A Retrospective on Southern Miss

I keep telling myself to keep it in perspective.� It�s only week one.� It was only Southern Miss.�

But don�t it feel good?�

There was a 50-gallon drum�full of reasons to�wring our hands leading up to the game � Agentgate, Whitneygate, who was going to be eligible, who wasn�t; Southern Miss was a more formidable opponent than N.C. State; Andre Brown was 7-feet tall and ran a sub-4 40; Austin Davis was the second coming of Brett Favre; our defense wasn�t ready for the fast-paced USM offense; Larry Fedora was SOS Lite, etc. etc.

T-bone gave us fair warning � do not fear a C-USA team only returning four starters on offense and that gave up�42 points against Middle Tennessee�in a bowl game more pathetic than that bowl-that-shall-no-longer-be-named.� But we did not listen.� And after the first three and out, our fingernails were bit to the quick and leprous sores were forming on our hands.�

But then something odd happened.� The University of South Carolina started to look crisp in a season opener.�

Steve Spurrier mixed it up with the playcalling, not giving a crap that he may be �showing his hand.�� Stephen Garcia was all at once sharp, daring, fearless, and best of all, a leader. �Stephon Gilmore flashed his freakish talent on both sides of the ball.� Alshon Jeffery looked like a varsity player getting reps against the JV�s.� Marcus Lattimore, while he didn�t put up spectacular numbers, energized the other players and the crowd.� Ace Sanders looked like he belonged on the Bonneville Salt Flats.� Connor Shaw was as advertised.�

Sure, there were a few rough spots, mainly on defense.� A busted assignment led to USM�s first score.� The D wasn�t as havoc-wreaking as we would�ve liked, and they gave up a lot of yards in the final quarter.� There wasn�t a great push from the front four, and some of the back-ups made us thankful for the first-teamers.�

But come on, aren�t we nitpicking at that point?� We apparently survived a pre-game nuking at the hands of the NCAA, and then went on to soundly beat a team that most experts expected to give us a game well into the second half.� That�s a heckuva lot better start than we�re used to, I can tell you that.

At least for one week, we were who we are supposed to be � a contender for the SEC East crown pounding a good but overmatched mid-major.� So I�d call the feeling right now cautious giddiness.

Lose next week to Georgia, and we�re back to being good ol� South Carolina.

Win next week against Georgia, and a universe of possibilities opens up.