Week #6 - My thoughts and observations ...

M-Soccer – I started my Saturday of Gamecock Athletics co-hosting the webcast for the men’s soccer match vs. Davidson at Stone Stadium … USC entered the match winners in three of their previous four contests, but had lost midweek at Furman and was closing out its 2008 non-conference slate vs. the Wildcats … The Gamecocks were energized from the start and quickly had the match in hand at 2-0 in the first 10 minutes … USC cruised for the 90 minutes and won 4-0 to close September with a 5-3-1 mark … South Carolina was ranked #3 in the South Region last week behind national #1 Wake Forest and nationally ranked North Carolina … USC has outscored its foes 18-7 and owns a 5-1-1 record when limiting opponents to either zero or one goals – Carolina is 0-2-0 when allowing two or more … On a personal note, I got some sickening news from London, England while at the match as my beloved Arsenal Gunners lost for only the second time as hosts at Emirates Stadium to newly promoted Hull City – ugh (the only blemish to an otherwise good sporting day)! … Conference USA play starts next Saturday at Stone Stadium vs. Florida International in a 7 p.m., kickoff … I encourage any Gamecock fans in the Midlands area to get out and support the men’s soccer team next weekend as the football game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (EST) kickoff at Ole Miss.

Terps Trip Tigers – Well, I knew the Las Vegas line that listed Clemson as 11-point favorites was a bit large considering this series was tied at four wins a piece dating back to 2000 … On my pick sheet I selected Maryland and those 11 points, but really didn’t think the Terrapins could pull it off with a bye week looming for the Tigers, who had picked themselves up somewhat after the opening game Alabama debacle … Two years ago I had predicted a Terps win at Death Valley despite UM being an 18-point underdog and the Turtles responded with a 13-12 victory … After all, the bottom line in this series is Ralph Friedgen vs. Tommy Bowden and despite Maryland seemingly never having quite the overall talent that Clemson seems to possess (misnomer IMO), the Big Turtle is far and away a better game day coach – point proven on Saturday … Another wasted year for our arch-rivals and it couldn’t happen to a better bunch who clamored all summer long about an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship – borrowing a line from the USC faithful, “wait til next year” Tigers … That is 1991 and counting!

Pregame – The Gamecocks had already routed Davidson in men’s soccer and Clemson had just lost at home to unranked Maryland (which had lost earlier this month at Middle Tennessee) … Could the day get any better? … Sure it could as long as East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Miami, N.C. State, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wake Forest all lost – and they did! … Wow! … What a day of college football ... The topsy-turvy world was turned upside down in Gainesville where maybe the most underrated coach in the SEC, Houston Nutt of Ole Miss, had just engineered an improbable 31-30 upset of the Gators – no less as 25-point underdogs … Ironically, I was listening to a national radio show earlier in the week and their prognosticator had said that the Florida/Ole Miss game was the “lock of the week” and even stated that if it became a shootout that he liked the Rebels straight-up … Well, looking on paper you would never have figured it to be a contest as Ole Miss generated just 10 first downs and were out gained 443-325, but the Gators turned the ball over three times and the Rebels just once as Florida lost for the sixth time vs. an unranked opponent since 2002 – and the third time to Ole Miss during that span – ’08 Ole Miss, ’07 Auburn, ’06 South Carolina, ’04 Miss. State, ’03 Ole Miss, ’02 Ole Miss … In the oft-spoken words of Todd Ellis, “my oh my” … Anyway (as Coach Steve Spurrier says), we made it over to the Farmers Market around 4:15 p.m., and setup camp – I had left my tailgating table on the back porch (dadgumit), but our good pal, Al, had one in his SUV that we were able to use and watch the Auburn/Tennessee game – what a great SEC contest! … I love defensive knock-down drag-out football and the SEC gives you plenty of these type games each fall … A loss by UT would have the Vols joining the Cocks in the cellar of the SEC East Division and as they say, “misery loves company” … Auburn held on for the win, so welcome to the basement Smokey! … It was a light fare on Saturday with all the running around before the game, but we had some really good sub sandwiches from Publix and of course cold Natural Light beer – I had left my six pack of Athens Georgia’s Terrapin Rye Pale Ale (Go Maryland) to kickoff the afternoon in the refrigerator (damnit) ... But all’s well that ends well and I just had to get on with it – so I drank fast until game time :-) … I walked into The W-B right before 2001 sounded so I didn’t participate in any of the pregame festivities – time for football!

UAB – If you had told me prior to the game that USC would have led 20-6 at halftime, then that would have been right on cue to my prediction of USC 38-13 UAB … However, getting outscored 6-7 in the second half was not expected at all against a porous Blazers defense and a stanza in which the Gamecocks actually received the kickoff – with the way Carolina’s defense is playing right now I would defer to the second half every game if USC wins the coin toss … The Gamecocks scored just 23 points a week earlier and despite being 5-for-5 (2TD/3FG) in the red zone vs. Wofford, I was hoping those field goals would be turned into touchdowns … For the most part they were as USC finished 4-for-5 in the red zone vs. UAB (2TD/2FG), but for the Gamecocks to be successful in the SEC contests, then Carolina cannot settle for 24 and 26 yard field goals – those have to be scores! … Great job by Ryan Succop, who connected on boomers from 44 and 48 yards in the first half and scored 14 of the 26 points – once again the team MVP … The defense was solid as Carolina held UAB to just 126 total yards before the final drive in which the Blazers covered 81 yards in seven plays vs. a USC second/third-string side … The offensive line continues to puzzle me as the pass blocking seems efficient enough – especially for a quarterback that can (and will) actually “move around back there” … However, the run blocking is atrocious and it’s painfully obvious that it is the worst coached unit in the league … How do I know that? … Because I watch SEC football and to top it off I saw a scroll on ESPN that had a NFL Draft projection say that Jamon Meredith would be the #18 pick of the First Round in next spring’s draft – a member of the USC offensive line that could not get a friggin’ yard or two vs. Wofford last week that would have put the game away … It just doesn’t add up right now and if you can’t win the line of scrimmage, then you’ll get pummeled in the SEC (ask Clemson and Georgia about Alabama) … The UAB quarterback, Joe Webb, is one big dude (6-4, 220) who looked more like a linebacker than a QB and USC really hemmed him up from running and throwing though Carolina had him nailed behind the line several times and could never get him down … Creating turnovers has been a problem for South Carolina despite the solid outings so far but Stoney Woodson and Shaq Wilson each collected INTs … Darian Stewart was all over the place and I thought that Nathan Pepper and Ladi Ajiboye did a nice job up front plugging the middle … Dustin Lindsey had some good sticks as well … Where are you Jasper Brinkley? … Nice showing by Jason Barnes who hauled in there passes for 46 yards and should have had a 28-yard touchdown from Chris Smelley early in the fourth quarter that was ruled offensive pass interference by Back Judge Rich Martinez – are you kidding me? … Scandalous officiating and it ruined the best pass of Smelley’s 2008 campaign as he sent a dart down the middle of the field only to be nullified by a pure B.S. call … Of course, Smelley, who started the UAB game, promptly was sacked on the next play and then threw the customary pick on the following play to probably just douse any confidence he had gained from that TD pass … Matt Clements caught two passes for 26 yards, including a 17-yarder – could he be a “big play” type? … One of my favorites, Pat DiMarco, caught a little fullback screen in the middle of the field and rumbled nine yards – a two-star player from Altamonte Springs, Fla., is simply a football player – something USC needs more of on the offensive side of the ball … Bobby Wallace got off the milk carton vs. UAB and looked like the best running back to me as he scampered for 51 yards on just six carries – does running backs coach Robert Gillespie still believe Taylor Rank is better than Wallace? … Brian Maddox looked to upright and too slow as he garnered just 1.4 yards per carry (10 for 14 YDS) … Eric Baker, a bit small for between the tackle running, averaged 3.2 yards per rush on eight carries and turned the ball over with a fumble … The book on Weslye Saunders is that he does not block well in practice – well, he transferred that to the game in the fourth quarter when he totally missed his man and allowed Smelley to get bombed for a nine-yard loss … Speaking of Smelley (3-for-9, 44 YDS, 1 INT, 1 SCK), he and Tommy Beecher (2-for-4, 20 YDS, 2 SCK, the opening game starter, combined for 5-for-13, 64 YDS, INT, 3 SCK – geez!

Garcia, "The Great”? – Well, not statistically speaking, but he does give South Carolina what they need as the signal caller and that is confidence and fire … The one beef I have with this team, especially offensively, is how non-descript and how un-fun the game looks for them … The image I get is that they feel like they “have to play football”, instead of wanting to play the game … Just makes no sense to me, but one guy that was having fun on Saturday was Stephen Garcia … I did not mention him above, because simply put, he was bigger than the game itself … I had heard so much about him the past three years (recruiting, off-the-field troubles, no spring practices, etc.) that I wanted to see what he could before something else happened … Plus, quite frankly, I had watched too much of non-SEC caliber starting QBs run Spurrier’s offense … That’s not intended as a dig, as I believe Smelley is quite capable of being a solid backup quarterback in Columbia and will certainly be needed by the Gamecocks … I never saw that potential with Beecher, but a trusty PAT/FG holder certainly earns his keep on the squad, though I think those duties have been turned over to someone else (Stephen Flint perhaps) … Garcia’s presence alone was enough for me to see how much he is needed as the signal caller … Throw in a pretty good first outing (I know he played earlier in the season, but nothing meaningful) with 13-of-20 passing for 131 yards (1 TD, 1 INT, 1 SCK) and I’ll give him a B- … However, when you factor in his running skills (18 rushes, 86 yards) and a score and I’ll give him an A- (can’t go any higher than that because he also was intercepted on the series in which he threw his first TD pass but UAB was offsides) … I hope he has matured and is ready to develop under Coach Spurrier’s tutelage – USC needs him in the worst way!

Fanfare – Since when did Tim Bourret become employed by the University of South Caroilna? … As the long time Sports Information Director at Clemson University Bourret is notorious for doling out less than factual attendance figures … For instance, if Clemson and an ACC foe like Duke, Virginia, or Maryland are at Memorial Stadium, then you would see the attendance announced at 79,300 or some preposterous number (actually a lie considering you can read C-L-E-M-S-O-N in the upper deck meaning that there were around 60,000 on hand to witness the event) … I assume that USC has employed Bourret for his “guesstimates” on the Williams-Brice Stadium crowds this year because there is no way that 78,286 were on hand to see the UAB game … More like 62,000 (see Tim, I even know how to round numbers in the Death Valley tradition!) … Come on folks, be truthful to the Gamecock Nation and just report the actual bodies that walk through the turnstiles – none of this “tickets sold” innuendo.

Postgame – Another pretty quick game as it was over at 10:07 p.m., and I made it to the Farmers Market tailgating spot around 10:30 … A couple of beers and a half sub later and it was wrap-up time around 11:15 and back to Cayce for another week … KCock93 and I are heading out to Ole Miss on Friday … We’re driving up to Charlotte and flying to Memphis to enjoy Beale Street Friday and Saturday night … We’ll make the short drive down to Oxford Saturday morning and hopefully will get to enjoy a much needed SEC victory by the Gamecocks that afternoon … If you have never been to Oxford, well, get there early to check out The Grove – it’s one of the unique aspects of SEC Football that makes this league the best in the world for college football … There is plenty of tailgating space around the quaint campus but it’s a small downtown center so it’s a tight squeeze everywhere … The last time South Carolina played at Ole Miss was in 2003 when the Rebels withstood a comeback by the Gamecocks, 43-40 … USC has never beaten Ole Miss as members of the SEC and three of those games were decided by a total of eight points: 1998 (28-30 A); 1999 (10-36 H); 2003 (40-43); 2004 (28-31) … The ’04 game was the Hail Mary pass by Ethan Flat to Bill Flowers who roasted corner back Fred Bennett down the left side line … Carolina really needs a victory in this game – some way, some how … Go Cocks!