Join us for TRC Unleashed tonight at 6 p.m. where we’ll talk about bowl games, championship games and whatever else comes to mind.

YouTube continues to be the third best thing ever created right after bacon and therubberchickensblog.com. If you think middle fingers are offensive then you might not want to view this. (h/t to Lairdtacular)

Something just made me think of this, and it made me laugh. Hard.

In case you missed the TRC Unleashed live podcast, you can find the replay here.  It’s a rousing good time where the guys talk about how much we are dominating Clemson at the moment.  What could be better than that?

You really, really don’t want to miss a very special TRC Unleashed tonight at 6 p.m. As you may or may not have heard, South Carolina beat Clemson in football last night 34-13, and the boys are anxious to talk about:

• How the tide has turned in this rivalry
• The accomplishments of USC in Steve Spurrier’s tenure
• Performance of the offense and defense
• We probably won’t talk about special teams because that will just bring us down
• Rubber Chickens Awards for the Clemson game
• Possible bowl destination

Listen in, won’t you?

Here are some quick, barely researched, not fully formed thoughts from last night’s breathtaking 34-13 victory over the CTU Tigers:

Satisfying. Have there been bigger or more important wins in South Carolina’s football history than last night? Yes. Have there been wins that were more satisfying? I don’t know, man, I don’t know. Maybe I’m still just giddy in the afterglow of such a monumental ass-kicking of our hated rival, but I can’t think of a time when I’ve enjoyed a win more than last night. Right now food tastes better, my wife is more attractive, my bad back doesn’t hurt nearly as much, and Tbone and the Gman are slightly less annoying. “Beat Clemson” is an amazing tonic.

In their heads. As a long-time Gamecock fan one of the things that always annoyed me was that Clemson seemed to have a mental edge over us. No matter the teams’ records or rankings, CTU always came into the game with a swagger while we looked like we were just a little bit afraid. If you want evidence this rivalry has changed, look at the body language and eyes and actions of the CTU players from last night: the worm has turned my friends.

The Gamecock players KNEW they were going to win. They KNEW they were facing an inferior opponent and were going to take the fight to them. They trusted their skills, they trusted the game plan, and they flat out intimidated the Clemson players. When CTU rallied to tie the  game at 10, there was no panic, no real momentum shift. On the next possession we just took the ball down the field and scored because we knew we were better and knew we could. It was a glorious thing to see, and I look forward to seeing it again.

The HBC. I’ve been critical of how this season has played out on more than one occasion, but watching the end of the game last night was just more confirmation that Steve Spurrier has taken us to heights we never could’ve achieved otherwise. An SEC East title and nine wins last season. Ten wins this season. With a bowl victory we could finish with a top 10 national ranking. Three straight wins over Clemson and an 8-0 record over two years over UGA, Tennessee, Florida and CTU. Not too shabby. Thanks coach.

I got this. Since taking over at quarterback Connor Shaw has just kind of “been there”. Aside from a huge passing game against Kentucky and one spectacular run against El Cid, he’s managed games, made plays when he had to, and led this team to victories. But we all wanted more. We wanted to see the guy take this QB job by the stones and not let go. And last night Shaw played better than we ever could’ve dreamed. He took the game over on offense, using his legs to churn out 107 yards on the ground, and was super efficient through the air going 14-20 for 220 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. If he can play like this for two more years, we’ll be hell to deal with.

1. I don’t know about you, but Alshon’s TD catch near the end of the game was pretty emotional to me. The guy came into the season on the cover of SI and all over All-American lists, but has had a very sub-par season. To my knowledge he’s never complained or acted like a diva and has often said he’s only concerned about winning. To see him make that very Alshon-like grab in the back of the end zone was (and I know I’ve already used this word) satisfying.

It made me happy for him above all, because he deserved that moment. If that’s his last catch in Williams-Brice stadium, then let’s frame that sucker and salute, because we won’t ever see another guy quite like #1 in a Gamecock uniform.

31. Another guy who may have played his last game in Williams-Brice, Kenny Miles came in and played the best he’s played since the Clemson game two years ago. Good for you Kenny, and thanks.

Play of the game. Clemson had just kicked a field goal to tie the game at 10 and had seized some momentum. We moved the ball into their territory and were facing a 4th and 2 with 3:43 left in the first half on the Clemson 38-yard line. Tbone texted me “What do you do here” and I responded “No idea, but I have a sneaking suspicion this is the play of the game coming up”. What we did was run a very simple zone play right up the gut with Miles that picked up seven yards. We scored a touchdown a few plays later, and though we didn’t realize it at the time, the rout was on.

D is for Defense. About midway through the year CTU’s offense was scary to watch. They ran fast, they ran with precision, and they had players with mad skills dotting the field. The problem, however, was they were playing against some pretty bad, untalented ACC defenses. What they ran into last night was unlike anything they’ve seen since…well, since the South Carolina game last year. The Gamecock D was crazy good last night, harassing Tajh Boyd and showing his early season Heisman candidacy was nothing but fools gold. The front four of Ingram, Taylor, Robertson and Clowney got steady pressure all night. The linebackers played very well. And the defensive backfield had Watkins and Hopkins and company covered like kudzu. Props to Ellis Johnson.

6. Man I’m going to miss Melvin Ingram. What a season.

7. Man I’m going to enjoy watching Jadeveon Clowney the rest of his career. He was out of control on a lot of plays last night, but was inches from decapitating Boyd on several occasions, and finally got him at the end of the game. When Clowney was cleared to play Scott Hood of Gamecock Central had a puzzling tweet about him saying something along the lines of “don’t expect much from him he hasn’t practiced much this week due to the concussion.” Look, defensive end is not a thinking man’s position compared to a lot of other spots on the field. I have a feeling Clowney’s assignment last night was “see ball, get ball”, and for a young man with his skills you don’t need a whole lot more than that.

Not so special teams. Wow we need to get the third phase of our game fixed. Big time.

All right, gotta get to church, but we’ll talk about these things and a whole lot more on TRC Unleashed tonight at 6 p.m.

Go Cocks!

It’s hard to believe the CTU game is upon us and another football season has just about slipped through our fingers.  It’s been a strange season.  And as I type that I realize “strange” is only moderately adequate as a descriptor. Consider:

• The loss of Stephen Garcia, who had played poorly, and that’s being kind, in his early season appearances.
• The loss of Marcus Lattimore. The ultimate nightmare of the Gamecock fan, an injury that happened on a game-winning drive when he was BLOCKING for someone else.
• The baffling numbers of Alshon Jeffery through eleven games:  43 catches, 585 yards, 6 TDs. (Seriously, if you had seen those numbers before the season how many games do you think it would have taken to get them? Five? Six?)
• The loss of Kyle Nunn, who was obviously much more of a factor on our offensive line than anyone outside of the coaching staff gave him credit for.
• The unfortunate early season loss of Shon Carson, whose season we mourn because of his enormous potential. No one really talks about this, but remember he had moved up to second team tailback behind #21 and had shown a lot of explosiveness in practice.    
• The last-minute injury/suspension reports that have become a weekly tradition.  I feel like they play Wheel of Suspension about an hour before every game, and then the Twitter feeds explode with “[INSERT PLAYER NAME] is not going through warm-ups and is not dressed out”.

Yet, here we stand at 9-2, ranked 13^th in the country and within reach of an 11-win campaign. The play of our defense combined with the emergence of Connor Shaw (somewhat expected) and Brandon Wilds (totally unexpected) moving the chains have saved our season.

Steve Spurrier just said today in his press conference “we’re not a great team, and we’re fortunate to be 9-2.” That’s exactly how I feel, but we also need to recognize there are two, maybe three great teams in the country this year, and they’re all in our conference. “Great” is relative in this wacky, surreal season.  

With that said:

If we win Saturday and win our bowl game – spectacular season.

If we lose Satuday and lose our bowl game – disappointing season.

If we split…well, ask me later.

That means we have a ton left to play for, and Saturday should be a lot of fun.  

On to the Tusings:

Code Red on the Excuse Meter. The upstaters are already working on their excuse in case of a loss Saturday – “we lost our left tackle whatshisname and Sammy Watkins is banged up”. Well, last I checked CTU’s injury situation doesn’t hold a candle to ours, and Gamecock fans expect win anyway. (Where have I heard that before?)

How We Win. Run the ball and stop the run? Not exactly – I say we definitely need to run the ball, move the chains, eat up clock, but on defense we need to guard against the long ball. CTU has the receivers to get deep, and we need to keep pressure on Boyd and keep Watkins, Hopkins, et al from hitting the big play.

Tommy Bowden Logic Prediction. CTU is 38 points from being undefeated, while South Carolina is only 19 points from being undefeated. Both teams have two losses, so you divide those numbers by two and subtract from each other, and according to Tommy Bowden Logic the Gamecocks will win by 10 points (rounding up the 9.5 point differential).  Let’s call it 27-17 Gamecocks. Hooray!

1987. A lot of people are saying this is the biggest USC-CTU game since 1987, which was a battle of two highly ranked teams, and there’s definitely an argument for that. 1987 happened to be my freshman year at South Carolina, and to this day I can say I’ve never seen a wilder, louder crowd in Williams-Brice Stadium. If you were there, how could  you ever forget “ROD-NEEEEEEE! ROD-NEEEEEEE!”  Has it really been 24 years? Ah, memories…

USC Bowl Destination. I have to say I’m intrigued with the thought of playing in the Cotton Bowl. A shiny new stadium has resurrected the Cotton as a premiere bowl destination, and you also get a day all to yourself (Jan. 6) to showcase your program. Outback? Meh, I’m not going to complain, but it would be nice to take at least a half step up in the bowl pecking order, which the Cotton would be. Facing Oklahoma or Oklahoma State? We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

BCS Title Game Rematch? Lotsa debate going on right now on whether the BCS National Championship game should be a rematch between LSU and ‘Bama. My opinion? If both teams can come away unscathed over the next two weeks, then absolutely they should play for the National Title. The BCS title game should match the two best teams in the country, regardless of conference or even division within conference. I dare anyone to make an argument for any team other than those two (again, provided they don’t lose until then). Oklahoma State? Oregon? Stanford? You all had your chance, now step aside and let the big boys decide it. Again.

How the Mighty Have Fallen. Much has been made of the tumbling fortunes of Florida and Tennessee in the SEC East the past two years. At the beginning of this year I sang the praises of Derek Dooley, saying he was the right man at the right time at UT, and that they were going to surprise some people. Well, I’m here to say I WAS DEAD WRONG PEOPLE.

This video shows just how far the mighty Volunteers have fallen. A wild celebration and trash talk after a monumental victory over…Vanderbilt? A team you have owned forever, winning 28 of the last 29 times you’ve played? For your first conference victory of the year?

Congratulation to James Franklin, whom we like a lot, for earning this kind of respect in such a short time in Nashville.

But come on Tennessee (and I never, ever thought I’d say this), but you’re better than that.

Go Cocks!

South Carolina dropped a 58-53 decision at Elon in front of a raucous crowd of 427 on Tuesday night at Alumni Gym. Anthony Gill led the Gamecocks with 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Demontre Harris added 10 rebounds.

“People just don’t go into Alumni Gym and expect to walk out with a victory,” said Gamecock head coach Darrin Horn. “Elon is a tough, tough basketball team, as evidenced by their preseason ranking of fifth in the North division in the Southern Conference. The bottom half of the North division is traditionally one of the toughest bottom halves of a lower mid-major conference in the Southern part of the mid-Atlantic region. ”

Horn continued, “We played these guys tough, make no mistake, we just didn’t make the critical plays down the stretch.  I told the guys before the game we were going to need to shoot heavily contested threes to win this game. I figured 10% from behind the arc would win, and we shot 11%, so you certainly can’t fault the game plan. Elon just made plays, that’s what they do.”

Horn bristled when asked if this was an embarrassing loss for this program.

“Embarrassing loss? I don’t think you can ever classify a loss to Elon on their home court as embarrassing. Did you hear that crowd out there? I haven’t heard a crowd that loud since my wife and I went to hear that Thin Lizzy cover band at that bar I can’t remember the name of.”

Horn was asked what positives he could take from the loss.

“Well, just the fact we played Elon to within single digits on the road will boost our confidence. Also, one of our goals is to get at least one player into double digits in scoring every game, and Gill had nine. Nine is one less than ten, which is double digits, so we have room to improve, but that’s still a step in the right direction in my book.”

Horn was then asked how his team was going to regroup for Tennessee State on Sunday night.

“Please, I don’t even want to think about Tennessee State right now. Let me get my head around this loss and we’ll start game planning for the…the, uh…anybody know Tennessee State’s mascot?”

“Tigers.”

“Yeah, Tigers, got to game plan of for the Tigers. How many tall, slow white dudes do they have? That’s a problem for us, you know.”

Tennessee State at South Carolina will tip off at 6:11 p.m. on Sunday night. For some reason it will be televised.

And Darrin Horn will still be the coach of the Gamecocks.