NOTE:  This post can also be found on the excellent SEC blog: Saturday Down South

#1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.

ESPN GameDay.

The 3:30 CBS game.

The second Saturday in October. 

Isn’t this precisely what we brought Steve Spurrier to South Carolina for?  To make us relevant nationally?  To compete for SEC Championships? 

Now I’m not nearly naïve enough to think ESPN and CBS are setting up shop in Columbia because of us.  The love Alabama has been getting over the last few months is bordering on Tebow-esque.  But this is our opportunity to MAKE it about us.  This is our opportunity to announce the University of South Carolina has arrived, not just on the Southeastern Conference scene, but on the national scene. 

On offense, Alabama has the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.  (And some say his back-up is better.)  They have a quarterback who has never lost a meaningful football game.  They lead the SEC averaging 38 points per game.  You want balance?  They are third in the SEC in both passing and rushing yards per game.    

The good news is the defense has nine new starters.  The bad news is those new starters are part of defense that leads the league in points allowed per game at 9. 

There is no question Alabama has more talent than South Carolina, plus they have arguably the best head coach in the country.

There is no reason to think we can win.  Except maybe one – Steve Spurrier. 

I don’t think I’m out of line when I say Spurrier’s tenure at South Carolina has been mildly disappointing.  Don’t give me the “perspective” argument, because simply winning more games than you lose and going to third-tier bowls is not acceptable any more to South Carolina fans, and I think Spurrier would agree.  Spurrier’s legacy has taken a hit with his failure with the Redskins and inability to move the Gamecocks into the upper echelon of the SEC.  He’s no longer the “Evil Genius”, he’s just the “Head Ball Coach”. 

But on Saturday, all that can be turned around over the course of three hours.  If he can put together a superior game plan, if his players can execute, and if we can walk out of Williams Brice with a win over Alabama, people will be talking about the genius of Steve Spurrier anew.

“The NFL was a bad fit,” they’ll say.  “It just took a little more time than he thought it would at South Carolina,” they’ll say.  “If he can win THERE…” they’ll say.    

If we lose it won’t be the end of the world.  It won’t even be the end of our shot at the SEC East title.  But it will be the same old, same old.  Big game, big stage, blew it, move on. 

However, Saturday’s game will be monumental if we win.  Maybe even the biggest in our program’s history.

This is the moment we paid Steve Spurrier for.  Here’s hoping he can resurrect the Evil Genius.

So ESPN’s Gameday chose Alabama/Carolina in Columbia over Michigan/Michigan State in Ann Arbor.    A state of general hysteria followed, with many (up north) questioning the decision.  Saturday Down South, an excellent SEC blog weighed in with five good reasons for the decision.

We would like to add five more strong reasons to their list:

#6 Early morning Ann Arbor tailgating temps.

#7 Possibility of running into Ric Flair is significantly higher in Cola.

#8 Neither ‘wolverines’ nor ‘spartans’ can be ‘accidently’ shortened into an FCC infraction.

#9 Catherine Bell is currently somewhere in the State of South Carolina filming ‘Army Wives’. Late night hookup COULD happen.

#10 Steve Spurrier’s visor toss = ratings gold.

 

It these two logos confuse you . . . then you are stupid

 

Word came down yesterday that the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of the University of South Carolina in its dispute with the University of Southern California over the use of the interlocking ‘SC’ logo.

Now I’m man enough to admit that this smarts a little.  It makes me want to point out that our USC was founded in 1801, and their USC only came along some 79 years later.  I could also add that the other USC wasn’t always known as the Trojans, instead being called the Fighting Methodists until they got crushed in a track meet in 1912.  After their track and field debacle, a local reporter compared them to other losers from history, and settled on the wife-stealing and horse-loving men of Troy.  This is a true story.

I could mention those things, but I think I’ll show some restraint and civility by pointing out a few areas where SC (the horse-lovers, not us) have excelled:

- Works in metallurgy: Until recently, none of us knew that the prize bronze trophy of the Downtown Athletic Club could spontaneously vaporize.

– Works of Rarity: A home loss to the Washington Huskies: an unknown commodity in even the finesse (read ‘feminine’) conference called the PAC 10.

– Works of Cutlery: Orenthal James Simpson.  Nuff Said.

– Excellence in Head Coach Douchery:  see Carroll, Pete and Kiffikins, Lame supra

– Works of Protection [insert your own male prophylactic brand reference here]

– Works of Encouragement: the Virginia Cavaliers (fiiii - nesse!) now believe they are a good football team.

Oh, and SCOREBOARD.  We can keep calling scoreboard until we meet on the gridiron again.  Granted the last time was 1983, but the score was 38-14 Gamecocks. 

Maybe we could meet up in a bowl game in the next couple of years?

Oh, wait.

 

With the off-week crawling past us, we at TRC traded posts with other Gamecock bloggers around the ‘Net.  This one is brought to you by Leftover Hotdog, a blog that provides some of the best content we’ve seen.  Check it (the post) and them (the blog) out.

Four games into the South Carolina Gamecocks 2010 season and the ‘Cocks are sitting at 3-1 (1-1 SEC) with a legitimate shot at the SEC East division title.  There is plenty of football to be played but without a doubt the Gamecocks have a serious chance this year to make some noise in the SEC race.

The usual suspects in the SEC East title hunt – Florida, Tennessee and Georgia – are having trouble this season and are sitting vulnerable for a team like USC to capitalize on the opportunity.  Much has been written on what they have to do and it boils down to winning the Arkansas game in most scenarios then beating Florida.  It can be done but what has to happen first is for Coach Steve Spurrier and USC qb Stephen Garcia to get on the same page.

The last 12 months, Coach Spurrier has rode Garcia like a donkey in the Grand Canyon.  From telling him to “bull his way” for extra yards to changing that stance recently and pleading for Garcia to slide.  In between that, there have been the publicly vocal complaints that Garcia holds the ball too long, his timing is off, he doesn’t check his receivers’ right, too much scrambling and etc etc as this list could go on and on.  The point is Spurrier is trying to coach his quarterback up by being critical and choosing to make the thinking public.

It is agreed that Garcia has his flaws but to his credit he has gotten better over the last two seasons.  Let’s be honest here, a quarterback under Spurrier will never play good enough.  Garcia does have areas to improve and surely Garcia feels the same without someone telling him.  One thing is for certain and that is Garcia is the best choice for the football team in 2010 under center.

Garcia is ranked 16th in pass efficiency nationally (161.62).  He is 56-81 in passing that has resulted in 5 TDS and 743 yards.  He does have some blemishes and that is 2 INTs / 2 fumbles.  Along with the passing is the fact he also has two rushing TDs.

Garcia can win and can lead this team.  Spurrier knows it.  The Head Ball Coach needs to change his philosophy with Garcia and publicly give Garcia a hug.  Stop the bashing and hug it out.

Spurrier is a little old school in the fact of calling players out and what not.  That is one way to handle the situation but another way is through encouragement.

A hug can go a long way and is what is needed right now with the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide coming to town.  By the act of a public hug, the page can be turned on this rocky relationship and focus on taking USC down a new path in the SEC.

We take on our local sports media in another off-week post that is hosted elsewhere on the web.  Check our the fine Leftover Hotdog blog for our thoughts on Gamecock sports reporting.

This week’s Comeuppance Report is being hosted by our friends over at the Garnet and Black Attack.  Head on over and enjoy the CR and all the other tasty nuggets GABA has to offer.

And you know what I’m talking about.

Since Saturday I have had numerous conversations with Gamecocks fans.  I’ve read several articles in print and on the internet.  I’ve listened to post-practice comments from the coaches and players.  And we here at TRC have even had a board meeting on the topic.  From all of these discussions, one thing sticks out to me:

We’re all still mad.

We’re still mad that our defense couldn’t hold a thirteen-point lead.  We’re still upset that the offense turned the ball over in

 each of its last four possessions.  We’re still flabbergasted that our safety couldn’t scoop up a game-clinching fumble.  We’re still befuddled by our inept return game.  We’re still annoyed that Chris Culliver is a veritable personal foul machine. 

We’re still furious that we lost the Auburn game.

Now, unfurrow your brow for a moment.  Unclench your fist and stop pounding your head on the table.  I think it’s a good thing that we are not happy.  Maybe we’ve grown up as a fan base, as coaches, and as a team.  Maybe we finally think like an SEC school.

Think about it: we could be in gleeful, spastic, celebratory afterglow like the C.T.U. crowd.  They are still so amped about their overtime loss to an SEC squad that they can’t stop strutting and congratulating every overall-clad bumpkin they meet.

We used to be similar to C.T.U. in its quest for belonging and outside affirmation.  Not long ago, we Gamecocks would be thrilled to hang with a perennial power in front of a national tv audience.  Now, we are used to the experience, and even have a name for it:

We call it Saturday.

So are we upset?  Yes.

And thank goodness for it.

Did you think you’d get through a Gamecock football season without a dagger to heart or five like that game Saturday night?  Sucker.  Or newbie. 

Here are some random musings on what I saw Saturday night:

Stephen Garcia should still be our starting QB – I wasn’t surprised Connor Shaw came in, but I didn’t agree with it.  Garcia “is what he is” to borrow a phrase – a guy who is a warrior and will make a few plays for you, but will also drive you mad by doing things like fumbling on consecutive fourth quarter drives against Auburn.  He also gives us our best chance to win, as long as…

He takes a knee when a play breaks down – OK, maybe taking a knee is a little drastic, but learning when and how to slide would be helpful.  He protects the ball fine on designed runs.  But when he scrambles, there’s usually about a 50/50 shot somebody’s going to rip the ball away from him.  On the bright side, when he’s throwing the ball, he’s lucky to have…

Alshon - 8 catches, 192 yards, 2 TD’s.  At this pace, he’s easily first team All-SEC, and if we can win some important games and stay in the national consciousness, he should get all-American consideration.  Another guy I know will not get all-SEC consideration because…

Ace Sanders needs more touches - The one time he got the ball Saturday night he did his best Noel Devine imitation and picked up a first down for us.  Screens, reverses, end arounds, whatever - get this guy the ball.  He could give our offense a dimension that helps open up the running and passing games.  And speaking of Ace Sanders…

Isn’t it about time we had a decent return game? - It’s almost impossible that we haven’t at least lucked up into a decent kick returner in the last twenty years.  I’m ok with Stephon Gilmore as a punt returner, I think he’ll break one eventually.  (Of course, if the other team rarely or never punts that reduces his chances drastically.)  Chris Culliver is somehow, someway near the top of the all-time SEC kickoff return list without ever breaking one.  Chalk it up to longevity I guess.  Bryce Sherman must be living off his performance during last fall practice to still be getting opportunities.  Give Sanders a chance.  On the other side of the ball…

The defense isn’t as bad as they showed Saturday - I’m still trying to talk myself into this one.  History tells us Saturday night was an aberration.  Ellis Johnson defenses are solid if not spectacular, and he’ll get things corrected.  Being ranked 11^th in total defense in the SEC is disturbing, but even with our deficiencies I think we’ll be competitive defensively going forward (fingers crossed).  It would certainly help if we could figure out…

Where has Cliff Matthews gone? - I’ve seen a guy wearing #83 running around on the field, but if it was Cliff Matthews he would actually be making tackles.  Maybe he’s getting triple-teamed because our opposition knows…

Our linebacking corps stinks - The return of Shaq Wilson was supposed to help, but I’m afraid we are still well into the bottom half of the SEC as far as talent at this position goes.  Which is why…

People need to back off the DB’s - Once EJ realized our linebackers couldn’t stop the run (specifically Newton), we had to go to a zone that resulted in some easy completions for Auburn.  Most people, including me, were down on Gilmore, Culliver, and Co. after Saturday night, but if our front seven had played better we wouldn’t have had to change our game plan.  (The fact that Culliver is a walking personal foul penalty waiting to happen is a topic for another time.)  And while we’re talking about game plans, I really don’t think it will help to have two weeks to prepare for…

Alabama - Ugh.  We have to stew on the Auburn loss for two weeks and then face the one team on our schedule that we can’t beat.  That’s right, I said it.  I firmly believed as recently as Saturday night we could.  But after watching them come from behind against a pretty good Arkansas team in one of the most hostile environments around, and then watching us cough up our game, I just don’t think it can happen.  At the moment they are just too big, too strong and too talented.  But fear not Gamecock fans, because I still believe…

We can win the SEC East - I’m not as confident as I was, but I certainly think we can beat Kentucky, Vandy and Tennessee.  Arkansas will be tough, but getting them at home this year is a huge bonus.  Assuming at least one Florida loss between now and then (probably this weekend), our game in the Swamp would be for a trip to Atlanta. 

Hang in there Gamecock fans, there’s a long way to go.  Problem is, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.