Week 1 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

My thoughts and observations ...

Kubby's Korner -- Instead of having to repost and bump this thread during the week on The Insiders Forum at GamecockCentral.com, I decided to post this blog ... Thanks to everyone that has commented and contributed to my posts in the past ... Sometimes it's a nuts and bolts type of post and at other times it's just fan facts and fun! ... Whatever the case, I appreciate your interest.

Another season -- 2007 marks the 29th consecutive year for me attending University of South Carolina football games ... Little did I know that the Gamecocks' football fortunes of those first two years (back-to-back 8-4 seasons and trips to the Hall of Fame Bowl and Gator Bowl) were not the 'norm' for USC football ... However, the past three years have seen the Gamecocks bowl-eligible -- the longest span since 1987-90 -- and USC has participated in the Independence Bowl and Liberty Bowl the past two seasons ... In fact, South Carolina is in the midst of its finest decade (48-36, .571) ever as USC has posted five winning seasons since 2000 and played in four bowl games (winning three) ... With Steve Spurrier at the helm, look for that trend to continue ... Now, on to the season!

The HBC -- On that note about Coach Spurrier -- well, I'm glad he's made it to year three in Columbia ... He's building this program the correct way so that when he hands it off to his successor in 7-10 years then USC fans can expect to go bowling every postseason and enjoy annual success in the SEC East and vs. Clemson -- really, what more could you ask for? ... The two games I most want to win this year are against Georgia (five game losing streak) and Clemson ... I had lunch with a group last week that was touting season projections of 11-1 and 10-2 at worst ... When I mentioned that USC had posted double digit victories just once in the entire history of the program they said that didn't matter -- that was the past ... When I indicated that in my lifetime, I'm 36 years old, that South Carolina had never beaten Clemson in consecutive seasons -- they just laughed and said that couldn't be right ... I told them to look it up ... Me, being somewhat of a believer in the notion that you must respect the past in order to better your future, I think Spurrier's handling of his first two teams at USC has been super ... The only game that South Carolina has lost in 2005 and 2006 in which the Gamecocks were favored was the Independence Bowl vs. Missouri -- and that game turned on the Tigers' reeling off a 31-3 rally to overcome USC leads of 21-0 in the first quarter and 28-14 halftime advantage for a 38-31 victory that left defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix looking on with a "deer in headlights" appearance ... Since then, the infusion of talent has beefed up the depth on this team and the pieces are now being put in place for extended success on both sides of the ball and in the all important special teams department ... Coach Spurrier is 15-10 overall at USC and 8-8 in the SEC -- I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of 8-9 wins this fall with a break even conference record (anything more is just gravy)!

Off the field issues -- Well, in what appeared to be a pretty listless spring and summer in terms of football players' off-the-field incidents, it has turned into a cauldron of sensationalism by the press over admission standards, classroom attendance, and firearm possession ... Beginning on July 12 when USC denied admission to Michael Bowman and when the public was informed that Antonio Allen and Eric Baker failed to qualify through Emmannuel Cook's arrest for possession of a handgun and emergency apendectomy, it's seemingly been one thing after another ... Take a look:

7/12 -- Michael Bowman denied admission, Antonio Allen and Eric Baker fail to qualify
7/18 -- Curtis Rice receives medical hardship
7/20 -- Arkee Smith denied admission
7/31 -- Mat Williams quits
8/4 -- Matt Raysor and Dakota Walker transfer
8/6 -- Akeem Auguste fails to qualify
8/9 -- Sam Pope transfers
8/23 -- Chris Hail, Blake Mitchell, and Bobby Wallace suspended for excessive class absences during summer school
8/24 -- Bryan Kingrey awarded a scholarship, Emanuel Cook arrested for possession of a weapon and suspended from the University of South Carolina
8/26 -- Blake Mitchell suspension upheld
8/1-31 -- Did Jordin Lindsey ever get approved to play?

Hopefully, this is the last we'll have to hear of anything related to Gamecocks away from the gridiron, but in this day and age -- well, I doubt it is!

Blake Mitchell -- As I've stated throughout the years on TIF, I focus on who is available to play and not who isn't ... Why worry about someone if they aren't around to help ... But, I've got to comment on this situation ... If this was a freshman or a sophomore, then I might be more sympathetic to Mitchell's situation, but as a fifth-year senior forget it ... Going to college is a lot of different things for a lot of different people, but the one lesson you should leave with is one of independence -- no longer is Mommy or Daddy going to bail you out of your problems ... If Mitchell intended to drop the course, then by all means get it in writing -- go to Petigru College if you have to see it through ... When I was at USC, we had to do this via the telephone (TIPS), but these days it's simply done at a desktop -- point, click, print (it really is that easy) ... I'm not harping on Mitchell for skipping summer school classes when all indications are that he will graduate after the fall semester, but just take responsibility for once and accept the one game suspension without having the folks from LaGrange, GA appear in Columbia ... Plus, I know what Mitchell can do in the pocket and am intrigued to watch Chris Smelley under center as a starter -- good luck to both (we're going to need it).

Emanuel Cook -- I really believe that Cook will be reinstated soon and that this is the case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time ... From everything I've read it's not even a mistake in judgement by Cook ... The guy he was with was the owner of the gun -- the problem was that they were on the USC Campus that institutes a zero tolerance for their gun policy (one in which I wholeheartedly agree with I might add) ... Personally, I would rather the University police act in a cautious manner and, in this case, that was to make an arrest rather than for an incident as to which took place this past spring at Virginia Tech ... I'm more concerned with Cook's apendectomy surgery rather than this charge, which will most likely be dropped.

Academic support -- I'm all for student-athletes getting support for academics -- that's one of the main objectives with the capital campaign ... I know Harold White, former USC football coach and Academic Counselor/Assistant Athletics Director, worked with a number of them over a long time and that friendship has continued today with many of those players ... That being said, Joe Morrison stated it best in the mid-1980s when asked by a reporter, "How many of your players graduate?" ... His response was, "Everyone that wants to." ... In this time of academic reform, student-athletes grade point averages, graduation rates, etc., it's not going away and will continue to be a focal point for collegiate athletics ... From my time at USC, I can assure you that if a student-athlete does not maintain at least a 2.5 GPA each semester, then it's a crime! ... It really is that easy for them with the support services they are afforded -- I'm all for it, too, but anything less is pure laziness.

Tailgating -- We will be at the State Farmers Market once again this fall in the watermelon shed (how many more seasons will it exist for parking?) ... I'm planning on attending all of the away games again, but will probably miss out on the trip to Arkansas (anyone have a contact with B&A Travel?) ... Look forward to seeing all my tailgating friends and road trip buddies soon.

ULA-LA -- The Ragin' Cajuns are first on the docket this year and I imagine it won't be nearly as close as the only other meeting, a 14-7 USC victory in 2003 ... The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as they want to be referred to these days, has done a good job recently on the gridiron as Coach Ricky Bustle's troops have posted six wins each of the past two years ... ULA-LA captured the Sun Belt Conference title in 2005 and even defeated Houston last year on the road ... But, the Gamecocks should have little trouble with the Cajuns and I see a 38-6 final on the horizon to ruin a homecoming of sorts for Bustle, who prepped at Summerville HS, played and coached collegiately at Clemson, and was the USC offensive coordinator in 1994.

Until next week!