so much depends
upon

receiver randall
cobb

lined up in the
shotgun

behind the stooped
center.

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.

Just because everybody else does it, and we obviously have some spare time, TRC shares our gameday predictions for Southern Miss.

Buck says: USC 27-10.  This game will be reminiscent of NC State 2008, with a seriously sloppy first half and a couple of late scores to help us breathe easy.  Offensive stars will be Garcia, Lattimore and Jeffery (why yes, this limb is nice and sturdy, thank you very much), while the D will suffocate Southern Miss (I’m only giving them 10 points because I envision us giving them the ball in plus territory a couple of times.)  Other game notes:  Looking forward to Rece Davis calling the game, he’s 87% less smug than Chris Fowler; not looking forward to listening to the Craig James/Jesse Palmer color guy gigglefest; Buck beer consumption over/under – 7; G-man beer consumption over/under - 0.5; T-bone postgame alcohol level over/under – 0.11; Most common quote from a Georgia fan while watching us Thursday night – “Oh my gosh, we are going to KILL them.”

Tbone says: USC 31-3  Our offense may go in fits and starts at first.  However, I don’t see a Conference USA offense that returns only 4 starters (1  on OL) coming into our place and making much noise.  Matthews et al will smother the Mustard Buzzards (I’m gonna keep calling them that until it catches on).  Garcia will start, Shaw will get the 1st series of the 2nd quarter.  I look for Lattimore to make his mark on the swing pass twice, and for Gurley/Alshon/Moore to lead the charge for the receivers.  Craig “Derp” James will annoy us with his idiocy, Jesse Palmer will wear an awkwardly short tie.  Rece Davis will spend most of the game speculating on when Spurrier is retiring.  New ESPN sideline reported Jenn Whatshername will stumble at bit, but after a six pack of beer and a gamecock victory, I won’t even notice.  Most common quote from a Clemson fan while watching us on Thursday night – “I saw Kyle Parker in just his workout pants today ! OM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM!”

Gman says: USC 23-17.  The PappaJohns.toilet bowl game is too fresh for me to think we are suddenly going to light it up on offense.  Yeah, we have Lattimore and great receivers, but I believe these are pretty much the same receivers we had last year and we struggled mightily to score.  With a lot of returners on O, however, I think we will move the ball well between the 20’s.  This will result in opportunities for Lanning that he will cash in on.  I expect one boneheaded offensive play that sets up SM for an easy score.  The D will play well but struggle to create turnovers.  As is often the case with this kind of opponent, we will look like the better team by a wide margin, but the score will not reflect it.  I’ll be live at the W-B so I (thankfully) won’t hear the ESPN crew and their digs and snickers about our program.  Don’t be surprised if they continue their lovefest with UCLA pitchers Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer (who didn’t even pitch!).  Will tailgate mightily – looking forward to hanging at my new spot.  I would tell you to come by for a beer, but, um, we’re, uh, probably not going to be there when you come by.  Dang!  Maybe next time.

Thank God for Football Season and Go Cocks!

A few links to get you ready for tonight’s game:

– Chock full of information you can use during the game to impress your friends: check out TRC’s A Southern Miss Primer!

– Our friends at Left Over Hotdog give some righteous pre-game analysis.

– Our other friends at Garnet and Black opine on the Southern Miss Defense.

-  Apparently, the greatest player in the history of college football wears the Mustard and Black

– Our NotFriend @CoachFedora (who refused to give us the courtesy of the return follow after we stalked followed him on twitter) nevertheless, looks like he’s got his head is in the right pregame place:

Just sayin’:

Historically, we have had some special moments, and some moments that were, shall we say, not so special.  When recounting days of yesteryear, we often forget that this underappreciated part of the game can have a HUGE impact.  First some positive memories:  Squeaky Watson’s two blocked punts in one game, Daniel Weaver’s Outback Bowl game winner, and Josh Brown’s bleeder over the crossbar at UT.  Negatives?  Oh, we’ve got plenty.  How about the multiple blocked kicks by Florida (perhaps my most painful moment as a Gamecock fan, right up there with the Push Off), the blocked extra point at Arkansas, and the blocked kick last year (and all the kick returns) at Georgia.  Here’s the best case/worst case for the special teams in 2010.

Placekicking

Best Case:  Spencer Lanning picks up where he left off last year and continues to drill the ball through the uprights.  Not only does Spencer maintain his consistency, but he adds range to his arsenal and booms some 50+ yarders that would make Ryan Succop proud.  Even our Tar Hole transfer gets to kick a few when Spencer’s leg gets tired.

Worst Case:  Most of Lanning’s kicks look like his first field goal attempt last year at NC State.  Putrid.  On top of that, Strickland has butterfingers as the new holder and we have to resort to going for it on fourth down.  We finally get a good hold and a straight kick in the Florida game, and some 7 foot walk on from the basketball team blocks the potential game winning kick-with his armpit.

Punting and Punt Coverage

Best Case:  Spencer improves his hang time and average, and drops about twenty kicks inside the five yard line.  The punt coverage team is so quick and hits so hard that the opposing coaches hardly ever put return guys back there.  In one rare case a punt return is attempted against us, DJ Swearinger pops the guy in the ear hole and knocks him into next week.  This conjures up memories of Shannon “Bodybag” Wadley and DJ becomes a legend.

Worst Case:  Last year happens again and we can’t cover a kick.  Shane Beamer is seen foaming at the mouth and ripping helmets (and heads) off on the sidelines.  We resort to the Lou Holtz soccer style punting method and the first punt hits the long snapper in the back resulting in a net punt of negative eight yards.  Based on our inability to punt or cover a punt, SOS starts going for it on 4^th down regardless of our field position.

Kickoffs and Kickoff Coverage

Best Case:  Joey Scribner-Howard is the second coming of Succop and launches kick-offs into the Student Section with regularity.  When Joey feels charitable, he kicks it short and lets the coverage team annihilate the return guy.  The kickoff team actually becomes a strength. 

Worst Case:  See above-last year happens.  The kicks are short and the returns are long.  Adam “Yikes” Yates gets another shot, but kicking it out of bounds to eliminate the risk of a big return becomes the preferred strategy.

Punt and Kickoff Return Teams

Best Case:  Culliver gets his mojo back and does what we all know he can do.  He pays back Georgia by returning a kickoff for a TD-our first since 2002.  He does it again against CTU, erasing all memories of a certain return against us last November.  Gilmore provides steady hands as the punt returner and channels his inner Deion on occasion.  Oh, and we actually block a punt.  Imagine that for a moment.  Let it sink in real good.

Worst Case:  Culliver’s shoulder acts up again and Sherm is left as the primary kick returner.  We’re lucky if we get it back to the twenty, and eventually start letting the ball bounce into the end zone in hopes of getting a touch back.

Overall

Best Case:  Lanning wins the Lou Groza award and kicks the winning field goal in the Sugar Bowl.

Worst Case:  We set the NCAA record for allowing the most kicks returned for TDs in a season.

November 21, 1987 was the day I became a Gamecock fan.  I don’t mean I started pulling for South Carolina.  I mean I became a FAN.

That was the night 12th-ranked South Carolina took on 8th-ranked Clemson in Columbia.  It was the highest combined ranking ever for the schools, and was the night game on ESPN (back when “game of the week” meant something).  I was a Freshman at South Carolina, and had seats in the student section about the 30 yard line.

It was a cold night, but the stadium was packed…and loud.  The 2001 entrance was legendary, and the game would turn out to be one of the most memorable Gamecock victories over Clemson.

Both defenses were tough that night, but South Carolina broke through on this play to Ryan Bethea (hat tip to Cockytalk).  When he split the Clemson defenders I just remember the entire student section going nuts.  When Bethea was brought down inside the ten, I looked down on the ground and the G-man was lying flat on his back in between the bleachers where he had fallen.  With no regard for his safety whatsoever, he looked up at me and screamed, “DID HE SCORE?!?”

He didn’t, but Harold Green did on the very next play.  The rest of the night will be remembered by all that were there because of the hauntingly slow chant of “RODDDD-NEEEEE, RODDDD-NEEEE”  directed at Clemson QB Rodney Williams, who took a beating of Biblical proportions that night.  Brad Edwards sealed the win with an interception return for touchdown late in the game.

I still have that game on VHS somewhere in a cardboard box in my basement.  I must’ve watched Ryan Bethea run with that football 1000 times, with the announcer (any help with who that is?) starting with the flat “Ryan Bethea” and then when the play breaks big the staccato “RY-an be-THEA, WILL GO…”  Even the announcer thought he was gone.

Ryan Bethea was essentially the Alshon Jeffery of his time.  A big guy, really big, with great hands and good speed.  I always had such high hopes that he would be the next Sterling Sharpe, but that never materialized.  Rumors swirled around campus that he was involved in some shady dealings, but nothing was ever confirmed to my knowledge.  He spent some time in an NFL camp or two, but never caught on.

I have no idea where Ryan Bethea is now, but I’d love to tell him that play made me smile each and every one of those thousand times I watched it.  And it still does.