the weekend and is the only one to feature two top 10 teams facing each other. Florida is much improved from last year and the Gamecocks will need every weapon in their arsenal to win.
The problem there? Star running back Marcus Lattimore may not be available for the game due to an injury.
Lattimore did not go through practice on Wednesday and coach Spurrier said the running back may not start on Saturday due to a hip injury.
"We're sort of banged up all of a sudden," Spurrier said.
The coach said the injury could take a couple weeks to heal.
"It's not surgery-type things," Spurrier said of Lattimore's condition. "It appears it's something that'll be fine in a week or so."
Lattimore is one of the most explosive players on South Carolina and has rushed for 584 yards this season and has scored 10 touchdowns. Last week he had a rough game in the loss against LSU, gaining only 35 yards on 13 carries.
According to ESPN.com, the loss snapped a record 10-game win streak for the school.
Lattimore has dealt with injuries in the past, including last season when he missed six games after injuring his knee in a game against Mississippi State. He also dealt with minor injuries in his first season with the team in 2010.
The running back looked strong coming back from the injury this season, rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his first game back.
If he is unable to play on Saturday, Spurrier will use backup Kenny Miles and freshman Mike Davis to make up for his carries.
Florida will be a formidable challenge for South Carolina. The team is ranked at No. 2 in the BCS standings and is 6-0 for the first time since three years ago when the team went 12-0.
"At the end of the day, we're about winning championships on and off the field here at Florida, and it's another step to Atlanta," coach Will Muschamp said.
South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw will have to have a big game for the Gamecocks to win, especially if Lattimore is injured. Shaw threw for only 177 yards against LSU last week and also had two interceptions. It was his first multi-interception game this season.
Although the Gamecocks lost last week, a win would tie them with Florida in the SEC East and give them a chance to make it to the conference title game. South Carolina is currently 4-1 in the SEC while Florida is 5-0.
Lattimore has averaged 4.5 yards a carry this season, but Florida has a talented rush defense that could stop him in his tracks if he plays. Florida is ranked in the top 20 in rush defense, giving up only 107 yards per game.
South Carolina has the talent to beat the Gators, the only question is if it will be on the field or on the sidelines come Saturday.
