Some quick, barely researched, not fully-formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 31-14 victory over Central Florida:

Nun-YES™. Several times during the pre-season people suggested Lorenzo Nuñez would/should/could be our starting quarterback. Several times I responded that if Nuñez was our starting quarterback at any point during 2015 then something had gone terribly wrong with the season. After anemic offensive performances through three games, a significant injury to Connor Mitch, and a valiant but losing effort by former walk-on Perry Orth, I think it was safe to say things had gone terribly wrong.

Nuñez got his first college start on Saturday, and while I wouldn’t say he came through with flying colors, his performance was definitely good enough to cement the starting role at least until Mitch comes back. (And probably longer.)

After an ill-advised throw on his first play, Nuñez had the best single passing (184 yards, 2 TD) and rushing (18-123) games of the season for the Gamecocks. He showed skills we haven’t seen at the position since Anthony Wright. (You might say Syvelle Newton, but don’t, Syvelle never had the arm Zo does.)

There will be growing pains for sure, but at this point Lorenzo Nuñez by far gives us the best chance to move the ball, score points, and most importantly, win games.

King Tuttch. Down. Pharoh Cooper was in the midst of his worst game as a Gamecock. First, he made the boneheaded decision to try to field and return a punt inside his own 5 yard line. The muff led to a UCF recovery and 1-yard touchdown drive for the statistically worst offense in FBS. Next, he let a sure touchdown go though his hands that could’ve cut into the Knights lead right before half.

Undaunted, Cooper responded in the second half with an improvised touchdown run off a busted trick play. Then he came back later in the half to haul in a 35-yard touchdown from Nuñez. He’s not having the season he would’ve hoped for so far, but he’s still unquestionably the best offensive option we have on a team with a dearth of them.

Movin’ on Up. The Gamecocks have once again fielded one of the worst defenses in the country so far this year, so the offensively challenged Knights were just what the doctor ordered. USC held UCF to 230 total yards, with only 23 coming on the ground. There was a terrifyingly familiar 93-yard drive by the Knights late in the first half, and there were way too many Gamecock defensive backs not in the same zip code as the wide receivers they were covering. But aside from those things the defense was very solid. With the likes of Texas A&M, LSU and Clemson coming up, we needed a confidence builder, and we got it.

Holla man. There was much made, mostly by Steve Spurrier, of the decision to start TJ Holloman at middle linebacker this week. After all, the coaching staff was displacing our defensive MVP, Skai Moore, and potentially screwing up the one thing we had going for us on defense.

Holloman responded with his best day as a Gamecock, recording two interceptions, six tackles (one TFL), two quarterback hurries and a pass break-up. Tip of the cap to Jon Hoke and staff.

Boosie. Every once in a while we steal a kid from another state that turns out to be a real player for us. With a sack and a safety yesterday, Boosie Whitlow looks like he might be one of those guys.

The HBC. Yesterday certainly helped the morale in an around the program, but nothing happened to change our belief that this will be Steve Spurrier’s last season at the helm for the Gamecocks*.

After last week’s game he said there would be changes on defense, and those changes would be communicated by the defensive staff. The defensive staff made a significant change (Holloman, Moore) that Spurrier then publicly denounced on his Thursday call-in show. You might argue this is just Spurrier being Spurrier, and to an extent it is. But calling out your assistants, whom you asked to make changes, for doing the job you asked them to do is just being an ass. Handle that internally.

Then, after the game, the HBC was asked about play calling.

“I delegated early and obviously the second half I jumped in there a lot of times.”

This is beginning to annoy me. Either call the plays all the time, or have someone else call the plays all the time. The stories about 2-3 guys on the headset discussing what plays to run next for basically the entire game is not normal. Don’t tell us how sharp you are for a 70-year-old and then delegate the thing that made you famous to someone else.

Either call the plays, or butt out.

Moving on. We step up the competition a notch with a conference road game next week against Missouri. Fortunately, they are currently just as dysfunctional as we are, so it should be a good match-up.

Go Cocks!

*Note we still have not called for his firing, dismissal, ouster, or any other word suggesting he be dismissed against his will. 

On this week’s TRC Unleashed the boys discuss the Georgia debacle, if Lorenzo Nunez can spark the team to victory, and who some potential replacements might be for Steve Spurrier (if the job comes open and we’re not saying it will we’re just speculating like all fans do so back off.)

Click here for the iTunes link.

Or you can click here or click the graphic for streaming, and enjoy!

Greyson Lambert, a graduate transfer from the University of Virginia, looked a lot like Tom Brady Saturday night while lighting up the Gamecocks like a Christmas tree.

Like UGA, the Gamecocks have a graduate transfer (Isaiah Johnson) starting for them as well.  After watching the dumpster fire that was our defense last year, I (like all Gamecock fans) was thrilled to see Johnson come onto the scene.  Whether or not he will make a difference remains an open question.  After watching Lambert torch our secondary, of which Johnson is supposed to be an integral part, I’m not terribly impressed.

No, this post is not sour grapes, as I was squarely in the Everett Golson to USC camp. Instead it’s about the continued erosion of the traditional “student athlete” model in intercollegiate athletics. The fact of the matter is that major college football (and basketball) players are now free agents. As long as they graduate and meet certain transfer requirements, any player can leave one school and play at another school the next year while dodging the traditional transfer penalty of one year on the sidelines.

And why is the graduate transfer phenomenon a thing? Money, that’s why. Just like all the other methods used to get talented athletes on the field, universities around the country have bought into yet another way of getting an enhanced product that can be packaged as “college” ball. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m all for great players and competition. I’m just sick and tired of all the hypocrisy perpetuated by the NCAA and the universities. Graduate students from UVA, Kansas, or NC State are no more “students” of the new college they play for than the Kentucky basketball freshman who go to just enough classes in the fall semester so they can remain eligible in the spring, or the UNC athletes who were enrolled in all those “paper classes” for the last 20 years.

The graduate transfer rule is simply the latest example of a way to get guys on the field who can help your team win, and win fast. Everybody is doing it. Saturday night I watched an ex-FSU quarterback throw a TD pass to an ex-Oregon St. wide receiver. Both are now wearing Alabama uniforms. I’m pretty sure those guys aren’t at Bama for some fascinating new graduate program.

And let’s face the honest truth, the vast majority of fans couldn’t care less whether or not the star QB or point guard hangs out at the student union, attends classes, or graduates. They just want the wins and the excitement that comes from it all.  I get it.

I’m just ready for everyone to drop the bs and fancy eligibility rules and call college football and basketball what it is – a club system that effectively serves as a minor league.   Sure, there are the athletes who are academically gifted and would be in college anyway.  Some of the graduate transfers likely fall into this category. Rationales such as these only serve to muddy the truth: college athletics (again, I’m talking about D1 football and basketball here) aren’t about college, and haven’t been for quite some time. The fact that the NCAA and the university presidents continue to hold onto the “collegiate athletics” fiction while billions of dollars are made (and spent on coaches and facilities) is ridiculous, and insults the intelligence of the fan bases, which are composed at least partly of alumni who actually went to college for college.

Do I expect this post to change anything? Not a chance. Do I feel better after writing it?  Not really. USC’s “student athletes” still got their butts royally kicked by UGA’s “student athletes” and I’m still ticked off about it.

Humiliation. I was prepared to lose. I was not prepared for this.

I walked around all week in my Atlanta office telling my Bulldog co-workers that the 17 point spread was not enough. I told them they would win by three touchdowns despite their concerns about their quarterback. I mentally prepared myself for a loss, maybe even a bad loss, to protect these old bones from letting a football game impact other more important areas of my life.

Things were going according to plan through the first quarter, as we were competitive and looked like we might even be able to make a game of it. The 11-point halftime deficit wasn’t too bad, although I was a little concerned about how Georgia had moved down the field so easily in their two-minute drill.

Then we had to play the second half. Our offense was anemic. Our defense was horrific. Georgia ran 37 consecutive offensive plays without facing a third down. Greyson Lambert, a quarterback who was so average that Virginia asked him to not return for his senior season, completed 20 consecutive passes and set an NCAA record for completion percentage in a game. Jordan Diggs was blasted backwards into the end zone by Sony Michel and then posed over in a single moment that almost single-handedly eradicated our four wins in the previous five years over Georgia. Bulldog running backs were gaining eight yards before they were touched, and wide receivers were this open:

By the end Gamecock players were not only fighting with their opponents, but they were fighting with themselves in a telltale moment that right now this team is lost. Not only is there a dearth of talent on this squad due to poor recruiting efforts, but with very few exceptions there appears to be no heart and no self-respect.

In the end my mental preparation was for naught. A loss, even a bad loss, was acceptable to me last night.

Getting humiliated was not, and never will be, acceptable.

HBC. I have an idea how these last nine games will go, and if what I believe does happen it’s going to be a very sad ending to a great career for Steve Spurrier. Seeing video of him running out of Sanford Stadium having obscenities yelled at him by toothless, adult, redneck Georgia fans who have been dominated by Spurrier for the better part of 20 years did not help my mood.

That Ain’t No Hoke. Jon Hoke drew praise for his halftime adjustments in the first two games of the year as the Gamecocks played shutdown defense for the final 30 minutes against North Carolina and Kentucky. But last night he appeared to make no adjustments whatsoever. There was the occasional corner blitz that was picked up easily by Lambert, but very few times did we see more than four rushers to try to make something happen. Maybe I wasn’t watching closely enough, but I never noticed any stunts or twists either.

Who knows, maybe Lorenzo Ward deserves an apology.

It’s Zo Time. I said all summer that if at any point Lorenzo Nunez was our starting quarterback, then something has gone terribly wrong. I think we can all agree many things have gone terribly wrong, so it’s time to take our chances with the true freshman. Perry Orth is a nice story, from seventh string to bagging groceries to starting in Athens, but at this point that’s all it is – a nice story.

While Orth had his moments, it’s obvious Zo is an elite athlete and can make things happen that no other quarterback on the roster can. He might look like a baby deer running around out there at times, but I think he’s going to give us our best chance to score some points.

King Tuttchdown. Six yards receiving, 34 yards rushing. We’re wasting our main man.

On Quitting. At some point during the night former Gamecock defensive back D.J. Swearinger tweeted this:

Predictably, there was a lot of unfortunate reaction to this tweet by emotional fans. In turn, there was a lot of defense of DJ going on that what he said was “the truth”.

Here’s the thing – DJ was being honest in a way only DJ can be honest, and was probably expressing a lot of what we were feeling last night. The problem is, he has a responsibility none of the rest of us have. He’s one of the most popular Gamecock players of all time, and is now in a place where many of our players hope to be someday – the NFL. To tell our players, especially the ones who are strapping it up on Saturday and giving it every ounce of effort they have, that he is quitting on them is disappointing. Many of the current players look up to him. Hell, some of theme probably came to South Carolina BECAUSE of him.

Being disappointed in a performance is one thing, but telling a group of guys who look up to  you that you’re quitting on them is quite another. I’m disappointed, and despite my deep disappointment at how this season is shaping up, I’m not quitting. You can accuse me of bitching and moaning, and that’s fair. But regardless I’ll be there next week supporting these guys, and the week after, and the week after that.

The Final Word. From your lips to God’s ears Isaiah.

Go Cocks.

 

This space on a game day eve is usually reserved for a TRC ‘Boning Up segment, where we throw some serious knowledge your way about the upcoming opponent’s institution, tradition, and team. If you somehow wandered here looking for that info, please avail yourself of last year’s ‘Boning Up on the Dawgs, as much of the information remains the same. Just substitute ‘Chubb’ every time you see the word ‘Gurley’ and you should be fine. Georgia, gentle reader, never changes.

Instead, I’d like to address another topic: this, the (probable) final season of our Head Ball Coach. With a lackluster year behind us, and the promise of a difficult season ahead, many pundits are beginning to embrace the idea that this may be Steve Spurrier’s final year at the helm of our football program.

I have reluctantly reached this same conclusion.

Don’t get me wrong. I think the HBC has earned the right to coach the Gamecocks for as long as he wants. In fact, I’d be fine if we named him “Head Ball Coach for Life.” But the reality is that Spurrier is certainly near the end of his coaching days. His desire to go out on top notwithstanding, and given his complete disdain for mediocrity, he is more than likely going to be hanging up his visor at season’s end. He’s said as much on more than one occasion: if the program starts “going bad” (his phrase) then it would be time for him to step down.

Consensus reports have it that he almost stepped down at the end of last season, but a valiant effort by the Gamecocks in the Indy Bowl, plus Spurrier’s never-ending wellspring of tenacity, led him to sign on for another season.

Now, the prospects for a great – even a good season seem dim, and with his age becoming more and more of an issue in recruiting, its safe to say there will not be a sudden influx of young Stephon Gilmores or Marcus Lattimores to energize our chances. The talent is not there, folks. Not like it was in 2011, 2012, or 2013. And it doesn’t look like it’s returning soon.

As we mentioned on TRC Unleashed this week, celebrities sometimes contort the English language in ways to mask the grim realities of their own divorces. What you and I may call a marriage breakup is called a “thoughtful, tender, undoing” by singer Jewel Kilcher. What we would call infidelity by a husband is called a “conscious uncoupling” by actor Gwyneth Paltrow.

I’m not suggesting that our head coaching situation is headed for a divorce, because I certainly don’t sense any acrimony between Spurrier and the Gamecock fan base. But an end, undoubtedly, is nigh. And I’d like for us (and Ray, and the HBC) to think about an alternative way to wrap things up.

Instead of waiting until the year is out, tough year that it will probably be, and then calling a depressing press conference during the holiday season, I’ve got an alternative.

Let’s have a  thoughtful, tender undoing. A conscious uncoupling.

Here’s how: Announce it tomorrow. Before the game. All the HBC has to do is saunter up to the nearest sideline reporter with a camera and say “You know, this is gonna be my last time coaching in Sanford Stadium or against the Georgia Bulldogs. It’s been a great honor and a heck of a lot of fun. But anyway . . . “

All the pressure of the season would instantly evaporate. The questions surrounding our recruiting and the program’s future would take a back seat to excitement. We could all sit back and enjoy his victory lap season. Ray could get a head start on the coaching search. The media would go wild. And win or lose, our Gamecocks would be the lead on every sports page in America on Sunday morning. The media focus would continue all season long: the HBC’s last trip to Neyland. His last game against Florida, etc., etc. And the last game of his legendary coaching career could be in Williams Brice Stadium against the Clemson Tigers.

Imagine the HBC being carried off the field (whether after a win OR a loss) in that scenario. It would be something special, something we (him included) would feel was fitting for a coach who has done so much for our school and our athletics program.

Heck, we could even announce pregame that the field was gonna be named after him. After all, “Spurrier Field at Williams Brice Stadium” has a nice ring to it.

I’m not suggesting that we pull the plug on arguably the greatest playcaller in college football history. I’m not looking forward to being without the best ball coach we’ve ever had. But its going to happen, probably sooner than later. And I think we have an alternative to a wait-and-see approach.

Let’s have a conscious uncoupling.

This space on a game day eve is usually reserved for a TRC ‘Boning Up segment, where we throw some serious knowledge your way about the upcoming opponent’s institution, tradition, and team.  If you somehow wandered here looking for that info, please avail yourself of last year’s ‘Boning Up on the Dawgs, as much of the information remains the same.  Just substitute ‘Chubb’ every time you see the word ‘Gurley’ and you should be fine. Georgia, gentle reader, never changes.

Instead, I’d like to address another topic: this, the (probable) final season of our Head Ball Coach.     With a lackluster year behind us, and the promise of a difficult season ahead, many pundits are beginning to embrace the idea that this may be Steve Spurrier’s final year at the helm of our football program.

I have reluctantly reached this same conclusion.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think the HBC has earned the right to coach the Gamecocks for as long as he wants.  In fact, I’d be fine if we named him “Head Ball Coach for Life.”  But the reality is that Spurrier is certainly near the end of his coaching days.  His desire to go out on top notwithstanding, and given his complete disdain for mediocrity, he is more than likely going to be hanging up his visor at season’s end.  He’s said as much on more than one occasion: if the program starts “going bad” (his phrase) then it would be time for him to step down.

Consensus reports have it that he almost stepped down at the end of last season, but a valiant effort by the Gamecocks in the Indy Bowl, plus Spurrier’s never-ending wellspring of tenacity, led him to sign on for another season.

Now, the prospects for a great – even a good – season seem dim, and with his age becoming more and more of an issue in recruiting, its safe to say there will not be a sudden influx of young Stephon Gilmores or Marcus Lattimores to energize our chances.  The talent is not there, folks.  Not like it was in 2011, 2012, or 2013.  And it doesn’t look like it’s returning soon.

As we mentioned on TRC Unleashed this week,  celebrities sometimes contort the English language in ways to mask the grim realities of their own divorces.  What you and I may call a marriage breakup is called a “thoughtful, tender, undoing” by singer Jewel Kilcher.  What we would call infidelity by a husband is called a “conscious uncoupling” by actor Gwyneth Paltrow.

I’m not suggesting that our head coaching situation is headed for a divorce, because I certainly don’t sense any acrimony between Spurrier and the Gamecock fan base.  But an end, undoubtedly, is nigh.  And I’d like for us (and Ray, and the HBC) to think about an alternative way to wrap things up.

Instead of waiting until the year is out, tough year that it will probably be, and then calling a depressing press conference during the holiday season, I’ve got an alternative.

Let’s have a thoughtful, tender undoing.  A conscious uncoupling.

Here’s how:  Announce it tomorrow. Before the game.  All the HBC has to do is saunter up to the nearest sideline reporter with a camera and say “You know, this is gonna be my last time coaching in Sanford Stadium or against the Georgia Bulldogs.  It’s been a great honor and a heck of a lot of fun.  But anyway . . . “

All the pressure of the season would instantly evaporate.  The questions surrounding our recruiting and the program’s future would take a back seat to excitement.   We could all sit back and enjoy his victory lap season.  Ray could get a head start on the coaching search.  The media would go wild.  And win or lose, our Gamecocks would be the lead on every sports page in America on Sunday morning.  The media focus would continue all season long:  the HBC’s last trip to Neyland.  His last game against Florida, etc., etc.  And the last game of his legendary coaching career could be in Williams Brice Stadium against the Clemson Tigers.

Imagine the HBC being carried off the field (whether after a win OR a loss) in that scenario.  It would be something special, something we (him included) would feel was fitting for a coach who has done so much for our school and our athletics program.

Heck, we could even announce pregame that the field was gonna be named after him.  After all, “Spurrier Field at Williams Brice Stadium” has a nice ring to it.

I’m not suggesting that we pull the plug on arguably the greatest playcaller in college football history.  I’m not looking forward to being without the best ball coach we’ve ever had.  But its going to happen, probably sooner than later.   And I think we have an alternative to a wait-and-see approach.

Let’s have a conscious uncoupling.

The season took an unexpectedly brutal turn Saturday night. The prospects for even a respectable (read: .500) season are looking somewhat bleak. So if you didn’t like last week’s TPR, you’re probably not gonna like this one either. But we soldier on.

Week 2 Results:

North Carolina (1-1) – Beat North Carolina A&T 53-14. I honestly did not see this score until I looked it up last night. I didn’t even think UNC played.

TPR for UNC: Yawn. Even if they turn out to be halfway decent, a win over North Carolina doesn’t help us now.

Kentucky (2-0) – Beat South Carolina 26-22. Kentucky picked up their third SEC win in two years (two over us, one over Vandy) and stopped a 22-game road SEC losing streak. I honestly cannot take anything positive from this performance.

TPR for Kentucky: I don’t Kentucky is any better than they were last year, I just think we’re worse. They’ll still struggle to get to bowl eligibility. Have fun in Birmingham, Wildcats.

Georgia (2-0) – Beat Vanderbilt 31-14. I mean to tell you, Georgia fans are downright MISERABLE after their 17-point road win last week. I wish a 17-point road win was why I was miserable.

TPR for Georgia: Led by All-American Nick Chubb (to whom Steve Spurrier was unwilling to lend any of his precious, precious time…twice) the Dogs have more than enough weapons to dispose of us on Saturday.  However, their lack of solid QB play will keep them out of the national conversation. Which will probably lead to more highly insecure blog posts like this one.

Central Florida (0-2) – Lost to Stanford 31-7. You’ll always have 2013 UCF.

TPR for UCF: Gamecocks will sweep the leg to move to 2-2.

Missouri (2-0) – Beat Arkansas State 27-20. Mizzou is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Games like this one and Indiana from last year are the reason we are reluctant to give them the credit they may or may not deserve.

TPR for Missouri: I just can’t bring myself to give up hope on this one. I think it’s a toss-up.

LSU (1-0) – Beat Mississippi State 21-19. LSU finally got to play a real ball game, and they were impressive at times, but still had to eke out a win over a tough Mississippi State team.

TPR for LSU: I liked us at home before last weekend. Can’t really say I feel that way any more. LSU is bigger, faster, stronger and more talented. And they will score more points than us.

Vanderbilt (0-2) – Lost to Georgia 31-14. I didn’t watch the game so I need to go find out how Vandy scored 14 points.

TPR for Vanderbilt: Trust me, they will give us fits with their defense, but we will win. If we don’t, Spurrier might quit during the post-game press conference.

Texas A&M (2-0) – Beat Ball State 56-23. TAMU has scored 94 points against one good opponent and one average opponent. We have scored 39 points against two average to below average opponents.

TPR for Texas A&M: Bloodbath and beyond.

Tennessee (1-1) – Lost to Oklahoma 31-24 in OT. I was so happy to see UT lose so we can stop asking if Tennessee is back for about ten minutes.

TPR for Tennessee: They might not be “back”, but they’re back enough to handle us at Neyland.

Florida (2-0) – Beat East Carolina 31-24. The big story was not the game or the outcome, but the ass chewing Jim McIlwain gave Kelvin Taylor after his throat-slash gesture. I enjoyed that because it reminded me of how I used to talk to the third-grade team I coached. Exactly.

TPR for Florida: This could be Steve Spurrier’s last chance for a significant win in Williams-Brice. I think he will call his best game of the year and the ‘Cocks will win going away.

The Citadel (2-0) – Beat Western Carolina 28-10. The Bulldogs look like a pretty darn good FCS team so far.

TPR for The Citadel: Let’s see, watch us play a triple-option team or stick bamboo shoots under my fingernails. Hmm, tough call.

Clemson (2-0) – Beat Appalachian State 41-10. You folks with the inability to give the Tigers any credit for anything will point out they haven’t played anybody yet, but I have to say I’ve been impressed with them so far. Their first “big” test is tonight against 0-2 Louisville. Notre Dame is down a starting QB, and Florida State has been less than impressive. Georgia Tech might be the only team standing in the way of an undefeated regular season for Clemson.

TPR for Clemson: Pretty much more talented than us across the board. We’ll be hanging our hopes on wings and prayers, but as we all know anything can happ… /hit by meteorite

Projected final record: 6-6

Buck and Tbone, sans the Gman, reflect on the Kentucky game and what it might mean to the long-term direction of the Gamecock football program. Among other things you’ll hear:

• A recap of the loss to the Wildcats
• What it means for the rest of the season (hint: it ain’t good)
• Why this might be the end of the road for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina
• Who else is currently going through a thoughtful, tender undoing
• If there is a thoughtful, tender undoing, what qualities would we like to see in our next HBC
• Other Twitter questions

It’s a difficult conversation, and one we’ll probably be having for the next several weeks. But it’s healthy. Join us in the trust tree.

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Or click here or the graphic to stream, and enjoy!

Some quick, barely researched, not fully-formed thoughts from South Carolina’s 26-22 loss to Kentucky:

Watershed. On January 1, 2014, South Carolina defeated Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl. Six days later when the final college football rankings were released, the Gamecocks were ranked fourth, the best finish in school history. In April 2014, Jadeveon Clowney was taken by the Houston Texans with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. The University’s athletic department ran a campaign called “Top Ten Program” featuring the football team’s successes.

Since then the Gamecocks have played a mere 15 football games, winning 8 and losing 7, including Saturday night’s loss to Kentucky. In the process, South Carolina has either lost ground to or been passed by every football program in the SEC aside from Vanderbilt and possibly Florida.

We are now, at best, the 12th best program in the SEC after falling for the second straight year to the Wildcats. You don’t believe it? Then who would you put us ahead of out of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, LSU, Arkansas or Texas A&M? (Don’t even get me started on how Clemson has passed us like we were standing still.) Even though we’ve beaten Florida twice in a row, they have a new coach, new energy, and because of a rich recruiting base a program that doesn’t have far to go to insert themselves back into the national conversation.

The fall of the Gamecocks has been fast and painful. Apathy from the head man has reflected mightily on the recruiting trail and that has translated in a bad way to the football field. Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, and we have failed miserably in that area for the last few years. Especially considering we had a run of three straight 11-win seasons and we actually WERE a top 10 program.

Steve Spurrier has done more for South Carolina Gamecock football than any other coach in our history. Maybe more than all the others combined. He has taken us to places we only dreamed of. He has put us on the map, and he has entertained us. Most of all, he has won a lot of important ball games for us. And I have a feeling we will be thanking him for many years and in many ways for his contributions.

But now Steve Spurrier is not winning. Or at least he’s not winning enough. In addition, there are signs things are not going to get better any time soon, and we don’t need a 70-year-old coach leading a rebuilding project anyway. And please spare me the “how soon we forget 1-21” speech. I haven’t forgotten that at all, but it WAS fifteen years ago and lot has changed, not the least of which are our expectations of wins and losses. Just because we experienced 1-21 doesn’t mean we should put a cap on our expected success.

I realize we are only two games into the season, and lot of things can happen. But I have also witnessed a precipitous fall from what was our football mountaintop. I have a feeling we’re going to be looking for new head coach in December. It will be a sad time, an uneasy time, and an exciting time. But it will be time.

Take your pick. The loss to Kentucky was the epitome of a team effort. Failed red zone trips, a fumble returned for a 2-point conversion, a crucial interception, two unsportsmanlike penalties, miserable first half tackling. They say games between equally matched teams are usually decided by 1-2 plays. But last night, even if we overcame one bad play, there was another one waiting around the corner to doom us.

A tale of two halves. For our defense, it was the worst of halves, and the best of halves. But most of what I’ve been reading has been praise for the defense for shutting the Wildcats out in the second half. That’s all well and good, but how about let’s not give up 24 points and 300 yards in the first half that makes the game virtually unwinnable.

QB conundrum. I was sorry to see Connor Mitch get hurt, and was glad to hear he would probably only be out six weeks instead of the entire season. I know the kid has worked hard to earn his spot, and that should not be forgotten. However, he was borderline atrocious in the North Carolina game, and even worse last night. Perry Orth came in and showed surprising poise and confidence. We’ll have to see how the battle between he and Lorenzo Nunez plays out over the next few weeks, but unless both go completely in the tank (along with Michael Scarnecchia) I have a hard time seeing Mitch win the quarterback job back.

Mouth running Wilds. Brandon Wilds had some great quotes after the game:

Most of the time I’m not a big fan of players calling out coaches publicly, but in this case I really love it. Wilds has gone to battle for four years for our school. He’s seen the highs, and now he’s experiencing the lows, and he doesn’t like it one bit. Here’s a guy who knows what it takes to win from every member of the team, including the coaches. I don’t blame him for bitching. Give the man the ball.

Georgia on our minds. And they’re going to be on our jocks on Saturday. They opened as a 16-point favorite. While they didn’t play well on Saturday against Vanderbilt, I would feel comfortable laying the 16 based on what I’ve seen from USC so far.

I hope I’m wrong about all this. Regardless, I’m in it for the long haul.

Go Cocks!

 

Its Week Two already, and what with your full life and all, you’re woefully unprepared to hate on our upcoming opponents, the Kentucky Wildcats.

Well fret not, loyal reader, ’cause we’re about to get you all ‘boned up:

Remember, these are actual colleges with actual students:

The University of Kentucky is a coeducational, public university located in Lexington, Kentucky.  Depending on what source you are using, the University was originally called Transylvania University, or Kentucky Agriculture and Mechanical College, or just plain old Kentucky University.  Whatever the name, the University was founded in 1865, and was funded almost completely via an allocation from the U.S. Congress.  This federal funding mechanism is entirely appropriate, as most Kentuckians today continue to be supported via brown checks issued monthly by Uncle Sam.

Their Latin motto is Universitas Kentuckiensis which I need not translate as it is mindblowingly straightforward.  Interestingly, they also officially trademarked an English language motto which is (and this is real) See Blue. See this video for more on how to see blue or whatever, and wonder how our own Andy Demetra was not somehow involved in this cracker jack marketing scheme.

UK, as they call themselves, has an enrollment of about 29,000 students, which makes it slightly smaller than our own beloved Universitas Caroliniansis (name not a real thing).  Along with every other public university in the United States, they are committed to becoming a Top Twenty Public University within the next X years.

Yeah, good luck with that, UK.

 The weirdest thing about them:

There’s a wealth of possibilities here, and that’s not even considering a certain clerk who refuses to perform a certain constitutionally-required duty and whom I’ve promised myself I would not mention during this post.  So I won’t.  Mention her, that is.

Instead, I’ll flee from current events and point out the banality of their stick figure university seal.  No seated greek god, no divine nude in thought, no bundle of sticks surrounded by flames and flecks of gold.  No, the University of Kentucky’s official seal is just the words “University of Kentucky” surrounding a roughly drawn colonist who is handing something to a native American.  There are also several dates strewn about, all with no apparent significance.

But this is where it gets weird.  The guy on the left is clearly meant to be some sort of colonist, maybe the founder of the state or something.  But the figure on the right barely looks like a native American and is, instead, a striking representation of a sophisticated modern woman with long hair, a fancy purse, knee-high boots, and a short skirt.  Its stunning really, once you notice it..  The lady looks classy.  As in “the world’s oldest profession” classy.  Maybe the George Washington guy is handing her a brown check.  Ah, now I get it!

Moving on:

The game this year is all about revenge, as our late game collapse in last year’s contest still rankles most gamecock fans.  The image of Wildcat wildcat Jo Jo Kemp gashing us for run after run all-the-while begging to be taken out of the game from exhaustion might be THE defining image of our 2014 team.

Our team needs to exorcise that particular demon from its psyche, and return to playing the sound, fundamental defense that we all expect.

One wrinkle to watch for this year:

Our all time record against the Wildcats is 16-7-1.  They haven’t beaten Carolina in Williams Brice Stadium since our winless season in 1999.  Our average margin of victory in a home game with Kentucky is over twenty points – that’s right – we usually beat Kentucky in our place by three scores.

Can we do it this year?  Is that even in our DNA?

But anyway. . . .

That player you are going to hate:

I would say Jo Jo Kemp, based entirely on the end of last year’s game.  But the truth of the matter is that I didn’t even hate him then.  I hated our defense for letting an exhausted freshman blast through them with ease.

My money this year is that we are going to despise one of the wideouts, probably Garrett Johnson.  He wears number 9, is of average height, weight, and speed, but he always seems to make a play when the Wildcats need him.  He’s just a sophomore, but then again, the entire Kentucky receiving corps is made up of youngsters.

The Enigma:

Patrick Towles, quarterback.  Like many a quarterback in this league, he can go from hero to goat and back again quicker than you can say “late throw over the middle.”   He was forced into action in his freshman year due to a rash of injuries on the UK QB depth chart.  He then lost a three man race for the job in 2013 and settled for a redshirt year.  Last year he put up respectable numbers, but then he struggled to win the starting job this spring over redshirt freshman/headcase Drew Barker.

The Ingenue:

Freshman Right Tackle, George Asafo-Adjei. This Ohio native has gone from three star recruit to starting tackle on an SEC offensive line in just a handful of months.  He’s a mountain of a young man, 6’5″ tall and weighing 325 pounds.  I think it will be a small game-within-the-game to see how our DEs match up with young Asafo-Adjei.

The thing that will tell the tale:

Can we pressure their QB and force him into bad decisions.  Towles is not the fastest of guys, but he can sling it all over the ballpark.  If he has time to throw, we are in trouble, particularly in light of our inadequacies at corner.  Last week’s starter at one spot, Chris Lammons, is out this week with bruised ribs, and he was subbing for presumptive starter Chaz Elder, who mysteriously failed to play at all.  This leaves us with Sophomore Al Harris, Jr. to man the position, and while he is long in “want to”, he is mighty short in stature.

William Carlos Williams explains further:

so much depends
upon

Chaz Cornelius

Elder

where are you,

young man?

do you haz a

sad?

I forgot to mention:

Basketball.  I think this might be the first time in the history of Kentucky Football that someone hasn’t mentioned their basketball program during a football discussion.  Except I just did.  Dang it.