SB Nation - Spencer Lanning

Reviewing Clemson at South Carolina: How We Won and What It Means

Gamecock Man — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:57:04 -0000

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

19 days ago: South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, right, is tripped up by Clemson cornerback Crezdon Butler, left, after a 39-yard reception from Stephon Gilmore, during the first half of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009, at Williams-Brice Stadium, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

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Well, maybe this really is a New Carolina. The Gamecocks turned in a nearly flawless performance against our hated rivals, whipping Clemson by a score of 34-17. This was a truly dominant outing by Carolina; Clemson moved the ball very little until they managed a score late in the game against our prevent defense, and even then we hit them right back with a late Weslye Saunders touchdown that had more to do with pride than any actual influence on the outcome of the game. The box score says it all. We outgained the Tigers by over 100 yards, we had seven more first downs, we averaged much more yardage per play; the list could go on. It was a great afternoon to be a Gamecock.

This win gives this team some momentum going into the offseason and recruiting stretch. The Peach Bowl is now a possibility. I suspect Chick-fil-A will go with UGA in the end, but I still have my hopes. Even if we don't get Atlanta, though, Nashville, the Music City Bowl, and a likely matchup with UNC will serve as a fine consolation prize. This win will also undoubtedly pay off on the recruiting trail. We've always had to struggle against the fact that Clemson has owned us in this series while trying to make our case to the local high school talent. This year, though, Spurrier will have a case for us.

All in all, the win was a huge one for Spurrier in general. The fanbase is now reenergized and onboard with Spurrier. If Spurrier takes us to a strong finish, recruits well, and convinces our star juniors to stick around, there will be a lot to be excited about next year. The mood surrounding the program right now is just a lot different than last year. It's been a trying year at times, but overall, I think it was something of a success.

A few more thoughts on the game after the jump.

Spurrier clearly understood the gravity of this game, as he came in ready to throw the kitchen sink at the Tigers. We saw trick plays, the Wildcat, and a general tendency to go for the jugular. Well done, coach. The TD to Saunders at the end of the game was a huge statement.
There's really nothing that can't be said about Stephon Gilmore right now. What a performance.
Same goes for Spencer Lanning, one of this game's unsung heros.
Apparently, we can run the ball. The endgame actually played out much like what I feared the Tigers might do to us: we stuck to the run, punched Clemson in the nose as their defensive interior tired, and walked away with the victory. Gameballs go to our offensive line, which played its best game in years, and Kenny Miles and Brian Maddox, who both played well.
The defense was simply dominant. Clemson really didn't move the ball at all until the game was mostly out of their reach in the fourth quarter. It was very clear that they weren't ready for such a speedy defense.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this game over the course of the week. For now, let's just enjoy it. This was a quality performance.

Reviewing South Carolina at Tennessee: Picking Up the Pieces

Gamecock Man — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:01:57 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

about 1 month ago: Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, right, greets South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier after an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 31-13. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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My apologies for not being around sooner to comment on this 'game.' I was out of the town over the weekend and didn't always have access to a computer, so I'm just now catching up.

Before sharing some of my thoughts on the game, I should say that I wasn't able to watch the entire game closely because I was occupied with other activities for most of the game. Therefore, take my thoughts with a grain of salt, and please excuse me if some of my points are fairly obvious. I may have more insightful things to say after I watch a replay.

Needless to say, turnovers killed us. Outside of the fumbles, we didn't play terribly in this game; while we might not have won, it would have been a lot closer without the fumbles. You can blame the weather, and I think it's worth recognizing that this performance isn't indicative of how we play in normal conditions. Still, though, three fumbles is inexcusable; the players knew going in that they'd have to take care of the ball, and while the Vols did so, we didn't.

Our offense isn't good enough to win games when we don't win the turnover battle. Although we continue to put up good numbers, we continue to have trouble scoring. Moreover, our defense, while good, can't manage to create turnovers of its own, keeping us from putting up more points. That all means we're going to have to win close, low-scoring games, and that's not going to happen with four to none in the turnover margins.

We need a new special teams coach. I don't think we should fire Shane Beamer. He seems to be a good recruiter, so we should find a place for him. However, he hasn't shown the ability to be a good special teams coach. Kickoff return coverage has been awful all year and wasn't good last night. The clip on the punt returned for a touchdown was a momentum killer. These things were problems for us in 2007, and they're problems again now, and Beamer is the common denominator. It's time to try someone else at his position.

Spencer Lanning deserves a shoutout. If the offense had done its part by holding onto the ball and scoring more points, we would have noticed that Spencer did all the things you want a punter / kicker to do to win a close game. In particular, Spencer made a career-high 47 yarder and had some great punts. I'm becoming more confident that we can rely on him to make some big kicks if needed.

It's not the end of the world. This loss was infuriating, and in that it looked like a slightly closer version of the Florida and Clemson games from a year ago, it's obviously filling us with foreboding. However, it's just one game, and all of our goals are still within reach for the year. I do think this loss makes the Arkansas game this weekend something of a must-win game. If we don't win against the Hogs, I doubt we reach our eight-win goal, and anything less would have to be considered equivocal in my mind. We match up better with the Hogs than Tennessee, though, so this should be a winnable game. The question in my mind is how we respond. If we can refocus and fix a few things, I think we'll take care of Arkansas. If we take this loss too hard--and I'm sure this was an emotional loss for the boys due to the buzz surrounding the gas-pumper comments--we stand a good chance of losing the rest of our games. If we can do the former, that'll be a good indication that this team is different than the last two.

Finally, my kudos to the Volunteers. You have to give Lane Kiffin and his staff credit; they had their guys ready to go in this game.

Previewing South Carolina at Tennessee: Three Keys, Something to Think About, and Prediction

Gamecock Man — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:35:00 -0000

Time to run the gauntlet. The Orange Crush has always been the bane of South Carolina football. Will this year be any different? Is this really a "New Carolina?" We're about to begin to find out.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Three Keys

1. Stop the Run while Keeping Jonathan Crompton in Check

The story for defending Tennessee for the past couple of years has been to sell out to stop the run and assume Jonathan Crompton will screw up. Now, though, Crompton has begun to play better. He made Georgia pay for not respecting his abilities, and while he hasn't been as good in other games, he hasn't been the inept player he last year, either. Still, I'm thinking we have to focus on the run in this game; if we don't, Tennessee will pound it all night and eventually wear us out. The key is figuring out how to do that while keeping an eye on Crompton. Perhaps the thing is to keep Crompton from rolling out and looking underneath, which seems to be when he's most comfortable.

2. The Kicking Game

In what will likely be a low-scoring, defensive battle between two teams that haven't always been great in the red zone, the difference could come down to field goals. Luckily for us, UT's field goal unit has struggled lately. Daniel Lincoln's low kicks and the Vols' protection problems more or less cost them the game against 'Bama. (Supposedly, Lincoln has a groin injury; I'm not sure how much that's affecting him right now.) We, meanwhile, have been pretty good in this department, although there are questions about whether or not Spencer Lanning is capable of making a long-range kick, especially with the game on the line. We'll see how things play out Saturday.

Hopefully not like this.

More like this.

3. How Do the Two Teams Respond to the Tension Produced by the Kiffin Remarks about Alshon Jeffrey?

I'm not usually one to base my projections of games on the "narrative"; the most talented, best prepared team is usually going to win, regardless of what the media prefers to focus on pre-game. However, in this particular case, there seems to be a bit of noise coming from South Carolina in response to Kiffin's gas-pumping comments. Moe Brown says he's out for blood, and you have to think that he is voicing the sentiments of the rest of the team, as well. I'll say that I'm all for the guys letting this motivate them to play a great game. However, it's also key that they play smart, stick to the gameplan, and don't do anything stupid. This team has enough problems with penalties, as it is; we don't need to compound those with unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls. Heaven knows we've seen emotional games go south before.

Continue reading after the jump.

Something to Think About

Out of our series with the East's Big Three, Tennessee has arguably replaced Georgia as the closest, most exciting of the bunch. Steve Spurrier has beaten the Vols two out of four times, and the two losses--particularly the one in '07--have been brutally close. With Carolina seemingly on the brink of a breakthrough year and the Vols looking to put their season on track under their new coach, this game could be a pivotal one for the future of these two programs. Lane Kiffin undoubtedly wants into South Carolina's high school talent, and whether or not he gets a head up around here will depend to some degree on how well we acquit ourselves against his team. Win, and we can continue to sign guys like Jarvis Giles and Alshon Jeffrey. Lose, and Kiffin may get those types of players in the future. This is a key game, folks.

Prediction

As I told NorCalVol, I expect a close USC victory, somewhere in the neighborhood of 16-13. My reasoning? First of all, I think the Vols' kicking game is a major liability, especially considering that they need every point they can get. Moreover, while I think their offense has made major strides, I like Ellis Johnson's chances of coming up with a gameplan to slow the Vols down and I think there's still a good chance that Crompton will commit a game-changing turnover somewhere along the way. Finally, while I think Tennessee has one of the best defenses around, I think we can move the ball if we take what the Vols give us. Tennessee does not have an elite pass rush--it would probably be more accurate to say that the Vols don't favor the blitz in their scheme--and if the Vols don't pressure Stephen Garcia, I like his chances to work the short passing game. With Weslye Saunders back to 100% and with a good set of receiving running backs in the lineup, those plays should be there. Then, if we can move the ball consistently, the big plays to Alshon and Tori Gurley should start to appear. It's also worth noting that we should expect to win the turnover battle in this one, and that could make a huge difference in a close game.

Previewing South Carolina at Tennessee: Q & A with NorCalVol of Vols in the Fall

Gamecock Man — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:58:59 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

4 months ago: Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, right, talks with quarterback Jonathan Crompton during football practice Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Knoxville, Tenn. It was Tennessee's first day in pads. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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I got together with NorCalVol of the fine UT blog Vols in the Fall for a little Q & A action. NorCalVol has been, to say the least, generous with his answers. Enjoy. My answers to NorCalVol’s question are forthcoming here. (Note that LOHD has been sleeping with the enemy, as well, so be sure to check out their exchange.)

Q1. Lane Kiffin started his tenure with a bang by netting some notable successes on the recruiting trail, but his season so far has been a mixed bag of painful losses to mediocre teams, near misses against great teams, and a big win against Georgia. How pleased are Vols fans with Kiffin? Or is it too early to say?

NorCalVol: The majority of Vol fans are pleased with Kiffin. I think most are convinced that: (1) he knows what he’s doing; (2) he has surrounded himself with top-quality assistants; (3) he has the players’ loyalty; and (4) he will eventually get us back to being conference champions. But this is a big adjustment period for the Vol Nation; a group that for the most part is a stodgy bunch, wrapped in our warm orange blanket of nostalgia and tradition. We are all trying to get used to his "style" - making our program visible to recruiting prospects via sound-bite comments, promotional videos with shirtless players/pants unbuckled, flights around Atlanta in a helicopter, and other grand-standing techniques. Love him or not, one thing is for sure: he’s a different animal than Phil Fulmer. Personally, I think he’s just what the doctor ordered, not only for Tennessee but for the SEC as well. I know he rubs people the wrong way (just look at some of the Georgia blogs – they still are posting about him!), but he says what’s on his mind - consequences be damned. He is of a generation that is just beginning to move into college head coaching, and I believe we’ll see more like him in the coming years. It’s a new day – the youth of today eventually become the rulers. If you want to clear away all the smoke, just watch his demeanor on the sideline during a game. That is the real Kiffin. And I love it.

My other response, in particular to your remark that this season has been a "mixed bag", has to be presented in the context of the season viewed as a process – from game to game. The opener against Western Kentucky (a 63-7 win) resulted in expectations getting totally out of control. The following game against UCLA was the litmus test. We came up with a dreadful performance, particularly the offense. So, let’s use the UCLA game as the starting point. WKU doesn’t count.

Next was Florida in the Swamp. The defense was nothing short of superb. The offense was the interesting part. Kiffin employed an extremely conservative offensive scheme with the goal to run clock and keep the ball away from Tebow and Co. for as long as possible. It worked if you consider a low-scoring loss by only 10 points a victory (which is where all this "moral victory" stuff started). But the skeptics, in Knoxville and elsewhere, were accusing Kiffin of playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Well, OK. Maybe. But if that is truly what he was doing, it makes sense when you look at the very big picture. Kiffin knows that he needs to keep the orange crazies at bay long enough to allow his philosophies to manifest. Gambling for a win and getting completely blown out would have been a huge mistake. The game plan might just have been a shrewd ploy from a PR point of view.

The Ohio win was marred by a bad special teams play, and even the defense had trouble containing a very mobile QB. But the Vol offense showed more capabilities of a balanced attack even though Crompton continued to struggle. Despite the loss to Auburn the following week, our offense showed a real spark in the fourth quarter – something was happening, and it was good. The talk before the Georgia game was now we would find out if there really had been improvement. After the 45-19 win, it was clear. Even the most severe pessimists were quiet. All facets of our game clicked. And more importantly, the Vol faithful felt like a big family again, for the first time in more than a year. But Bama was going to be a supreme test. I think the vast majority of the Vol faithful rate last Saturday’s game with high marks. The pride is back. The future all of a sudden looks very bright.

So the threads that come out of all this are: (1) Tennessee has played better against the better competition; and (2) the overall performance has improved throughout the season. If it were the opposite, we might have the same 3-4 record, but not many in Vol Land would likely feel good about Kiffin. Instead, the program appears stable, with a very good long-term prognosis. Recruiting looks promising.

In Knoxville it tends to be a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality. The near-term prognosis is optimistic. But Kiffin’s lack of significant notches on his belt means his fortunes can still turn on a dime. A big win by USC on Halloween would be a huge setback for the coach and our bowl prospects. I’m optimistic, but I’m also sticking with my pre-season prediction of 6-6. Alternatively, 7-5 looks somewhat possible. The problem for Kiffin is that most of the talk I hear and a lot of what I read is 8-4 is what we "should" achieve. I think that’s ridiculous. But 7-5 will more than satisfy the masses, and likely be viewed as a "success" in the first year of a very young, very bright, but very controversial coach.

Q2. Kiffin vowed that Jonathan Crompton would be much improved this year. (I should say that I personally believed him, as I stated in the offseason.) As with the Vols season at large, though, Crompton has been up and down. How do you think he'll play against the Gamecocks and down the rest of the stretch?

NorCalVol: I actually see it as steady improvement, little by little, game by game, until the Georgia game that made it look like Jonathan Crompton found the magic chalice filled with liquid enlightenment. That’s the short response. Here are the details.

Last year, Jonathan was underwhelming (and that’s putting it kindly), so you can imagine how the anticipation before this season’s opener was a mixture of wanting to run and hide plus contemplating the devouring of your young. Setting it up for you…

In 2008, Crompton unveiled his wares on national TV (Monday Night Football-NCAA style) at UCLA. He was absolutely dreadful. I was there. It seemed that every pass was either a floating duck or a bullet thrown at the ankles of his receiver. And it got worse to the point that he was benched in favor of Nick Stevens, the proclaimed "Texas Gunslinger." Stevens showed promise but eventually gave the job back to Crompton. The season crashed and burned with near munity from the players and the fans. Exit Fulmer.

Enter Kiffin.

So, the 2009 opening game is at home against (what we know now as) the worst team in the 120-membered Div I FBS. Crompton throws for 5 TDs and nearly 300 yards. He showed the physical talent he has been blessed with. But, the Intelligentsia of Vol Fandom knew better. Some saw it as the instant result of new coaching. Possibly. But UCLA came to town for the second game of the season. During a dreadful 19-15 loss, Crompton became "Crapton" once more and the Wisdom of the Orange Faithful wanted to burn him at the stake and throw his body under a bus. Except for Lane Kiffin, who said that backup Nick Stevens would be seen on the field only if the Vols had a big lead, not if the Vols were way behind. Surely he wasn’t serious, we all thought. He was. Dead serious. Case closed.

Second game was in the Swamp. The game plan for the offense was to keep Crompton on a very short leash and risk giving him an elbow hyperextension from handing the ball off again and again. In other words, impossible to judge improvement. Against Ohio, Jonathan was given a longer leash and showed an ability to throw north-south with some effect, without throwing the game away, and allow the running game to flourish. A spec of improvement, even though his decision-making ability was still sub-standard. Next was Auburn – a big game for us, with their undefeated record coming to town. The poorly thrown balls to open receivers on multiple occasions were tedious to watch. But he showed spark in the second half. Perhaps no overall improvement, but no regression either.

Then Georgia. A metamorphosis from hated worm-like creature to a quarterback versatile enough to throw for 310 yards with a 20-for-27 afternoon. Stunning doesn’t begin to describe it. The question was why. Everybody has an opinion on that game. What we actually witnessed was a completely different offensive scheme. We know Georgia would be sitting on the running game. So, over and over and over, it was take the snap, play action, naked bootleg on a 270-degree turn, rollout (usually to the left), and hit the underneath receiver. Mix in a few Montario Hardesty power runs, and you had Jonathan’s first major accomplishment as a Vol QB My thoughts were this is the result of a coaching staff that knows how to coach young people by believing in what they see on the practice field, and more importantly, how to be patient and find what works for an individual. It wasn’t that Crompton didn’t have the ability. It was perhaps more that he had never been put in a scheme that allowed him to succeed. Not to shamelessly promote my blog, but on October 11, I posted an article on the subject, "Postscript: Tennessee vs Georgia."

Last week at Alabama, Crompton’s numbers weren’t as good as the Georgia game, but his performance was even better. Calm, good decision-making, and a delivery of pinpoint passes to receivers against perhaps the best defense in the land. It’s like we signed a free agent from the NFL or something. It was heartwarming to witness because Jonathan is an intelligent, good kid who nobody wants to see fail, even those who have showered him with boos from all parts of Neyland Stadium.

So, I have no other expectation but to see him play well on Halloween night, even against the third-best pass defense in the nation (more on that for Question 4). And I see no reason why Crompton can’t finish this senior season with an overall performance level that will make him look back on his Tennessee days and be proud of his ability to persevere, and have some measure of success, under intense criticism that bordered on outright meanness.

Continue reading after the jump.

Q3. If you could have one Gamecock on your roster, who would it be?

NorCalVol: Eric Norwood. The idea of having too many great defensive players is a non sequitur. Losing our defensive leader, LB Nick Reveiz, to a season-ending knee injury against Ohio left a big hole for us to fill. Even though Monte Kiffin’s Men haven’t missed a beat since Nick went down, Mr. Norwood would do just dandy. From what I read, he is a success story at USC not only on the field but in the classroom, too. That’s always a good sign, especially for a kid who came from poverty displaying no sign of academic potential.

But, if Norwood isn’t for sale, I’ll take Spencer Lanning. It’s apparent we might need a different place kicker. Fairly or unfairly, it seems that Daniel Lincoln has taken over Jonathan Crompton’s spot as the Vol who instills the least amount of confidence in the faithful.

Cliff Matthews would be a good choice, too.

Q4. Prediction. Who will win this game and how will it go down?

NorCalVol: It’s easy to fall into the weekly trap of saying that this week’s game is a huge game. They are all big – there are only 12 in a season. But, Saturday’s game is a huge game for both schools. USC needs this one to prevent a start to that dreaded late-season slide with bigger fish coming up. Tennessee needs it to keep from falling to 3-5 and putting a bowl bid in some real jeopardy. I see this as a close game, somewhere in the 20’s for both sides, with the Vols getting the W.

When USC played Bama a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the Gamecock defense intent on trying to confuse Tide QB McElroy. Because McElroy reminds me of Crompton (at least the version before the Georgia game), I think South Carolina will try hard to give Crompton something to think about. His track record of good decision-making is only two weeks old. Perhaps USC will even do a lot of stunting, which can be a gamble against a good rushing team.

On the other side, I will look for Garcia to avoid the pocket. Garcia was at his best against Bama when he was moving. To counter, I expect Tennessee to sit in zone coverage to lull Garcia into thinking he could be comfortable in the pocket, then in the second half throw the kitchen sink at him to see if he caves – USC doesn’t rate very well in QB protection stats.

It is no secret that South Carolina’s main weakness is their rushing defense and their main strength is their passing defense. But that doesn’t mean that Tennessee will stay away from the air attack. On the contrary, we will pass with the main objective to loosen up the Gamecock defense in order to pound them on the ground. That’s our strength.

Just put me in the category of conventional football thinking…

Thanks to NorCalVol for participating in this Q & A.

Tennessee Volunteers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: game preview

Joel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:36:01 -0000

A weekly look at our upcoming opponent's recent history, with animated drive charts and links to SB Nation game pages.

This is a long post full of moving pictures and stats, so I'm putting the conclusions and predictions both at the beginning and at the end.

Conclusions

South Carolina appears to be much better passing the ball than running it, yet they tend to allow their QB to get sacked quite a bit. If the Vols can shut down the running game and pressure the QB without borrowing from the secondary, this could be the game that Berry breaks the interception return yardage record.
Expect an emphasis on the running game for the Vols. The Gamecocks are as good as the Florida Gators at defending the pass, so Jonathan Crompton will need to be on his game, but they're not so good at stopping the run.
Steve Spurrier's team has a solid field goal kicker and a strong defensive line, which sounds a bit too familiar after last week. The Vols must get into the end zone when they have their opportunities.

Predictions

Tennessee 17, South Carolina 16

Schedule and Animated Drive Charts


@ N.C. State Wolfpack	9/3/09	win 7 - 3
@ Georgia Bulldogs	9/12/09	loss 37 - 41
Florida Atlantic Owls	9/19/09	win 38 - 16
Mississippi Rebels	9/24/09	win 16 - 10
S. Carolina St. Bulldogs	10/3/09	win 38 - 14
Kentucky Wildcats	10/10/09	win 28 - 26
@ Alabama Crimson Tide	10/17/09	loss 6 - 20
Vanderbilt Commodores	10/24/09	win 14 - 10

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Well that's encouraging. 7-3 against North Carolina State? No problem!

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Also good is the fact that South Carolina lost to the team we beat 45-19.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Hmm. Nothing special to see here.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Lots of offensive futility there in the second half. Hope our coaches are learning something from that.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Close game against Kentucky? What does that mean? South Carolina not that bad? Kentucky better than we think?

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Wow. A 20-6 loss to Alabama, but two interceptions and two forced fumbles? Watch out for the defense!

[South Carolina-Vanderbilt not available]

National Unit Rankings

Now on to the national rankings.

OFFENSIVE RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Rushing Offense	70	137.25	Nevada	320.14	9	Florida	258.29
Passing Offense	47	229.13	Texas Tech	418.88	2	Arkansas	295.57
Total Offense	67	366.38	Houston	536.57	8	Florida	457.00
Scoring Offense	93	23.00	Texas	41.86	11	Florida	35.29
Passing Efficiency	59	129.46	Boise St.	168.22	7	Florida	156.07
Sacks Allowed	99	2.75	Iowa St.	.50	11	Georgia	.86

Offensive observations. South Carolina's in the bottom half of the NCAA in all offensive categories except passing, and they're only slightly better than average there. They're gaining 366 yards per game, 137 of which are on the ground and 229 of which are through the air. They don't score a ton of points, and they don't do well at all protecting their quarterback from sacks. It could be a good day for Chris Walker and company on the d-line.

DEFENSIVE RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Rushing Defense	70	147.63	Texas	41.29	8	Alabama	64.88
Pass Efficiency Defense	20	103.71	Florida	86.83	6	Florida	86.83
Total Defense	14	288.88	Florida	229.57	4	Florida	229.57
Scoring Defense	21	17.50	Penn St.	8.88	5	Florida	10.14
Pass Defense	3	141.25	Eastern Mich.	124.43	2	Florida	135.00
Sacks	47	2.25	Cincinnati	4.14	5	Mississippi	3.00
Tackles For Loss	54	6.13	Cincinnati	10.43	7	Arkansas	7.57

Defense. The Gamecocks, ranked third in the nation in pass defense, are as good at defending the pass as are the Florida Gators, so Jonathan Crompton better be on his game. They're not so good, however, at keeping opponents from running the ball, ranking only 70th and allowing nearly 148 yards per game on the ground. Putting those two components together, South Carolina ranks 14th in the nation in total defense, not too far behind Tennessee and Alabama.

SPECIAL TEAMS AND TURNOVERS RANKINGS
Category	National Rank	Actual	National Leader	Actual	Conf Rank	Southeastern Conference Leader	Actual
Net Punting	80	34.81	Georgia	44.06	7	Georgia	44.06
Punt Returns	62	9.17	East Carolina	20.00	8	Alabama	15.92
Kickoff Returns	54	22.59	Stanford	31.77	10	Arkansas	28.42
Turnover Margin	37	.50	Air Force	2.25	5	Arkansas	1.43

Special teams and Turnovers. Steve Spurrier's team is basically average on special teams. They're a little better than most in turnover margin, but not much.

Stastical Comparison

Here's how the two teams stack up against each other in each of the key statistical categories in Hooper's wizbang BlogPoll Computerer:

Rank	Team	WL	SOS	PED	RD	3DO	TD	PEO	OPPG	TO	3DD
22		19	36	20	70	55	14	59	21	67	50
32		77	21	14	33	73	10	66	25	56	22

Players to watch for

Category	Player	National Rank	Actual
Rushing	Kenny Miles		51.25
	Jarvis Giles		36.57
Passing Efficiency (Min. 15 Att./Game)	Stephen Garcia	62	128.40
Total Offense	Stephen Garcia	41	236.62
	Kenny Miles		51.25
Receptions Per Game	Moe Brown		3.14
	Alshon Jeffery		3.00
	Tori Gurley		2.62
	Weslye Saunders		2.43
Receiving Yards Per Game	Alshon Jeffery		55.38
	Moe Brown		46.29
	Tori Gurley		39.75
Interceptions	Eric Norwood		.25
Punting (Min. 3.6 Punts/Game)	Spencer Lanning	38	42.31
Punt Returns (Min. 1.2 Ret./Game)
Kickoff Returns (Min. 1.2 Ret./Game)	Chris Culliver	54	24.50
Field Goals	Spencer Lanning	T-20	1.50
Scoring	Spencer Lanning	T-77	6.88
	Alshon Jeffery		3.75
	Brian Maddox		3.75
All-Purpose Runners	Chris Culliver		67.38
Sacks	Eric Norwood	T-33	.75
	Cliff Matthews	T-54	.62
	Clifton Geathers		.29
Tackles	Shaq Wilson		7.00
Tackles For Loss	Eric Norwood	T-84	1.06
	Cliff Matthews	T-91	1.00

Observations

Running backs. Heh. Look, they're called Miles and Giles. Neither of them are ranked nationally, and together they're only getting about 88 yards per game.

Quarterbacks. Stephen Garcia is middle-of-the-pack in passing efficiency (not too far above Crompton) and ranks 41st in total offense with 237 yards per game (quite a bit above Crompton's 207).

Receivers/Tight Ends. Garcia appears to spread the ball around well with four different guys getting 2.5 to 3 catches per game and three different guys getting nearly 40 yards per game or better.

Defense. This is where the Gamecocks are very dangerous. Defensive linemen Eric Norwood and Cliff Matthews are both sack and tackle machines who rank nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss. Clifton Geathers adds another .3 sacks and one tackle for loss per contest. The team appears to spend a lot of time in the opponent's backfield wreaking havoc.

Special teams. There doesn't appear to be too much to worry about here except that placekicker Spencer Lanning is tied for 20th in field goals. Hmm. A solid field goal kicker and a defensive line that can move the scrimmage line backwards. That sounds eerily familiar.

Head to Head Comparisons

			Best Comparable	Result Against Best Comparable	Prediction
UT rush v. SC rush defense	168.29	147.63	Ohio (148)	177	180
UT pass v. SC pass defense	217	141.25	Florida (135)	93	130
SC rush v. UT rush defense	113.86	137.25	WKU (152.57)	34	70
SC pass v. UT pass defense	155.86	229.13	Georgia (226.71)	152	150
UT score	28.86	17.5	Alabama (11.38)	10	17
SC score	18.43	23	UCLA (20)	19	20

This is the second week I've done this, I'll explain again. This is not math. It's simply looking at each team's current respective performance in a particular aspect of the game (e.g., Tennessee's rushing game verses its opponent's rushing defense), then looking for the team that we've already played that compares best to this week's opponent's current performance and seeing how we did against that team, and then making a non-mathy but informed prediction about how we might do in that aspect of the game. Example: Tennessee is passing for 217 yards per game against its opponents in 2009. South Carolina is holding its opponents to 141.25 yards per game through the air. The opponent we've already played that is closest in the rankings in pass defense to South Caroline is Florida, against whom we managed only 93 yards through the air. So should we expect no more than 93 yards or so against South Carolina? Not really. We're a much better passing team now than we were then. Still, we're probably not getting our game average of 217. I'm guessing 130.

The prediction then is 310 yards total offense for the Vols and 220 for the Gamecocks. The score here is the weird thing, though, suggesting that we shouldn't expect many more than 17 points for ourselves but that South Carolina could get 20 or so. I'm not really buying that based on our upward trend. Alabama holds its opponents to about 12 points per game, and they held us to 10, so the Vols scoring South Carolina's average of 17 points sounds about right. The Gamecocks are averaging 23 points per game, but the opponents we've played that are closest to them in scoring offense are Ohio and UCLA who basically got their average of about 20 against us. I just don't think those early games are indicative of where this team is now, so I'm going with a score of 17-16, Vols.

Conclusions

South Carolina appears to be much better passing the ball than running it, yet they tend to allow their QB to get sacked quite a bit. If the Vols can shut down the running game and pressure the QB without borrowing from the secondary, this could be the game that Berry breaks the interception return yardage record.
Expect an emphasis on the running game for the Vols. The Gamecocks are as good as the Florida Gators at defending the pass, so Jonathan Crompton will need to be on his game, but they're not so good at stopping the run.
Steve Spurrier's team has a solid field goal kicker and a strong defensive line, which sounds a bit too familiar after last week. The Vols must get into the end zone when they have their opportunities.

Predictions

Tennessee 17, South Carolina 16

Saturday News and Notes: More Musings on Ole Miss-USC and Other News from Around the SEC

Gamecock Man — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:29:17 -0000

More photos » by Mary Ann Chastain - AP

2 months ago: South Carolina's Patrick DiMarco (47) runs for a first down as Mississippi's Jonathan Carnell (51) pursues during the first half of the NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina defeated Mississippi 16-10. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

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Dr. Saturday sums up my thoughts on our red-zone issues pretty well. It's not only frustrating that we're not getting it done inside the 20; it's perplexing. We have a mobile quarterback, several huge receivers that should be able to catch the jump ball, and two bruising backs in Brian Maddox and Patrick DiMarco that can both run, catch, and get yards after contact. We would appear to be well-equipped to score TDs on the goal line, yet we aren't doing it. Part of the problem, of course, is that we're killing ourselves with penalties. Not only did we have yet another Tori Gurley TD called back on a penalty Thursday night; we also lost goal line opportunities when penalties pushed us back behind the 10. We also, though, just aren't gunning as aggressively for the end zone as we might be. Spurrier and his crew have this offense working like a machine between the 20s; they need to figure out how to maximize their ability inside the 20, too. If we can start converting more often, this team could transition into a legitimate threat to win the conference.
I said it after the game and I'll say it again: Spencer Lanning deserves a lot of credit for his performance against Ole Miss. The tackle he made on Marshay Green showed a lot of heart and changed the game. And while none of them were long kicks, he continued to get it done kicking field goals. He also had a couple of impressive punts. Great performance.
Also on the topic of special teams, I thought we did a good job with kickoffs against Ole Miss. It wasn't pretty, and I'm not happy that we're content to use gimmick kickoffs to make sure we stop returns around the 30, but, at the same time, anything is better than what we saw against Georgia and Florida Atlantic.
As you probably know, Travian Robertson is out for the year. Robertson was playing well and it's really a shame we lost him. However, with Ladi Ajiboye back, Nathan Pepper likely as close to full speed as he'll ever be by the Kentucky game, and Melvin Ingram playing well, I think we can weather losing Robertson for the time being. If we lost any of those three players, though, we're going to be in big, big trouble.
Some rival fans have represented Stephen Garcia's performance in a bad light. I disagree. True, Garcia wilted a bit late in the game. However, he was obviously playing hurt, and likely just ran out of steam. Until that point, he had played a pretty good game, all the while taking a serious beating from Ole Miss's defensive ends. He deserves credit for playing well as long as he did. Moreover, he deserves credit for not throwing any interceptions. While we need to improve in the red zone to truly take the next step as an offense, we can likely continue to at least be competitive if Garcia and the offense protect the ball, score a reasonable number of points, and let the defense do the real work. Last year, Garcia and Smelley threw so many interceptions that the defense never had the chance to do what they did against Ole Miss. That's not the case this year.
Speaking of interceptions, our secondary needs to learn to catch the ball. They played a great game, but this could have been an epic defensive performance if we could have pulled in the three or four easy interceptions Jevan Snead served up.
I've long thought Houston Nutt is an overrated coach, and this game certainly didn't change my opinion of him. Having 12 men on the field on the last play aside, I'm most perplexed by how little he got the ball in Dexter McCluster's hands. McCluster is obviously that offense's best player, and it showed when McCluster started getting carries late in the game. Where was he through the first three quarters? And why wasn't he getting the ball more on the final drive? Nutt is, and has always been, a great motivator and decent coach that is capable of playing the spoiler role pretty well. However, he's never had much success while in the spotlight, likely because he just can't hack it with the big boys. Ole Miss fans got to see the best of Nutt last year; this year, they may get to see the other side of things.
Alabama and Arkansas are going at it late in the third quarter, and the Tide has shut down what appeared to be a great Arkansas offense. I'm dreading playing the Tide in a few weeks. That's what a top five team really looks like.
Speaking of defense, our "brethren" from the upstate are currently battling TCU right now in Death Valley. The score is 14-10 TCU, but the Tigers are driving. I'm not really sure what to make of this Clemson team, other than that C. J. Spiller is one of the best all-purpose athletes in the country. I'll sure be glad when he's gone next year.

Ole Miss at South Carolina Post-Game: Topics for Discussion

Gamecock Man — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:05:05 -0000

More photos » by Mary Ann Chastain - AP

2 months ago: South Carolina's Moe Brown (9) celebrates with fans after South Carolina's 16-10 win over No. 4 Mississippi in an NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

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Just got back from watching the game. Which was many pleasures this evening. Loaded fries, beer, a victory over the fourth-best team in the country. Yeah. You get the picture.

First of all, I want to thank all the Rebels that came by GABA this week. You guys were great sports, and I wish your team the best of luck from here on out. I don't think you guys played your best tonight, possibly because of the intensity of beginning your SEC year on the road at a tough venue. I'll be pulling for you when you take on the rest of your slate. Especially when you take on the Hogs and 'Bammer.

For Gamecocks: there's a lot to think about tonight. You know what, though? It's all good! It wasn't pretty; it wasn't perfect; but we just beat a very good team! So on the whole, let's get positive! Despite the unneccesary dramatics, I haven't been this happy since we beat Kentucky in 2007. This team is a good one, one that might make us very, very happy this year. The crazy thing to think is that we didn't even maximize our game tonight, yet we still beat a very, very good team.

Continue to pleasure land after the jump. Join the discussion topics.

1. Did our defense redeem itself tonight? Could if continue to play like this?

2. What's the deal in the red zone? I don't want to disrespect the Rebels, but we would have beat the tar out of these guys if we had capitalized in the first half.

3. I usually don't get into these sorts of trite conversations, but seriously. ESPN just called this game closer than the final score on their revamp. Their entire coverage of this game was absolute BS.

4. Eric Norwood. Greatest Gamecock of Our Generation?

5. Spencer Lanning. This guy has redeemed himself. In many, many ways.

6. That McCluster kid is a great player. Too bad the rest of this team didn't come throught for him tonight.

I'm rambling now. The truth is, this was a great win. I don't want to get too excited, but this could be the best team Steve Spurrier has had. Let's see what happens over the next few weeks.

7. One more thing. I want to see more Kenny Miles. This kid wants to play, and he knows how to do it.

8. Oh yeah. Stephen Garcia. You are a football player. End of story.

Don't Bet On It!: Around the SEC

T Kyle King — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:59:15 -0000

My 5-0 record in last week’s conference picks brought my season-long ledger to 15-1, which might be taken as a sign of skill on my part. The more likely explanation is that league teams have been playing patsies and even a broken clock is right twice a day, so I would caution you, as always: Don’t Bet On It!

Here are this week’s SEC games:

North Texas Mean Green at Alabama Crimson Tide: Typically, I start each week’s set of conference prognostications with the weakest game involving a league team, and this one certainly qualifies. Yes, Ole Miss is playing a Division I-AA opponent, but the Red Elephants apparently are taking on the fictitious team from "Necessary Roughness," and I’m pretty sure both Sinbad and Scott Bakula have exhausted their eligibility by now. Unless Kathy Ireland is going to boot more field goals this week than Spencer Lanning, I think ’Bama is the way to go here.

Southeastern Louisiana Lions at Mississippi Rebels: Walk me through the math on this one, folks. Ole Miss opens the season on a Sunday with a September 6 road trip to Memphis, takes the following week off, hosts a team that is a second-tier wannabe even by Pelican State standards (which is saying something) following said open date, then travels to South Carolina for a Thursday night date in Columbia on September 24. The fellow in charge of the Rebs’ scheduling is doing his job approximately as well as Kyle MacLachlan’s agent was when he committed his client to appear in "Showgirls." Mississippi will win but will be unable to justify having played this game in the first place.

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns at LSU Tigers: This weekend, Baton Rouge will play host to the Ragin’ Cajuns. How is that statement not redundant? I have been increasingly less impressed with the Bayou Bengals, but do you believe ULaLa is going to beat BCS conference opponents on back-to-back weekends? Me, neither. Louisiana State may win ugly, but win the Fighting Tigers will. (I don’t know what it is with me lately. First, I sounded like Bilbo Baggins at his birthday party; then, in the last sentence prior to this parenthetical aside, sounded like Yoda I did.)

Florida Atlantic Owls at South Carolina Gamecocks: If Mike Slive agreed to host a black-tie fundraiser for the Sun Belt Conference, would that enable SEC teams to get out of scheduling crummy games like this one? Even the name of their conference recalls images from the ‘70s of leisure suits and wide white belts and wider neckties and collars the size and shape of Ginsu knives, of retirees boasting leathery tans hitting the highways in RVs while inspiring some of Tom Wolfe’s most prescient essays and some of Walker Percy’s most dated ones. I’m for booting every last sad sack one of them right back down to Division I-AA where they belong and declaring a league-wide moratorium on scheduling any of them. Until that great day arrives, though, games like this battle of the birds are going to continue, alas, and this particular avian affray will go to the team whose mascot has razor-sharp spurs on his heels as the Gamecocks demonstrate that the Owls are not what they seem.

Mississippi St. Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Commodores: The gap between these two teams is huge. I am, of course, referring to SAT scores; athletically, this should be a pretty competitive game. As reclamation projects go, Vandy is farther along under Bobby Johnson than MSU is under Dan Mullen, so I’m giving the edge to the home team as the ’Dores host the ‘Dogs.

Louisville Cardinals at Kentucky Wildcats: These in-state rivals took a 70-year break from playing one another between 1924 and 1994. Really, wasn’t that for the best for all concerned? Honestly, it’s all right with the rest of us if both of these fan bases stop pretending they care about football. Still, if they insist upon playing this game (if only to distract themselves from Rick Pitino’s and John Calipari’s various ways of getting caught cheating), you should be forewarned that Kentucky is going to emerge victorious.

West Virginia Mountaineers at Auburn Tigers: As I understand it, this game was arranged as part of a promotional campaign. The first 25,000 fans to show up with a marriage license and a pair of birth certificates to prove they’re married to their cousins get in free. The last time this many inbred hillbillies got together in one place, Burt Reynolds and Ronny Cox had to save Ned Beatty’s behind . . . literally. Although both teams are shadows of their former selves, the game is being played in the so-called Loveliest Village (which, to be fair, probably looks lovely to someone from Morgantown), so I’m going with the Plainsmen.

Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators: If you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure you’ve already read this, but, if you haven’t, go read it, because it’s all the reason you would ever need to know that the Sunshine State Saurians are going to win this game and cover the point spread. I have enough faith in the fundamental order of the universe to believe that, in the end, Good will triumph over Evil, but, in the meantime, Evil will triumph over Dumbass.

These, at any rate, are the outcomes that seem probable to me, so I should hasten to add that, my early season success notwithstanding, I am bad at forecasting football games, which is why I invariably add a disclaimer which I would urge you to heed: Don’t Bet On It!

Coming Soon: National Games of Interest.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Why Fans of the South Carolina Gamecocks Have No Reason to Feel Badly About This Loss to the Georgia Bulldogs

T Kyle King — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:00:49 -0000

I try to be conscious of, and sensitive to, opposing fans’ reactions to games against Georgia, particularly when those opposing fans aren’t boosters of a program I despise as a rival in the truest sense of the word. Accordingly, I must confess to finding myself baffled by the responses of what I know to be reasonable fans of the South Carolina Gamecocks in the aftermath of last Saturday’s game.

I happened to be seated near several University of South Carolina undergraduates who made the wise decision to drive over to Athens, ~~scalp~~ purchase tickets on the unregulated free market, and attend a thrilling contest in which everyone present got his money’s worth. Once the outcome was decided, we all shook hands and said, "Good game," and it was clear that they were as all right as it is possible to be with a loss. This was the correct reaction.

Why, then, did my colleagues C&F and Gamecock Man react like this and this, respectively?

As I indicated in comments left in response to each of these postings, Stephen Garcia proved on Saturday why Steve Spurrier was right to stick with him through all of his past shenanigans; had any other South Carolina quarterback of the Steve Spurrier era been lining up in the Gamecock backfield that night, it wouldn’t have been close. Garcia extended plays, squirted out of danger when a sack seemed inevitable, and found the seams. He played a great game, and the USC faithful ought to find that very encouraging.

In a podcast interview with C&F before the season started, I predicted that Georgia would start 1-1; either the Bulldogs would win in Stillwater, be jacked up over the big victory, and (much as Georgia did after beating the Oklahoma St. Cowboys in 2007, or as Oklahoma State did in this weekend’s game against the Houston Cougars) lose the next one, or Georgia would lose on the road, have its back against the wall, and get the win against South Carolina. The latter is what happened.

There have been plenty of Georgia-South Carolina games that ought to cause a Gamecock fan to wonder, "What if?" This was not one of them.

This time, the "What if?"s more than balanced out for both teams. What if Roderick Battle had not been hurt? What if Justin Houston had not been suspended? What if Branden Smith had downed the kickoff in the end zone instead of bringing it out and fumbling? What if Joe Cox hadn’t telegraphed his throw by locking onto the receiver on the interception? What if Stephen Garcia hadn’t had by leaps and bounds the best game of his collegiate career so far? What if Spencer Lanning hadn’t had by leaps and bounds the best game of his collegiate career so far? What if the fake punt hadn’t worked? What if the long snapper hadn’t sent the ball over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone?

What if Georgia had only turned the ball over twice as often as South Carolina instead of three times more often? What if South Carolina had held only an eight-minute time of possession advantage instead of almost a ten-minute time of possession advantage? What if Georgia had gained more yards on running plays than the Bulldogs lost on penalties? What if South Carolina had outgained Georgia by only 100 yards? What if the ‘Cocks had gained only nine more first downs than the ‘Dawgs?

Yes, the South Carolina faithful can list very nearly as many "What if?"s going the other way, but there were several points in this ballgame where it easily could have gotten completely away from the Gamecocks. Without a couple or three unforced Georgia errors, this game wouldn’t have been close and the blocked---not missed, blocked; it was a Bulldog success, not a Gamecock failure---extra point would have been utterly inconsequential. (We will never know this, but it may have been inconsequential anyway. Had the point after try been successful, South Carolina would have kicked a field goal on fourth down, the game would have gone to overtime, and, given how gassed both defenses were, it likely would have come down to a two-point conversion. Had the Gamecocks lost under such circumstances, the wailing and gnashing of teeth would have included wondering what would have happened had the Evil Genius elected to go for it on fourth down instead of playing for extra innings.)

If the stat sheet had been even close to balanced---if any statistic (time of possession, turnover margin, total offense, first downs) had been anywhere close to even---it would have been a runaway for the home team. It is to South Carolina’s considerable credit that the Gamecocks hung around after it threatened to get away from them and, for once, took advantage of as many Bulldog miscues as Georgia took advantage of South Carolina mistakes.

The Palmetto State Poultry played arguably the best game they have ever played in Sanford Stadium, but it still wasn’t enough. When a team scores (quite literally) more points on a longtime rival than it has ever before scored in its history, and that team still loses, its fans have no reason to hang their heads.

The better team won and it reflects extremely well on Steve Spurrier’s squad that the visitors made a real game of it. South Carolina fans should feel proud of this game, not dejected by it. Fans should feel badly when their team lets one get away, as the Gamecocks so often have against the Bulldogs. That isn’t what happened on Saturday, though.

The South Carolina students sitting in my section knew the correct way to react. Fans should feel badly when their team lets one get away, but they should take heart when their team almost steals one. On Saturday night, the Gamecocks almost stole one. There is no need for second-guessing and certainly no need for climbing out onto ledges. No matter which way you were rooting on Saturday night, you have cause to view in a positive light the performance of your team.

Go ‘Dawgs!

Georgia Bulldogs 41, South Carolina Gamecocks 37

T Kyle King — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:16:01 -0000

Vince Dooley once described the 1978 tilt between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as one of the best spectator games he’d ever seen. What he meant by that was that, while the game lacked a great deal from a coach’s perspective, it was a fun game to watch because it had a little bit of just about everything. Saturday night’s showdown with the South Carolina Gamecocks was a lot like that.

If I’d told you beforehand that the Palmetto State Poultry would score 37 points on the Red and Black, you’d have told me Georgia would have gotten run out of the building. The reverse would have been true had I told you beforehand that the Classic City Canines would put up 41 points on the Big Chickens. Instead, what we got was a typical Georgia-South Carolina game in terms of margin of victory but an exceptional Georgia-South Carolina game in terms of how we arrived at the final result.

The funny thing is, though, both extreme outcomes came fairly close to occurring. When the Gamecocks went up by ten points with five minutes remaining in what seemed to be the longest first quarter in the recorded history of college football, a home team that had yet to score an offensive point and had barely run an offensive play appeared in danger of being trounced.

Later, when the ‘Dawgs took the opening kickoff of the second half and turned it into seven points to give the Red and Black a 15-point lead, a blowout win by the Bulldogs appeared probable. At every turn, we all should have known better. It was foreordained that the contest would go down to the wire, because, all odds to the contrary, it always does.

Georgia scored its most points against South Carolina since 1995? Fine; then South Carolina would score its most points against Georgia ever, to riddle the scoreboard for a combined 78 total ticks that eclipsed every tally since the two teams collectively put up 86 points in 1970.

Spencer Lanning overcame his placekicking woes to drill five field goals? Fine; then Blair Walsh would answer with a 50-yarder in the second stanza and what proved to be a game-sealing three-pointer in the final quarter. The Gamecocks would incur eleven penalties for 98 yards? Fine; then the Bulldogs would draw 13 flags for 108 yards. (The Athenians lost one more yard on penalties than they gained rushing.)

South Carolina would run the ball 30 times and average 3.8 yards per carry? Fine; then Georgia would run the ball 29 times and average 3.7 yards per carry. South Carolina would pick up 26 first downs to Georgia’s 16? Fine; then the ‘Dawgs would offset them by converting over half of their third downs while the ‘Cocks garnered the necessary yardage on just over a third of theirs.

The game had it all, from Brandon Boykin’s exhilarating 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to a crucial blocked extra point, from a successfully-executed fake punt to a bad snap that went out the back of the end zone for a safety. Heck, Branden Smith exhibited the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all by himself, from foolishly taking out a kickoff that was buried deep in the end zone and setting up a South Carolina score with a fumble to taking a reverse 61 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Those of us who wondered whether Joe Cox had it in him to be a starting quarterback at this level---and I must count myself among them---received our answer. Although Cox threw an ugly interception while locking on his primary receiver with telegraphed tunnel vision not seen between the hedges since the days of Greg Talley, he nevertheless connected on 17 of 24 aerial attempts for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Likewise, those of us who wondered whether it was worth it for Steve Spurrier to continue to tolerate Stephen Garcia’s shenanigans received our answer when the Gamecock quarterback completed 31 of 53 passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns, and one acrobatic Brandon Boykin interception. Had it not been for Garcia’s ability to extend plays---had the Evil Genius fielded literally any other quarterback who has ever played for him during his time in Columbia---the ‘Dawgs would have won in a rout.

Plus, in the midst of all that, the home crowd gave perhaps the loudest ovation ever offered up in response to a routine touchback on a kickoff. No wonder they played a Dave Matthews tribute at halftime; they needed to mellow us out after all the excitement . . . although the twirler tossing flaming batons didn’t exactly help the crowd calm down. This is a good thing, since the recurring images of Georgia players in the NFL flashed up on the scoreboard clearly indicated that recruits were in the house, and I’m sure they came away impressed by the atmosphere.

It’s also a good thing that Larry Munson retired last year, because, if he had been in the booth for this one, it likely would have caused the Georgia play-by-play announcer to suffer a fatal heart attack. Predictably, the game was decided on a fourth-down play in the final 30 seconds with the Gamecocks trailing by four points and holding the ball on the Bulldogs’ seven yard line when a Garcia pass was batted down by Carolina-killer Rennie Curran. (It’s no wonder Gamecock fans would trade with us to get him on their side!)

Other than being reminded that I have an unhealthy relationship with the quarterback sack (you should not stand too close to me after a Georgia defender has taken down an opposing quarterback behind the line, lest my wild celebratory gesticulations batter you senseless), I came away from this game with my thoughts and emotions as jumbled as you would expect them to be after I spent four hours standing on my feet outdoors on a sweltering late summer night and yelling like a maniac.

I regretted the fact that Logan Gray was a complete non-factor, yet I was glad to see our Cox beat their ‘Cocks. I regretted the fact that Caleb King was sidelined by injury, but I believe we have found our starting running back in Richard Samuel. I was entirely pleased by many aspects of the Red and Black’s special teams play and thoroughly discouraged by some others. I watched an opponent score 37 points on the ‘Dawgs and came away feeling that, despite several head-scratching substitution miscues, the defense actually didn’t perform half-badly, all things considered. (Against a quarterback less mobile than Garcia---and, aside from Tim Tebow, what other quarterback Georgia faces will be as mobile as Garcia?---the Bulldog D would have been something close to dominant.)

I haven’t the first clue how this team is going to perform in Fayetteville next Saturday. I haven’t the faintest notion what to make of the fact that the team that beat Georgia last Saturday turned right around and lost to Houston. I watched the game ebb and flow as the momentum shifted, the breaks broke both ways, and flukes, misjudgments, and lightning strikes eviscerated any claim by either team that whichever squad emerged victorious could have its win attributed to mere luck, all as a game that no one imagined was forthcoming ended exactly in the way we all knew it would.

It was utterly typical and completely abnormal. It was maddening and thrilling. It gave me flashbacks to Steve Taneyhill’s last-second touchdown in 1993 and fell just short of reminding me that 0-2 is twice as bad as 0-1, but it allowed in the sort of sliver of hope that can crowd out doubts and confirmed that 1-1 is only half as bad as 0-1.

The Georgia Bulldogs have a long way to go before they can claim to be a good football team, but it is now possible to believe they have a shot at getting there. It may be worth sticking it out for the 2009 season, after all.

Go ‘Dawgs!