Some short, quick, barely researched, not fully formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 34-24 victory over Wisconsin in the 2014 Capital One Bowl:

Final word. As I was finishing this piece I started to realize all the players and coaches I was leaving out, and how the accomplishments of this team and its seniors deserve more than what I have time to write. For all the Shaws, Clowneys and Ellingtons I mention, there are the Suttons, Quarles(es?) and Hamptons whom I don’t. For all the credit Steve Spurrier deserves, his staff of guys like Ward, Elliott and Mangus are second to none. We have tremendous individual talent on the field, on the sidelines and in the stands, but this program has become the epitome of TEAM. Everyone who has had a hand in our success deserves a handshake and a sincere thank you. This is indeed the Golden Age of Gamecock football.

11. A number with which all South Carolina fans should be quite familiar. For the third consecutive season the Gamecocks will finish with an 11-2 record and a top 10 finish. Our handful of seniors leave with a record of 42-11, easily the best four-year stretch in USC history.

Maybe you haven’t lost perspective during this run, but since I have I’ll remind everyone we only had ONE 10-win season in school history (1984) and ZERO top 10 finishes in school history before 2011. The record book continues to be re-written under Steve Spurrier.

Team Shaw. In retrospect, I’m not sure why I was ever worried we might lose to Wisconsin. There was no way number 14 in garnet was going to walk off that playing field in Orlando with a loss. Gman nailed it in a text to us shortly after the game yesterday – every time we think Connor Shaw can’t top his last feat, he somehow finds a way to amaze us in a new way.

Yesterday’s game was perhaps the best of his career, a tour de force performance that included 312 yards on 22 of 25 passing while accounting for five touchdowns – three passing, one rushing, and his first ever receiving touchdown.

The most remarkable stat? Shaw finished the season with 24 touchdown passes against only one interception. That is asinine. Also of note, yesterday’s game took him over 6,000 yards passing for his career (6,074), and he finished with 56 touchdowns against 16 interceptions.

Oh, one more thing – he finished 27-5 as a starter. The debate as to whether he is the best quarterback in Gamecock history is long over. We should probably be talking about where he ranks in terms of the best PLAYER in Gamecock history.

Stand of the game. After Wisconsin extended their lead to 17-13 via a bruising ground game to start the third quarter, Connor Shaw promptly made his only mistake of the game and fumbled on the first play of the next drive. Aided by a holding penalty, the Gamecock defense bowed up and eventually the Badgers missed a 42-yard field goal. The way Wisconsin was moving the football late in the first half and early in the second, a touchdown after the could’ve completely changed the complexion of the game

Play of the game. Following that missed field goal, USC quickly moved across midfield into Badger territory. Facing 3rd and 5 at the Wisconsin 42, the Gamecocks committed back-to-back false start penalties. An eight yard gain made it 4th and 7, and Steve Spurrier decided to go for it in no man’s land as opposed to risking a Tyler Hull punt (which is indeed risky).

Shaw floated a pass to Bruce Ellington near the left sideline that was behind him. Ellington reached up, tipped the ball, then spun around to make a spectacular catch and give the Gamecocks a much-needed first down.  Two plays later Shaw hit Ellington for a 22-yard touchdown strike that put USC ahead to stay.

They’re not saying boo, they’re saying Bruuuuuuuuce. Ellington finished with six catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns in perhaps his final game at South Carolina. If you had told me six weeks ago Ellington might leave for the NFL I would’ve said you’re crazy. But really, Bruce has nothing left to prove in college, and another year will probably not improve his draft stock. The downside for him is the 2014 wide receiver class is very deep.

I have no idea if Bruce Ellington will be successful in the League, but I wouldn’t bet against him. As someone who panned his decision to play football in the first place, I’m in no position to make judgments about number 23.

The HBC. Steve Spurrier was as happy and proud as we’ve ever seen him at the trophy presentation yesterday. He was downright giddy, thanking the fans, proclaiming Connor Shaw the best quarterback in the country, and yes, taking the obligatory shot at Clemson*.

Long live the HBC.

Gimme gimme gimme. The Gamecocks forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter yesterday, matching the three they forced in the fourth quarter against Clemson in their last game. That’s finishing strong.

Clowney goin’. JD, it seems like yesterday I closed the door to my office in the middle of the day just to see you announce your college choice. Thank you for coming to South Carolina. It has been nothing but an absolute pleasure watching you play football here. I’m glad you didn’t pay attention to the media/haters as much as we did. Best of luck, your place in Gamecock history is secure.

Shaq attack. Shaq Roland (6-112) continues fulfill his promise, and if Bruce leaves like we believe he will, becomes the number one receiving target next year. Some of his catches are Alshon-esque, and if he can work hard in the offseason and stay on the straight and narrow, he’ll be an all-conference performer in 2014.

The Rocket. Mike Davis faltered down the stretch this season. Despite his protestations, it was obvious he was not healthy from the Missouri game on. His violent running style caught up with him, and I hope he starts to realize avoiding contact as opposed to taking it head on (literally) is going to extend his playing days.

Young bucks. For our young linebackers yesterday was a microcosm of the season. Early on they seemed a little lost and confused and were having a hard time shedding blocks. By the middle of the third quarter they were more confident and flying to the ball with abandon.

I feel like this season has gone as planned for the linebacking corps. We have seen them go from a group that was a weakness for much of this season, to a unit that should be a strength in 2014. And I know I’m not telling you anything you haven’t already heard, but Skai Moore has a chance to be the best linebacker we’ve had on campus in several years.

Knight moves. Not only does the three-point win over Central Florida look better after yesterday, keep in mind without a Mike Davis fumble deep in Knight territory, and a brutal secondary breakdown late in the game, we win that game by two scores or more.

Happy New Year and here’s to a productive offseason! Go Cocks!

TRC Unleashed returns after a four-week hiatus to discuss the Capital One Bowl and have a recruiting conversation with Michael Carvell from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also on the show:

• The game: excited or not excited
• Prospects for victory
• What if Connor Shaw played safety for Wisconsin?
• Why are we underdogs?
• What is “blue shirting”?
• Tbone tells Brandi in grand detail where Jupiter is
• A hoops update

As a bonus, if you hang around after a short music interlude at the end you’ll hear more intro bloopers.

Click here or click the graphic to listen, and Happy New Year!

In TRC Unleashed Episode 60 we get to keep our sign-off, give you an extra long intro (because THE TODD, duh) and we:

• Give a detailed accounting of the fifth straight victory over Clemson*
• Discuss some of the key plays in the game you may not have noticed
• Give mad props to guys like Roland and Cooper
• Hand out our final regular season @blitz_jewelry Rubber Chicken awards of 2013
• Rip delusional Clemson* fans with your help (there are some reasonable Clemson fans out there)
• Discuss bowl possibilities as they stand today
• #Horsecocks update

It’s another happy podcast, so click here or click the graphic, and ENJOY!

Some short, quick, barely researched, not fully formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 31-17 victory (our FIFTH STRAIGHT) over Clemson* on Saturday night:

Five will get you ten (wins). It just keeps getting better. The first win got the monkey off our back. The second and third wins accomplished something we had not done since 1968-1970, and the fourth matched a streak from 1951-1954. I’ve followed this rivalry since about 1980, and I never thought I’d see five in a row in favor of the Gamecocks. But here we are, completely in the heads of everyone who wears orange and purple, and believing six, seven and eight is not outside the realm of possibility.

You’ve been able to see it in their faces late in the fourth quarter of the last three USC wins especially – “when is this going to end?”

They trot out tired old scores and records – “my grandkids’ grandkids will never see this rivalry even tied!” They trot those out because they’re all the Clemsonites have left. And I think they’re finally beginning to realize we really don’t care about the all-time record, or a blowout that took place more than ten years ago. And it’s killing them.

Until they can break this streak, nothing else really matters. Amen? Can I get a high five?

Team Shaw. You know how we feel about Connor Shaw, so we won’t go into that again. But last night’s performance was indicative of what he means to us. He was sharp throwing the ball early, but when the run game kept getting continuously stuffed, Steve Spurrier called his number on the ground 22 times (including a couple of kneel downs) and #14 responded with nearly 100 yards. He simply did what he had to do to get us the win, something he did 17 times against no losses at Williams-Brice Stadium. If you know anything about the history of South Carolina, that’s a remarkable number. But Shaw has been a remarkable player, as Coach Spurrier summed up nicely.

“Connor Shaw, ah man, the best quarterback in school history,” Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said. “He’s probably the difference maker completely for us.”

The HBC. At one point when Pharoh Cooper was stuffed on a run from the wildcat formation, I tweeted this:

Silly me, little did I know the Head Ball Coach had been setting up the dagger all night:

Given the game situation and the magnitude of the game, I can’t think of a better play call in the Spurrier era. The only thing that even comes to mind is the Newton-Boyd-McKinley-Newton play against Kentucky in 2006, but that was a game between two pretty average teams. Last night’s call was simply brilliant.

Spurrier’s simple on-field post-game responses to ESPN were also a thing of beauty, as well as his taking a moment to pose for a “five” photo.

Orange turnover. I hope Brison Williams, Chaz Sutton and Kaiwan Lewis all got game balls last night. Williams’ interception kept Clemson from taking an early lead and the momentum. Sutton’s play was arguably the play of the game, as the Tigers were driving for the potential tying touchdown when he simply took the ball from Tajh Boyd. Finally, Kaiwan Lewis forced the second fumble of the night from Clemson punt returner Adam Humphries which led to the final score of the night, giving the Gamecocks a much-needed two-score advantage.

Shaq attack. Shaq Roland keeps getting closer to being our go-to guy. He only had three catches for 40 yards last night, with one for a touchdown. He had one long catch taken from him after a review (a rip-off IMO) and had another great catch nullified by a defensive pass interference call that gave the Gamecocks a first down. Here’s hoping by this time next year we’ll be talking about him in the same breath as guys like Rice and Jeffery.

Wild Wild East. Congrats to Missouri, they certainly earned the division title. Wishing them good luck next weekend.

Bowling. As of this writing the new BCS standings are not out, and we’ll have to wait until some conference championship games are played next weekend before we know where we are headed. The most likely destinations look like the Capital One or the Outback, with the Cotton and Chick-fil-a still possibilities. I know there are some who are not in favor of the Cotton, but unless it’s a personal thing (would travel to Florida but not Dallas) I’m not sure what the objection would be. A match-up against 11-1 Baylor on January 3 would be a fantastic showcase for our program. I’m not sure another trip to Orlando or Tampa against a plodding Big 10 team really gets the blood pumping any more.

“This is not Clemson football.” That’s a quote from Sammy Watkins, which is surprising because he’s been around long enough to know this most certainly IS Clemson football:

Look, the Tigers played a damn good game last night, probably the best of the last five against us. Their defensive front seven stopped us like no defense has done all  year. But you are only rarely going to win a football game when you turn the ball over SIX times in a game.

To those Clemson fans who claim they “gave” the game to us, let me tell you a little something about football – turnovers, like those who commit them or force them, are part of the game. You have players who make plays and players who make mistakes. The last few years Clemson has made a lot more mistakes than us, and has had players make fewer plays than us.

Wide receiver throws an interception? How about not have your wide receiver throwing passes when you’re moving the ball fine without any trickery.

Punt returner fumbles? How about put a guy back there you can depend on.

Quarterback gets stripped? How about credit the guy on the other team making a great play and blame your quarterback for not doing a better job of protecting the ball.

Punt returner gets stripped? Maybe you should have learned your lesson and put somebody else back there after his first fumble.

Quarterback throws two more interceptions? Well, that’s just Tajh Boyd against South Carolina for you.

All those things are part of the game and help determine which team is better than the other. And all those things are why Clemson has now lost five games in a row to South Carolina.

Go Cocks!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope you all have a fantastic holiday wherever you are and whoever you are with!

(Photoshop courtesy of the supremely talented Jorge Stevens – @jorge_stevens.)

Former Gamecock standout Jonathan Martin joins TRC Unleashed to discuss his years with Lou Holtz and what it took to go from 0-11 to Outback Bowl Champions. The crew also discusses:

• Annoying voiceovers
• A review of the Coastal Carolina game
• The @blitz_jewelry Rubber Chicken Awards
• Is Dabo conceding?
• And much more that I’m too tired to remember!

Be sure to hang around after the final music to hear a special profanity-laden (for us) blooper!

Click here or click the graphic, and enjoy!

TRC Unleashed bounces back from a lackluster effort after the Mississippi State game to give you an action packed hour of Gamecock entertainment. Included:

• An interview with Carey Rich about how the Gamecock basketball team looks early
• A review of the Prayer on the Plains and our grind-it-out win over Florida
• The Rubber Chicken Awards
• Why do the polls hate us?
• What are our bowl possibilities?
• #Horsecocks equestrian update

Click here or click the link to listen, and enjoy!

Some short, quick, barely researched, not fully formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 19-14 victory over Florida on Saturday night:

Winning ugly. Florida deserves a tremendous amount of credit for coming in to Williams Brice and putting up a valiant fight on Saturday. They have been decimated by injuries, were coming off a home loss to Vanderbilt, and were starting a freshman quarterback who had never taken a snap in a game. But Will Muschamp and staff put together a game plan that nearly worked.

Florida tried to shorten the game by using a power running attack, and I think surprised the Gamecock coaches by not even considering pass plays in the first half, even on obvious passing downs (Florida’s first rushing TD was on 3rd and 14). But after rushing for 169 yards in the first half, the Gamecocks loaded the box and held the Gators to only 31 yards in the second. When forced to make throws, Skyler Mornhinweg eventually made a freshman mistake and was picked off by Jimmy Legree to seal the game.

It was an ugly win, and one that makes you wonder what we can realistically expect in our final three (four?) games. But an ugly win is fine, because there’s no such thing as a pretty loss.

Seven and Seven. There were times early in the season when Shon Carson looked like he might be losing his place on this football team. He was third team behind Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds*, had lost his kick returner job, and didn’t look confident or capable in the limited carries he was getting. There was even talk of taking the redshirt off of freshman David Williams when Wilds went down with an elbow injury. But Carson has gotten better each week, and with Davis nicked up last night, our offensive number 7 came up with the best game of his career with 102 yards on 13 carries, including a 58-yard run that set up the go-ahead field goal. Considering how much Carson has gone through since he’s been at USC, it’s good to see him making such a meaningful contribution.

Our other number 7, you know, the guy on the defensive side, was vintage Jadeveon Clowney. Even with an injured foot, he was flying off the ball and seemed like he was in the backfield more times than not. This season has been a disappointment numbers-wise for JD, but anyone who watches him play week in and week out like we do know he’s still the best player in college football.

*Carson may be the number two back even when Wilds is fully healthy. Steve Spurrier did not seem too happy with Wilds when he claimed he had a sore hamstring and couldn’t play.  

Just four kicks. Steve Spurrier hates kicking field goals. I mean, he HATES kicking field goals. But he knew the way Florida was playing last night that points were going to be at a premium. So when the offense stalled on multiple occasions, he called on true freshman walk-on Elliott Fry, who responded by hitting four of his five attempts. The Texan has been a revelation this season, and has been at the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season of special teams.

Busta move. As we wrote last week, the tight ends have not been nearly the threat this season that we expected them to be. But Busta Anderson came up big against the Gators with 3 catches for 69 yards. The biggest of those was a leaping 34-yard grab on 3rd and 9 from the Florida 36-yard line. Had he not made that play (and had he not been interfered with), the Gamecocks would’ve been faced with a tough decision down 14-13. It was arguably the play of the year out of our tight end position.

Whammy. For some reason Lorenzo Ward has been the target of a lot of criticism this season. He has taken a squad with the most inexperienced linebacking crew in the country and turned them into currently the third best defense in the SEC. Last night he did that thing we always talk about coaches needing to do – make adjustments. After halftime he put more people around the line of scrimmage, and the Gator rushing attack went away. Coach Ward deserves a lot more credit than he’s gotten this year.

Unsportsmanlike. I cannot tolerate stupid penalties, and under the HBC we haven’t seen too many over the years. But Jordan Diggs and J.T. Surratt committed two of the worst in recent memory, and they could’ve cost us a lot worse than they did. I’m sure they will be reminded of those penalties in practice this week.

Prayer on the Plains. The first piece to an SEC East title for the Gamecocks had been falling into place all afternoon as Auburn had been dismantling Georgia. But I watched in relative horror as the resilient Aaron Murray led the Bulldogs back, and saw them take the lead with under two minutes to go on a questionable touchdown run. My heart sank as Auburn lost yardage on their first three downs, and faced an impossible 4th and 18 from deep in their own territory.

Then, this happened.

Somehow I didn’t even react. I just watched and soaked in what I immediately knew was one of the greatest plays in SEC history. And a play that could very well get us to Atlanta the first weekend of December.

Wild, wild East. Speaking of, the path for both Missouri and South Carolina to the SEC Championship Game became a whole lot clearer yesterday. If Missouri beats Ole Miss and Texas A&M, they go. If they lose either, we go. Let the scoreboard watching commence.

Go Cocks, beat The Citadel!