Tusings, or Tuesday Musings, was meant to be a weekly column where I speak of random randomness involving the Gamecocks. But, since I don’t get paid for this, and because the people who do pay me expect things of me that do not involve writing for obscure blogs…here are your two-day late Tusings!

I feel really good about this weekend’s game.  Which is odd, because I rarely feel good about any game.  I can’t tell you if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, because it’s so rare that I have these feelings about a USC game that I don’t really remember how they turn out.  Maybe it’s that I believe Stephen Garcia is going to get it into gear this week, which means Alshon will get it into gear this week. Maybe it’s because Auburn’s defense is SO bad statistically, and Marcus is so good statistically. Maybe it’s ecause I saw our defense beat up on Vandy like a JV squad. Maybe it’s because the HBC has been in a good mood this week. I don’t know, but if we get our butt beat on Saturday, please remind me to never have a good feeling about one of our games again.

The overrated 1. We love Saturday Down South, and if you haven’t been there, we’d recommend it.  It’s a football lover’s paradise. However, a curious article from “MrPalmetto” yesterday asked the question “Is South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery Overrated?”, to which his answer was “yes”. (Tip:  if you’re going to write an article you know is going to be controversial, don’t tiptoe around on the title, just call it “South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery is Overrated”. Take a stand, man.)

Anyhoo, Mr. P can certainly have his opinion, that’s cool.  But a lot of it involved things I don’t actively measure during a game like “he’s not very fast” or “he has problems with press coverage”. My response in the comments section of his article was this:

You can argue that he’s not elite, but the preponderance of the evidence suggests otherwise:

2009 46-763, 16.6 ypc, 6 TD (after only 5 catches in his first 5 games)
2010 88-1517, 17.2 ypc, 9 TD

(BTW, where do you get “one season, heck, six standout games” from? Is that your arbitrary statistical analysis? He had eight 100-yard receiving games last year. And does his freshman year not count?)

He didn’t put up those numbers because he’s slow or because he can’t get separation, I can tell you that. His 14 catches for 246 yards and 1 TD is certainly disappointing so far in 2011, but with the sub-par QB play and the fact he’s been bracketed by two and three players in every game are making it tough to put up numbers comparable to 2010. Teams have geared their defenses to stop him, and it’s worked.

Will he be a great pro? Heck, I don’t know any more than you. People considered better than AJ have flopped and people considered not as good have excelled in the NFL. But to write that he shouldn’t be considered among the elite COLLEGE wide receivers is just silly.

I don’t watch film and break down plays, so I can’t speak to what kind of route runner Alshon is or how well he gets off of press coverage. But I saw this. And this. And this.

That’s just scratching the surface.  And to me, that’s elite.

Bulletin board. Speaking of Alshon not getting off press coverage (gasp! maybe MrPalmetto is right!), apparently Auburn CB Ryan White thinks that’s true: “From what I’ve seen, he can’t get off press. So that’s what we’re coming in with.” Considering the War Tigers’ abysmal defensive statistics, they better come with a heckuva lot more than that.

Bulletin board II. Ryan White again: “If we shut those two down – Alshon and Marcus – we’re going to come out with the W.” Oh, no, we’ve been found out!!!

Dangerous Tigers. In all seriousness, I hope Coach Johnson has as good a plan this week as he had last week. Auburn’s offensive line is bad, but if they can create time and space for the likes of Dyer, McCalebb and Blake, we could have a shootout on our hands.  Also, Coach Butler, please kick the ball out-of-bounds on kickoffs. The one thing I do not want to see is Tre Mason finding a crease.

Ire of the Tiger. Auburn is the only SEC football team we have not beaten since joining the conference in 1992 (0-6). Our only victory against them was in 1933. And no, I wasn’t around to see it. 

It’s all about football. I used to be as big a Braves fan as any team in any sport. I lived and died with the Bravos throughout the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s. Unfortunately, years and years of “almosts” have finally worn me down. I paid only casual attention to their September swoon this year, and watched with mild interest last night as they completed a historic collapse. I was actually asleep during the last four innings.

Folks, I’m officially a football man.

Go Cocks!

In case you haven’t heard, the Gamecocks will be rocking an alternate uniform for the Auburn game.  The unis are being worn  in support of the Wounded Warrior Project, an important charity if ever there was one, and are completely badass:

Yes, I agree:  Auburn will take one look and run back into the locker room.  /bows head, /offers silent, earnest prayer

Regardless, our nonexistent sources within the football program tell us that other, more esoteric, uniform options were considered before UA and the AD settled on the Wounded Warriors.  As a benefit to you, our loyal readers, we share ten of the other potential Gamecock Unis, with pros and cons for each:

Option 1:

 PRO:  Marked Tactical Advantage

CON:  Shoulder cannon also serves as tackling handle.

PRO:  Doubles down on the “warrior” motif.

CON:  Awkward Stan Lee Cameo

PRO:  Alternate Energy Source (AES)

CON: AES might be an impermissible benefit

PRO:  Would add a physical element to Jay Wooten’s game

CON: Post-game shower confusion:  This is exactly  what Jadeveon Clowney looks like naked.

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Option 2:

CON: Basically a clown suit.

PRO: There is no Pro.

CON: Looks like Halloween got sick and vomited on a high school player

PRO: THERE IS NO PRO!

CON: Only effective if you play in the weakest division in the weakest BCS conference

PRO: /head explodes

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Option 3:

PRO: Sponsorship dollars from Target could help offset old luxury hotel room bills.

CON: Not the exact shade of Garnet we wear, I know.

PRO: Might (I said MIGHT) improve quarterback efficiency (we are willing to try anything at this point).

CON: Also gives would-be tacklers something to aim at.

PRO:  Would annoy our Mercantile Overlords at Walmart

CON:  We all work for the Mercantile Overlords at Walmart now, or at least need fishing tackle.

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Option 4:

PRO: Tap increases speed and damage.

CON: Further aggravates ongoing feud with ugly CTU Pigs (OK, cheerleaders).

PRO: Comes in green, red, black, and white – all with unique abilities built in.

CON: Indistinguishable for Oregon uniform combo 6b.

PRO: Fists included

CON: Two faces – IT HAS TWO FACES YYIIKKKEESSSSAHHHHHH!!!

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Option 5:

PRO and CON:

I JUST POSTED A PICTURE OF KATE WINSLET AND YOU ARE STILL THINKING ABOUT FOOTBALL UNIFORMS????

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Option 6:

 Did you say unee-form?

[This is intended as a palette cleanser after the Winslet pic]

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Option 7:

 PRO: Endorsed by both the Vatican and the Crash Test Dummy Association (this is a comment on DESIGN, not on religion, geeze)

CON: No reasonable individual would wear or suggest that someone else wear this monstrosity – WHAT? someone did and a bunch of other people went along with it????

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Option 8:

 PRO: Low uni number, looks fast, looks strong

CON: For some reason, no one is allowed to wear this one.

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Option 9:

 PRO:  Generates pre-game buzz.

CON:  On the field performance quickly quiets said buzz.

PRO:  Reminds us all of the lesser known Arena League warriors that toil away in obscurity.

CON: Made Boise State nationally legitimate.

PRO: Tradition, Schmaschition

CON: FAKE PUNT FAKE PUNT FAKE PUNT FAKE FAKE FAKE!  AHHH DAMN IT! /Hairy Dawg covers head

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Option 10:

CON:  May get tangled during Buck Sweep exchange.

PRO:  Makes you completely unfathomable to Florida’s Coach Boom.

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In the end, I think the AD made a good choice.

TRC Unleashed reviewed the quarterback situation, and came to some surprising conclusions about the future of Stephen Garcia. Also discussed:

• Has the HBC lost his marbles?
• Is Melvin Ingram Batman? Is Jadeveon Clowney Robin?
• CC Whitlock gets an award!
• Tbone expresses his utter disdain for Auburn

Click HERE to listen.

Not Gamecock related, but this might just be the greatest football photo ever. Captions welcome.

Some quick, barely researched, not fully formed thoughts from tonight’s train wreck of a 21-3 victory over Vanderbilt:

We are who we are, and unfortunately that’s not good news. I’ve been one of those guys throwing around justifications for our less-than-impressive 3-0 start, talking about unconventional offenses and tough SEC road tests and how everyone experiences a little early season sloppiness. But after last night’s game against Vandy, I now fear we’re just not very good. “But Buck,” you say, “you’re going to complain about a 4-0 start that includes a road win over Georgia?” To that I respond, “Have you seen us play?”

Our offense makes the football gods have a sad. You saw it. Four interceptions from our fifth-year senior quarterback, numerous decent plays wiped out by penalties, general disorganization leading to untimely timeouts. Bumbling. Stumbling. Very little rumbling. Vandy sold out to stop Marcus Lattimore, so we turned to our best pass play, which basically amounts to throwing a jump ball to Alshon Jeffery. Our huddle must sound like a sandlot game, “Alshon, go long. I’m going to throw it in the general direction of the 30-yard line. Everybody else block. Reddeeeeeeeee, break!”

The defense of Stephen Garcia stops here. I feel you Alex Roberts. We’ve been staunch supporters of #5, taking the good over the bad, which has worked out for the most part. Part of that has also been betting on the come, that Garcia as a fifth-year senior would be smarter, more accurate, and more dependable. But now I cringe when he drops back, wondering what’s about to happen. His decision-making is mind-boggling. Accuracy? When he hasn’t been throwing interceptions this year, he’s been overthrowing, underthrowing, too-far-in-front throwing and too-far-in-back throwing. Unfortunately, he appears to be our only option.

Steve Spurrier is sick, or Garcia has incriminating photos of him. That’s the only explanation for leaving Garcia in after his first three picks. Well, maybe there is a third explanation, maybe Connor Shaw is just really bad. In any case, it doesn’t bode well for us. I saw a lot of tweets/posts ripping the ESPN announcers last night for ripping our QB situation, but I’m not sure why. The only QB situation in American football that is worse than ours at the moment is the Indianapolis Colts.

The defense is fixed…at least for one night. That was a historically dominating performance by Ellis Johnson’s defense. Holding any opponent under 100 yards total offense is incredible, much less a conference opponent. We looked like we had 15 guys on defense. We didn’t, of course, because we would’ve been called for it.

Welcome back Melvin Ingram. About time he scored another touchdown. Geez, stop taking weeks off #6.

Obligatory Jadeveon Clowney bullet point. I can’t think of any words left to describe this guy. Let’s just say the hype was justified.

This season is far from lost. But for the first time last night I thought about 2007 when we started 6-1 and were in the Top 10. We didnt’ feel like a top 10 team, and the final five games of the year showed that. This year, despite all our talent, and despite the fact we are 4-0, we don’t feel like anything close to an elite team. We’ve been waiting for four weeks for Spurrier and the Gamecocks to put it all together, but after last night I’m wondering if we have it in us. I sure hope I’m wrong.

Miscellaneous…I think watching Clemson march up and down the field against FSU all day made last night’s offensive debacle even harder to take…Good to see Victor Hampton and Brandon Wilds on the field, they both looked darned good in limited action…Welcome Demeire Byrd, we hope you live up to the hype as well…After speaking with an Auburn friend this morning, this week will be an epic battle of poor-mouthing…Anybody else going to get bent out of shape this week because the national media is going out of its way to ignore us?

After reading Marty Simpson’s article on Gamecock Central this morning, I have one request of the Gamecock Nation: please stop with the victim mentality.

You can read the article, I wont’ re-hash too much of it, but there are some facts we need to come to grips with as University of South Carolina fans:

• We are the University of South Carolina – We are not Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan or even Boise State for crying out loud. With the exception of Boise, these teams has been very good for a very long time, and have national appeal. Boise has wedged itself into the national conversation by doing one thing – winning. We have consistently been a middle to lower end of the pack SEC team. One SEC East crown doesn’t change that, especially when everyone else was “down”. No matter what you think of the media, one thing is for sure, their respect first has to be earned.
• We have very little credibility on the national stage because our football program has had ONE ten-win season in its history, and is only slightly over .500 after 110 years of football. Our 9-5 season last year was one of the best in school history. NINE AND FIVE. Think about that. (One local Atlanta sports talk host once called us the most underachieving major football program in the last 100 years. I can’t honestly think of anyone we’d be competing with for that crown – Rutgers maybe?)
• We have beaten three good (and I reserve the right to use that term loosely) teams this year, but…nobody respects East Carolina, period. People respect Navy, but more because of who they are as individuals than who they are as a football team (I tried to tell people before and after our game that Navy is a good team, and the most common response I got was “PFFFFT! Right.”) Nobody really knows what Georgia is right now.  In other words, any one of those wins might look really good come November, but people judge us and them on where we are NOW, not where we might possibly be in November.
• The Worldwide leader is not going to spend much time on us until we are doing something special, and quite honestly the only reason they are spending any time on us right now is because of three people – the HBC, #21, and #5 (the last one for mostly wrong reasons). ESPN knows where their bread is buttered, and right now it is not Columbia, SC.
• From the article: “undeserved admiration thrown at the national powerhouse programs is part of what keeps those programs at the elite level”. That just sounds like good old fashioned hatin’ to me. “Undeserved” and “national powerhouse program” is a little contradictory, no? They did something right to become both national and a powerhouse. Those two things equal throngs of fans across the country, which means huge ratings for ESPN and the like. It ain’t hard to figure out.
• Bottom line – our football team has not earned to right to be talked about on a regular basis by college football pundits. I hope we’re on the way to changing that, but we’re going to need a few more banners hanging before it truly does.

I have nothing against Marty Simpson, I kinda like the guy’s writing. But his latest article comes off as whiney and for some unknown reason even reeks of entitlement. I love the Gamecocks as much as anybody. I’m proud of my alma mater and will stand up for the University of South Carolina every chance I get.

But like it or not, we deserve exactly how much media coverage we are getting right now. Whining about it only makes us look worse, and might even be counterproductive in the hands of some of the more prominent and narcissistic bloggers/writers/broadcasters who pay attention to everything said about them.

Defend your Gamecocks. Fight for your Gamecocks.

But for the love of God, don’t be a victim.

So we’ve defeated the Pirates and the Midshipmen, and the Commodores are next up.  This nautically themed start to the 2011 season is as good an explanation as any as to why I was wicked seasick for the entire Georgia tilt.

With that said, some other news and notes from out and about:

The Expanding Universe:  The latest intel has Missouri and Texas A&M to the Southeastern Conference and GOSH DARN IT, I JUST FLUNKED GEOGRAPHY, AGAIN.   If this turns out to be true (btw, odds of anything on the internet related to expansion being factual are 1 in 6.022 x 10 to the 23rd)  then we here at TRC feel assured that the SEC will stop at 14 (take THAT conventional wisdom!).   OOOrrrrrrr Oklahoma is in the process of executing the greatest head fake in the history of sport and will be #16 to Okie State’s #15.

Almost heaven . . . West Virginia:  Have you ever seen a game of musical chairs?  Well, the music is about to stop, and The Eers are the thick-rumped kid that can’t even begin to find a chair.  Rejected by the SEC, sure – who hasn’t been, right?  But rejected by the ACC in this panicked expansion environment?    BWAAAHHHAAAAA  [ points at nearest hillbilly ]  BWWAAAHAAHAA.

Hyman To UNC, Per Source, Done Deal, Bank On It, JMHO, OK, I Have No Idea:  TRC responds to this welcomed news thusly.  Wait, you say he’s doing an unprecedented good job?  STOP BURDENING MY UNINFORMED PRECONCEPTIONS WITH YOUR ANNOYING AND GERMANE FACTS.

You Complete Me:  We here at TRC have consistently predicted the quick demise of Dabo Swinney.  His sudden hackneyed passion for all things orange (he even made out with the freaking rock that everyone rubs – eeewwww) was bad enough, but he was also obviously overcoaching whenever the camera pointed his way – wild, easy to understand gestures and slowly-mouthed words designed to show the viewing audience how engaged he was in – I don’t know – redneck excellence, I guess.   Regardless, his latest spastic scream fit was too authentically junior high to be contrived, and so we hereby reverse ourselves and pronounce that Dabo Swinney is the Most CTU Coach, Ever.  Here’s a health to you Dabo, may you ride the Big Tractor forever.

Heisman Campaign, U R DOIN’ IT WRONG: Alshon and Marcus both now have USC-owned websites promoting them for postseason accolades.  This is a grand and overdue idea, but the execution is a slow-loading rehash of old season ticket campaigns.  Oh, and Alshon’s Accomplishments tab is blank – BLANK!  The SID should at least mention that #1 isn’t pumping anyone’s gas, for crying out loud.

Hurts so Good: So the NCAA finally issued its Notice of Violations in the Whitney/SAM Foundation nonsense, and two things immediately happened:  All CTU fans began doing the funky chick. . .er, tiger, and all Gamecocks fans began to turtle into their all-to-familiar-but-not-recent-used shells.  In contrast, our editorial stance on NCAA investigations can be summed up in one word: GOOD!  No one has ever investigated a school that loses all the time, so we must be doing something right.  Scrutiny comes with success, folks, so take the news and wear it as a badge of honor:  We’re kicking some tail on the gridiron now, and folks are getting nervous.  Oh, and if you want an object lesson, drive by Memorial Stadium up in Pickens County and see if a little thing like a major NCAA slamfest caused the ‘necks to take down that thirty-year old MNC banner.

TRC Emmy Fashion Update:  Not really, but we need some reason, no matter how contrived, to post a link to a picture of Christina Hendricks.

Shuffleboard:  The week’s roster news:  Vic Hampton is active and should see some snaps (Jimmy Legree silently-points-at-the-sky-while-not-hitting-anyone in approval). DL Moore is either hurt or he isn’t, but ain’t on the depth chart either way.  Oh, and the HBC doesn’t want to hurt your feelings, but you might find yourself riding the pine this week.

Finally, its Vandy week which always makes me think of Syvelle Newton and his shredded achilles strap. What a game he was having when he blew it out, ‘member?  Well, since the internet overlords apparent have outlawed clips of the ’06 Vandy game, we close in #13’s honor with this (oh, and yes it adds to the experience to pretend the cameraman is any of the following: Ron Morris, Cecil Newton, or Craig James):

It’s been one year today since the passing of former Gamecock great Kenny McKinley, and it is no less shocking or sad than the day we found out about it. Here is what we wrote the day after receiving the news. RIP Kenny…

Over the next days and weeks a lot of people will be recounting their memories of Kenny McKinley, and deservedly so. They’ll talk about the slant routes against Tennessee.  His first career touchdown catch against Arkansas. His touchdown throw to Syvelle Newton against Kentucky. His catch-and-run against Clemson. His two-touchdown performance in the Liberty Bowl…and on and on.

But something else came to mind for me.  It was the 2006 Clemson game.

I know you all remember the play.  Carolina was driving for a touchdown late in the first half.  But impossibly Jock McKissic, a Clemson defensive lineman, picked off a Blake Mitchell pass and lumbered the other way for a touchdown.

Towards the end of the play, Kenny McKinley comes flying into the picture.  Just as McKissic crosses the goal line McKinley takes a swipe at the ball, but the effort is futile.  The camera follows McKissic as he turns to the left, but just before McKinley disappears from the picture, out of frustration you see him kick the pylon in the back of the end zone with his left foot.  Just boots the heck out of it.  I remember watching that several times later and getting a good laugh out of it (of course, it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if we would’ve lost.)

Cant’ you just see a kid having that reaction?  Then one of the coaches coming over to calm the kid down? As I reflect on Kenny McKinley’s career, I think that play was indicative of the childlike joy and passion with which he played the game.  There was an innocence to it that still makes me smile.  I bet Kenny saw that replay later and smiled his trademark smile too.

Don’t get me wrong, Kenny McKinley was a man on the football field from the first day he suited up at the University of South Carolina.  He never played a down of wide receiver until college, but worked his tail off and became, numbers-wise, our greatest ever.

No one would’ve batted an eye if this lightly recruited kid had gotten buried on the depth chart and transferred to Furman or Newberry or Hampton.  But somehow, against some pretty steep odds, he became an NFL draft pick, and got his name prominently displayed on Williams-Brice Stadium.  More than that, he had the undying adoration of the Gamecock Nation.  Not just for his catches and yards and touchdowns, but for the way he played.  For his joy and innocence.

I don’t know when the joy and innocence faded from Kenny McKinley.  Maybe it was just the last few days. Maybe it was weeks or months, possibly even years.  I honestly don’t want to know any details.  I don’t want to think about the unbearable sadness that must’ve consumed him to make him do what he did.

As college football fans, we chew players up and spit them out every four years.  We recognize them at their last home game, thank them for their service, give them a bouquet of flowers and wish them well.  Then we forget about 99% of them.  Not because we don’t care or don’t appreciate them, we just don’t have the capacity to remember them.

Then there are the 1% that stay with you.  The 1% that create the lasting memories.

Thank God for that 1%.  Thank God for Kenny McKinley.