South Carolina vs. North Carolina: Duke's Mayo Bowl scouting report, prediction

CHARLOTTE – It seems South Carolina is already playing with house money at this year’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

And against North Carolina on Thursday morning (11:30 a.m.) in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium, the Gamecocks (6-6) have an opportunity to really cash in on Shane Beamer’s first season as coach.

A win against Mack Brown and the Tar Heels (6-6) would be the USC football program’s first winning season since 2018 – the last time it played in a bowl game. More importantly, collecting a seventh win further pushes Beamer’s vision and projection that the Gamecocks are heading in the right direction.

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South Carolina will heavily relay on running back Kevin Harris

For the first time this season, USC will need to heavily rely on one of its running backs. Because of ZaQuandre White’s NFL draft declaration and MarShawn Lloyd dealing with an unspecified injury that has prevented him from practicing full time as recently as Monday, Kevin Harris resumes his role as the face of the Gamecocks’ rushing attack.

Harris has rushed for 476 yards this season, averaging just 3.9 yards per rush for a forgettable junior season during which he’s had to work himself back from offseason back surgery. North Carolina allows more than 170 yards rushing per game, so opportunity is there for South Carolina, Harris, as well as freshman Juju McDowell to move the ball via the run.

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What South Carolina Gamecocks' pass rush will look like

Star edge rusher Kingsley “J.J.” Enagbare won’t be out there, causing mayhem, as he rightfully decided to declare for the 2022 NFL draft. During the lone bowl practice with media viewing, outside linebacker Jordan Strachan was absent. Beamer has not been available to speak to media since Sunday, so it’s unclear as to why Strachan wasn’t practicing.

A quality pass rush from South Carolina will be the key to slow down UNC quarterback Sam Howell,so Enagbare's not playing was already a big deal. If the Gamecocks are without Strachan, that could be another blow.

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Senior Aaron Sterling and sophomore Jordan Burch must have big performances for the Gamecocks' defense to be effective.

Final game as South Carolina quarterback for Zeb Noland

The storybook season will get one final chapter Thursday. Noland, the graduate assistant receivers coach turned emergency quarterback, will start one last time at South Carolina and in his collegiate career that includes stops at Iowa State and North Dakota State.

Noland has done it all at USC, leading the game-winning drive against Vanderbilt while also having forgettable outings like at Texas A&M. The last time we saw him, he relieved Jason Brown, who has since entered the transfer portal, in the Clemson game, going 11-for-22 for 96 yards.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield likely will open the full playbook and pull out all the stops in the bowl game. How Noland manages and executes the offense could be the key factor in keeping North Carolina’s offense off the field and shortening the game.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: South Carolina vs. North Carolina prediction

The line has dropped to 9.5 in favor of UNC. But Howell and company on offense are enough to cover the spread for the Tar Heels against the Gamecocks. North Carolina 27, South Carolina 13

Cory Diaz covers the South Carolina Gamecocks for The Greenville News as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his work for all things Gamecocks on Twitter: @CoryDiaz_TGN

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Duke's Mayo Bowl: South Carolina-North Carolina scouting predictions