This weekend is a must-win game for Oklahoma. But it might be just as important for South Carolina.

The Sooners (4-2, 1-2 SEC) come into Saturday's contest (11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network) as a 1.5-point home favorite following a 31-point loss to Texas. With questions surrounding the struggles and inconsistencies of OU's offense, there's an immense amount of pressure for the Sooners to snag a home win against a South Carolina team that has lost three straight SEC games.

But the Gamecocks' 3-3 overall record is a little misleading. They narrowly lost to No. 8 LSU, 30-27, and then had No. 7 Alabama on the ropes last weekend in Tuscaloosa. The Gamecocks have similar issues to Oklahoma on offense, but South Carolina's defense will pose real challenges to an OU offense that has scored just five offensive touchdowns in three conference games.

Here's a look at South Carolina with help from GamecockScoop's Alan Cole:

Obviously it’s never ideal to lose three straight games in conference play, but South Carolina was right there against both LSU and Alabama, and it had opportunities to win both games. What’s the vibe right now in Columbia?

I think the vibe is a mix of optimism and frustration. There is real belief around this team and especially this defense that it is one of the better ones in the SEC and that it can compete with anyone, but at the same time there is a lot of disappointment about how close the team has been. This group feels like it should be 5-1 with two top-10 wins right now, but just a few mistakes here and there plus some untimely turnovers have put the brakes on what could have been a special season. It feels like a team one big win away from breaking out, but of course time is running out to get that type of signature win this season.

The numbers for South Carolina’s defensive front have stood out this season. What has been working so well for that group?

It is all about the talent on the edges. Georgia Tech transfer Kyle Kennard was expected to be good, but has been even better than advertised with the current SEC lead in sacks. Then on the other side, five-star true freshman Dylan Stewart has hit the ground running and been a match-up nightmare for opposing tackles. Those two guys starting combined with Florida State transfer Gilber Edmond and returner Bryan Thomas Jr. behind them have created depth, plus the Gamecocks have an experienced group of defensive tackles who are enjoying the benefits of all the pressure off the outside.

It seems South Carolina has had its struggles on offense. What’s been the biggest issue? Have there been any bright spots?

The biggest issue has been the frustration of growing pains with a redshirt freshman quarterback, a true freshman left tackle and another true freshman as the team's top wide receiver. This offense has gotten incrementally better for most of the season, but every week you see a few young mistakes here or there that just come from a lack of experience. That, combined with a debilitating turnover problem -- South Carolina has 10 turnovers in its three losses -- have been the biggest things holding this team back.In terms of bright spots, it kind of goes to the same thing with the youth. Mazeo Bennett Jr. has gotten better every week as the team's top receiver, and LaNorris Sellers is probably coming off his best performance of the season at Alabama in spite of the turnovers. Running back Rocket Sanders has also had some injury troubles early in the year, but when he's been healthy, he's looked like the all-SEC running back he was at Arkansas before transferring to South Carolina. This offense has a lot of potential if it can just get out of its own way, but that is of course a big if.

Oklahoma is clearly feeling pressured to win Saturday after a rough loss to Texas. How is South Carolina approaching this weekend? Is there a similar sense of urgency?

I don't think the sense of urgency is quite as high as it probably is with Oklahoma, but I think there is definitely a lot of pressure on South Carolina here. Ole Miss and Alabama were of course tough assignments, but the Gamecocks are staring down a winless month of October if they can't find one in Norman with their second bye week coming next.Close losses and development from younger players are good signs of optimism for the future, but there are only so many moral victories you can have before people start getting antsy. South Carolina is very close to that point after last week's narrow loss at Alabama, and going from a 2-0 start to a 3-4 record heading into November would only add to the feeling of uneasiness around the program that they might be about to waste the best defense this school has had in awhile.

What’s the one thing South Carolina has to do to win this game?

Hold on to the ball. Clearly South Carolina will not have to do a lot to outscore this struggling Oklahoma offense, but the one thing it cannot afford to do is give lifelines to the Sooners with short fields or defensive points. Turnovers have been a problem in every single loss this year, and Oklahoma of course excels at forcing turnovers. I could see this game playing out in a similar fashion to the one Oklahoma played at Auburn, where it was a bit of a slog both ways but the turnovers Oklahoma generated ended up being the difference.If South Carolina can protect the ball and play a clean game offensively I think it has a very good shot to win this game, but it also has not shown any consistent ability to do that all year.

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