Week #11 - My thoughts and observations ...

Last Home Game - Hard to believe that November 8 was the last home game of the 2008 season (my the time has flown by) ... Looking back through the annals, USC closed out its home slate on 11/6/04 vs. Arkansas and 10/28/00 vs. Tennessee as the earliest last home games in recent memory ... We had a great time tailgating on a clear and windy day in the Capital City ... We arrived at the Farmers Market around 9:15 and enjoyed Bojangle's biscuits and a homemade sausage/egg/cheese casserole for breakfast and a batch of homemade sausage/cheese dip with tortilla chips as a pregame snack -- nice tribute to the "Swine of the South", Arkansas! ... Of course, the Natural Light was flowing and a good time was had by all in preparation for the home finale.

BBQ, Rkansaw Style - No need to discuss too much of the game now that it's Monday, but USC showed its mettle late in the third quarter when Jordin Lindsey stretched up from his defensive end position and intercepted Casey Dick's pass and then rumbled 40 yards to turn a 20-14 affair into an insurmountable two touchdown lead that was secured when quarterback Stephen Garcia connected with wide receiver Kenny McKinley on the patented fade route to ensure the victory ... Early on I thought the game could turn into a laugher when USC raced to a 10-0 lead and then led by the same margin at intermission (17-7) ... However, give the Hogs and Coach Bobby Petrino credit that they hung in there despite not having nearly the amount of talent they possessed the past couple of years ... Every time Carolina seemingly was ready to put the game away the Razorbacks somehow managed to cut into the deficit, but in the end the better team won a pretty entertaining contest at Williams-Brice Stadium ... Congratulations to cornerback Addison Williams who picked off the first pass of his USC career in the first quarter ... Kudos also to Stoney Woodson who intercepted a pass for the fourth time this year - a team high and I believe the eighth in his career - underrated player for the Gamecocks ... Ryan Succop drilled a 54-yard field goal and followed it up with a 37-yarder, but it perplexes me as to how he could miss the 25-yard chip shot -- the good news is that he has connected on five of his last seven attempts after struggling through a one-of-six span a month ago ... Eric Norwood (9 tackles, 3 sacks) and Darian Stewart (7 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 pass broken up) were menacing behind the line of scrimmage as Chris Culliver and Marvin Sapp provided super cover with seven stops a piece ... My favorite Gamecock this year has been Akeem Auguste and he tallied six stops and a PBU ... I didn't know what to think of Petrino after his carousel with Louisville, the Atlanta Falcons, and then Arkansas, but he's a good coach and feel he will have Arkansas back in the hunt sooner rather than later in the SEC West.

Moving On Up - South Carolina's victory on Saturday enabled the Gamecocks to swap positions with Arkansas as the best sub-.500 SEC team since 2000 in league play ... In 71 SEC games during that span USC owns a 34-37 (.479) mark which is better than five other SEC foes: Arkansas (33-37, .471); Ole Miss (27-43, .386); Kentucky (18-52, .257); Miss. State (16-53, .232); and Vanderbilt (12-58, .171) ... The top half of the SEC the past nine years is as follows: Florida (52-19, .732); LSU (50-20, .714); Georgia (50-21, .704); Auburn (49-21, .700); Tennessee (45-26, .634); and Alabama (35-34, .507) ... Plus, the win vs. the Razorbacks improved USC to 5-4 vs. Arkansas in Columbia and 7-10 overall against Carolina's permanent SEC West Division rival.

Halcyon Days - Don't look now South Carolina football fans, but this is the "golden era" for the gridiron Gamecocks! ... Dating back to 2004, USC has compiled .500 or better seasons for five consecutive seasons ... As a fan since 1979 I'll take that kind of production every year as long as it includes bowl games -- 2004 (brawl) and 2007 saw those goals missed -- and a 50/50 result with Clemson ... However, the Gamecocks have now proven that they belong in the Southeastern Conference when it comes to football and a span of such "success" should not be scoffed at as a 34-24 (.586) record overall and a 19-20 SEC mark are impressive totals considering how tough this league is in football ... Since 2000, USC is 61-45 (.581) overall.

2008, 7-3 (4-3) Bowl Game
2007, 6-6 (3-5)
2006, 8-5 (3-5) Liberty Bowl Champions
2005, 7-5 (5-3) Independence Bowl
2004, 6-5 (4-4)
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2003, 5-7 (2-6)
2002, 5-7 (3-5)
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2001, 9-3 (5-3) Outback Bowl Champions
2000, 8-4 (5-3) Outback Bowl Champions

Recruiting - This is a cut-and-paste of my comments regarding the recruitment of Chris Bonds from last week ... I'm not much for the recruiting process and the ins-and-outs of the business, but here's hoping Chris Bonds finds "greener pastures" elsewhere than Columbia ... This young man has gotten on my nerves the past four years with the constant open door policy at South Carolina and yet does not include the Gamecocks in the final three. So be it ... I like Jay Frye at Richland Northeast HS and know it's his goal to see his players get opportunities at the next level -- where ever that may be ... I have no problem with that whatsoever ... But, this guy is totally overrated and really has not improved enough to warrant any more attention from the Gamecocks ... Not playing his final prep games tells me a lot about the character of this kid! ... I coach high school kids and if a player "opted out" for his own sake due to "not wanting to get hurt', then he can go ahead and turn in his uniform ... No doubt that the folks at RNE have bent over backwards through his career there and helped him along after numerous injuries and setbacks ... The least he could do is "man up" and "be a guy" ... Soft! ... That is what recruiting is about (discussing 17 year old decisions) ... Bonds is not new to the process ... He milked it for everything it is worth - for this I applaud him ... However, it's time for USC to cut the umbilical cord in Columbia and let him go afar the next 2 1/2 months until he signs ... "No room at the Inn" is what I would tell him ... Good luck to him and I hope he prospers, but it's time for Chris & Company to leave the Garnet & Black alone ... Good for David Reaves (AND HIGHER UP THE CHAIN) ... Glad to know the "open bar" has been closed to some locals! ... I stated this a long time ago ... I don't get involved in recruiting for this reason alone ... However, this guy has been in the limelight of football recruiting since his 8th grade year and kudos to him for milking the system ... However, he has not progressed as a player and is probably as good as he's going to be - reminds me a lot of JJ Brown from several years ago ... No problem in that either, because he's going to get his collegiate education paid for - and he needs to take advantage of that opportunity ... I'm just glad it won't be in Columbia ... Not jaded - just relieved! ... Phil Kornblut's family is zoned for RNE HS and his son played football for the Cavaliers ... They are "close" in that regard ... I don't want anything bad for the Bonds Family - just don't want Chris logging a scholarship at South Carolina - maybe as an invited walk-on and perhaps a scholarship later on if he can prove his worth (and health) ... Simple as that.

Big Point Spread - The Associated Press has the Gamecocks (7-3) ranked #24 nationally and Florida (8-1) #3, respectively ... The Gators have wrapped up the SEC East Division and will play Alabama (10-0) for the Southeastern Conference Championship in December so the only thing riding on this game between bowl-bound teams is pride -- essentially that is it ... I hope South Carolina approaches the game with a free-for-all attitude and that Coach Spurrier throws caution to the wind and unveils his bag of tricks because with an open date before heading up to arch-rival Clemson this is an excellent opportunity to knock off the three-touchdown favorites -- or at least take them to the wire like the 2006 squad was able to do ... Since joining the SEC for football in 1992 Florida owns a 19.7-point margin of victory at Gainesville vs. USC (35.1-15.4) ... As good as Carolina's defense has been this year (130 points allowed in SEC play for an 18.6 average), Florida's has been even more impressive with just 94 points allowed (13.4 average) ... Factor in that the Gators have almost doubled the Gamecocks in SEC points scored (303-157) and the odds-makers have this matchup ending in a rout ... This game reminds me of the 2000 clash with UF at The Swamp that the Gators rebounded from a poor start to steamroll the Gamecocks 41-21 ... As a bettor I like South Carolina and the 22 points and a four-quarter game is what I hope to see at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium this Saturday ... Go Cocks!