Week #3 - My thoughts and observations …

Change - I’m going to take a little different approach this week, because what we all witnessed Thursday night at Nashville is inexcusable and unexplainable … South Carolina entered as a 10-point favorite and left as a mind-numbing 24-17 victim to Vanderbilt.

Schedule & Trip - I make it a practice not to read Message Boards or read anything other than the newspaper following a game so these notes were compiled on the 6 ½ hour ride home from Nashville on Friday and completed that evening … All in all, the trip was a safe one for myself, KCock93, and KP, but it was not enjoyable at all due to the pathetic showing on the gridiron and was cut short an entire day out of disgust and disdain for the current state of football affairs at USC … We journeyed out on Thursday and returned on Friday … Safe to say to the regular readers – when the meals I tasted consisted of lunch at Subway, breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express, and lunch at Wendy’s – then you know it was a totally lost weekend … However, I did enjoy meeting up with Sonny, Will, and Ryan at Logan’s Roadhouse for our pregame festivities … It’s taken almost a full day to decompress and strike through this recap of any vulgar language … Hope you enjoy the read, but if you are like my Message Board nemesis ‘Silver Spur’, then suck it!

Huh? - This loss ranks right up there with the following defeats since I have been following Carolina in 1979:

1984 @ Navy – USC ranked #2 in the nation with a 9-0 record wraps up an Orange Bowl bid with a victory vs. the Midshipmen, but following a night of partying and a week’s worth of non-preparation finds South Carolina embarrassed 38-17 in Annapolis that provided Navy (3-8) with the Gamecocks’ only blemish during a 10-1 regular season.

1988 @ Georgia Tech – Carolina (6-0) rolled into Atlanta ranked #8 nationally against a woeful Yellow Jackets squad that had not defeated a I-A team in 23-straight games and proceeded to steamroll USC 34-0 that sent the Gamecocks on a 2-4 slide to end the year.

2003 vs. Clemson – In search of a bowl bid following a disappointing 5-7 season the previous year, the 5-6 Gamecocks needed a victory vs. arch-rival Clemson in Columbia to qualify for a bowl game and avoid another losing season, but the Tigers totally destroyed South Carolina 63-17 that sent shockwaves through the football program still felt today in the Capital City and around the Palmetto State.

2007 vs. Vanderbilt – #6 South Carolina’s administration eschewed its home field advantage at Williams-Brice Stadium by agreeing to a 12:30 start time instead of having a night game or at least a later afternoon start and the sleepwalking Gamecocks (6-1) fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter and never recovered that sent the entire year down the tubes.

2008 @ Vanderbilt – The Gamecocks (1-0), fortuitously ranked #24 in the nation, watched a 10-0 lead evaporate as the always down-trodden Commodores ambushed USC 24-17 – for the second consecutive year – and exploited many of USC’s problems since Steve Spurrier arrived in Columbia: poor quarterback play; terrible offensive line performance; the lack of development in the wide receiver corps; pitiful special teams; and a defense that could not hold up when needed.

Void of Hutzpah – My one question to the Carolina Football team – are you as embarrassed, humiliated, and pissed off as much as the fans that support you are? … The lack of “umph”, hutzpah, character, and pride is amazing to me … Sitting in the stands above the USC bench in Nashville gives you a real good idea of who really cares about what is going on with the team … I can tell you this – there are about 10-15 football players that would not be traveling to the next game, because they absolutely showed no remorse, resolve, or interest about the result of the game … In fact there are probably more players that walk around holding their helmets under their arms compared to the ones that actually get on the field … My guess is that they will all still be down in Five Points this weekend ‘enjoying’ themselves … The sad fact is that none of them realize what Carolina Football means (just like its previous Alumni) and have no idea about the sacrifices others make to support them during their days at USC … If it were up to me, every freshman (no matter who they are) would redshirt and every one of them would have one hour per week (of the NCAA’s allowed 20 hours) dedicated to learning about the history of Carolina Football and its 17-year affiliation with the Southeastern Conference … As for the coaches – several comments/questions for you guys that are making more than $2 million in combined state salaries:

(1) Steve Spurrier, time to concentrate on football and not making wines and lines of clothing – and put away the golf sticks.

(2) Ellis Johnson has said that games are won/loss in the preparation during Monday-Wednesday – what happened last week?

(3) Why does John Hunt patrol the sidelines with no headphones? No wonder he looked surprised when Spurrier asked him a question in which all he could do is throw up his arms. Shades of Ty Nix from the I-Bowl in 2005.

(4) Who is in charge of the summer workouts? USC was totally outworked last night against an “inferior opponent”.

(5) What is Mark Smith walking around in 80+ degrees weather with long sleeves on? He did the same thing last week.

$257,500 Spurrier - $200,000 Johnson - $175,000 Cooper - $175,000 Hunt $175,000 Lawing - $175,000 Spurrier, Jr. - $160,000 Rychleski - $140,000 Smith $126,000 Beamer - $126,000 Reaves - $115,000 Speronis - $95,000 Gillespie

“Game” Balls – Though I thought Spencer Lanning turned in an outstanding performance punting the ball (now I know the real reason freshman Ryan Doerr transferred – he can’t beat out the York HS product), no one deserves a Game Ball for losing to Vanderbilt – just cannot happen … However, Jared Cook and Mike Davis earned honorable mention accolades, but alas nothing more than that as a loss to Vandy is bad in any century!

“Busted” Balls – Coach Steve Spurrier needs to get a hold of this program .... Send “JR” to the Press Box, kick David Reaves and Mike Rathe down to the sideline, and get some guys fired up about playing college football – it cannot be that hard! … Also, stop panicking with the game plan! … Here’s a recipe for winning in the SEC in 2008 – line up two tight ends, get the ground game going, and amazingly, the passing game will open up (stop trying to put a square peg into a round hole) … Special Teams Coach Ray Rychleski received a Game Ball last week, but this week gets a bus ticket … Coach Ray – USC can divvy up duties amongst the other coaches to get a field goal blocked, a field goal missed, a punt deflected on the return, and a kickoff return to the nine-yard line – geesh! … Otherwise, the Greyhound Station is located at the corner of Gervais/Harden … Offensive Line Coach John Hunt is in year #4 at Carolina and still cannot get a consistent and productive line together – and the ones he does put out there must be plain no good – but Vandy put together a make-shift group that plowed through for 168 yards … Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson employed a very Tyrone Nix like formation down on the goal line with three linemen against a team shoving the ball up the middle – thanks for taking the steam out of a decent outing otherwise (although the 24 points allowed was the most ever for VU vs. USC in Nashville) … Chris Smelley’s numbers might look OK, but how do you get sacked by getting swatted at? … Again, not tackled, but swatted … Also, is it really that hard for someone in a SEC program to throw the ball accurately 30-40 yards down field? … Good gosh! … USC gets Taylor Rank, Vandy gets Jared Hawkins – go figure! … Canadian lumberjack Justin Sorensen keeps getting start after start, but the only time he seems to perform at even an average level is when he is on edge – do you think one of the Lindsey’s could crack him over the head with a beer bottle this weekend? … The Vandy broadcast said that there were 16-17 NFL Scouts in attendance last night – guess USC fans can thank Captain Munnerlyn for his showing since he’ll be around in 2009 … Does Jasper Brinkley still play for the Gamecocks? … Oh yeah, the ball hit him square in #52 in the bread basket – come on Jap! … Addison Williams can’t catch a break at South Carolina – victimized by Aaron Kelly last year in the season finale loss vs. Clemson and has a ball bounce off his leg during a punt return – my question, what is a 5-7, 160-pound guy doing on punt return block? … Recruiting “gurus”! … What a joke these guys are – making money off of innuendo and B.S. – the 21st Century of politicians only in a sports format … Football is 70% mental, 20% physical, and 10% schemes – get a team ready mentally prepared and 60 minutes doesn’t seem so long (Carolina is playing about one quarter per game right now).

Get Garcia – I have seen what Chris Smelley has to offer (probably the first starting QB to lose to Vanderbilt in consecutive seasons in the history of the game) … I have seen enough of what Tommy Beecher can do (four picks to the worst team in the ACC) … That leaves Stephen Garcia as the lone non-true freshman quarterback … Play him! … Simplify, dummify, satisfy my curiosity by playing the lockless Achilles vs. Georgia … If nothing else comes of the outing, then at least he gets his bell rung a time or two … The best offense Steve Spurrier has produced at Carolina was with Syvelle Newton toting the rock, tossing the pill, and improvising when needed – all of that is necessary right now for an offense that just plain stinks!

VU Football – Props to Vandy for playing the theme to ‘Last of the Mohicans’ in their pregame salute that also included a very high school-ish “freshman tunnel” that Dorman HS would probably pull off with greater aplomb … However, I also liked the recognition of their 2007-08 “coaches of the year”, “athletes of the year”, etc., during the TV breaks that took place near their sideline in the end zone – very classy … Their radio crew was pretty much resigned to losing to South Carolina during the pregame discussions due to the loss of 2007 lettermen, current injuries, and USC’s “prowess” in 2008 – recalling that conversation three hours later about made me throw up.

Alumni Flounders – Speaking of the Alumni … If I hear one more former Gamecock football player get on a radio show and clamor about what has USC done for them lately, well I hope someone hands them a handkerchief for their weeps and whines … No wonder this program has wallowed in such mediocrity (much like 98% of their playing careers), because it wasn’t enough for them to have their college education, room/board, food, athletic gear, travel, etc., paid for by Gamecock Club members who have fool-heartedly pumped an amazing amount of capital into this program for so many years with so little return on that investment … I would love for the Gamecock Club to produce the numbers for contributions by the football alums – my experience is that it becomes a rearview mirror priority for the majority of these guys.

Accommodating the Dores – Note to the USC Brass: don’t agree to anymore concessions when playing Vanderbilt (home/away) … I stated this past winter, last year, and the year before that I felt Vanderbilt had caught (and now surpassed) the University of South Carolina in athletics – that was met with much consternation by many of the Garnet & Black faithful … South Carolina needs every advantage it can muster in SEC action and allowing last year’s football home game to be moved to a better start time for “the players and coaches” does not need to factor into the equation … Throw in the outlet for Vandy to showcase its improving athletics program on national TV for the home season opener in 2008 was also a poor decision … The state of Tennessee and Nashville for that matter don’t even care about Vanderbilt … Heck, their students and alumni don’t either as we sat above the student section for the sole purpose of being able to spread out and had as much room as needed ... Even the hotel receptionist and bellhop asked this morning who won the game – at 10 o’clock – it just doesn’t even register up there … Pitiful loss! … The name of the game is to win – that seems to be a lost concept at Carolina these days as Vandy – which disbanded its entire Athletic Department several years ago – presumes to kick USC’s ass in football, men’s basketball, and baseball on a frequent basis these days … Since 1998, the Gamecocks sport just a 7-4 record vs. the Commodores – that’s not even 2 out of 3 against a team that has won a total of 10 SEC contests since 2000 – that’s friggin’ pathetic!

• BASEBALL (4-10) – 2008 (1-3), 2007 (1-2), 2006 (1-3), 2005 (1-2)
• BASKETBALL (2-6) – 2008 (0-2), 2007 (0-2), 2006 (1-1), 2005 (1-1)
• FOOTBALL (2-2) – 2008 (0-1), 2007 (0-1), 2006 (1-0), 2005 (1-0)

Pony Up for What? – I am on record as saying that I support the Gamecock Club and its planned implementation of the YES Plan … Will I participate, you betcha – I think it is a fair process for Wiliams-Brice Stadium – and I plan on continuing going to the home games … However, when Vanderbilt’s home season ticket costs $99 for the entire package and the fact that the Commodores have surpassed USC in the SEC East and it really makes you question how South Carolina can do this at the present time … I can understand it if the Gamecocks were winning 8-9-10 games a year, but the fact is that for 116 years the end product is not even .500 football and for that reason maybe the status quo is the way to go … Maybe the culture of Carolina Football cannot be changed … As a good doctor friend of mine told me recently, “I am not of the mindset that in regards to USC football I don’t see where building all of these facilities and such is going to help the on-field product. Carolina is what it is and will be what it always has been. Feed the guys good and give them a nice place to live and see what they can do. Do you really think many of them want to spend any time in an Academic Enrichment Facility.”