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| N.C. State | Thu 08/28 | W 34 - 0 |
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Vanderbilt
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Thu 09/04 | L 17 - 24 |
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Georgia
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Sat 09/13 | L 7 - 14 |
| Wofford | Sat 09/20 | W 23 - 13 |
| UAB | Sat 09/27 | W 26 - 13 |
| @ Mississippi | Sat 10/04 | W 31 - 24 |
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Kentucky
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Sat 10/11 | 12:30 PM EDT |
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LSU
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Sat 10/18 | 7:05 PM EDT |
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Tennessee
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Sat 11/01 | 7:05 PM EDT |
| Arkansas | Sat 11/08 | 7:05 PM EST |
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Florida
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Sat 11/15 | 7:05 PM EST |
| @ Clemson | Sat 11/29 | 7:05 PM EST |
SEC Power Poll Ballot: Week Six
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 6, 2008 11:00 AM EDT
in Football
1. Alabama
The Tide committed a number of mistakes against Kentucky but still managed to pull out the victory. Were they just hungover from Georgia or are they going to continue to struggle?
2. LSU
Took a week off to rest and heal.
3. Vandy
I felt a little iffy about putting Vandy at the 3 spot last week, but apparently I had good reason to. Vandy plays MSU next weekend and should become bowl eligible.
4. Georgia
Took a week off to prepare for the Tennessee game.
5. Florida
Won big against the Razorbacks but had to pull away late.
6. Kentucky
Looked like a pretty solid team in Tuscaloosa, although they got a little help from Alabama's turnovers. Can they handle the resurgent Gamecocks this weekend at Commonwealth?
7. South Carolina
Big win over Ole Miss this past weekend. No time to celebrate though, as they have to take on Kentucky in Lexington this weekend.
8. Auburn
That offense is something pathetic. Tuberville promises changes as Tony Franklin begins to spruce up his high school coaching resume.
9. Ole Miss
Tough loss to the Gamecocks over the weekend. Can they rebound and make a bowl?
10. Tennessee
Almost lost to Northern Illinois over the weekend. Yep, things are rough in Knoxville, and this weekend the Vols have to go to Athens. Could get ugly.
11. MSU
Took a week off to try to regroup.
12. Arkansas
Didn't look quite as bad against the Gators, but still lost by 31 points. This is not a good team.
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5 POINTS: So I was wrong -- South Carolina 31, Ole Miss 24
by cocknfire
on Oct 6, 2008 3:16 AM EDT
in Football
1. We can has offense! In fact, quite a bit of it. The Gamecocks rang up 405 yards, scored the most points since the N.C. State game and punted just once. The passing game seemed to be better than it had been in the past -- this comes from listening to the radio, though, so that could be suspect -- offsetting a generally disappointing performance from the rushing game. Again. Mike Davis had a so-so 77 yards on 19 carries. This, again, is where it was curious to not see Stepen Garcia at all; putting him in there for designed runs shouldn't cause problems, unless Steve Spurrier is just determined not to run the quarterback. Which he's said needs to be an increased part of the Gamecocks' offense. But these are quibbles; what the Gamecocks did Saturday worked.
2. Chris Smelley is dead. Long live Chris Smelley! As he seems capable of doing only when his back is to the wall, Smelley once again came through with a great performance, picking apart the Ole Miss secondary and throwing just one interception en route to the win.
Again, I couldn't see the game, so I can't vouch for his accuracy. But it's hard to complete nearly 70 percent of your passes without the kind of erratic arm that Smelley has displayed so far this year, so we'll assume there was some improvement. Smelley also continued to spread the ball around; nine players caught a pass.
3. Kenny McKinley returns; Jason Barnes welcomes him. The long-awaited return by K-Mc turned out to not be as big a deal as we thought it might. McKinley did okay, catching four passes for 58 yards. But it was Jason Barnes' night: The redshirt freshman caught two touchdown passes and rang up 76 yards on seven catches. Jared Cook also had a huge play: a 63-yard reception that led to the Gamecocks' first touchdown.
4. The defense is glad we won. And that's about all that can be said for it. Okay, that might be a bit much. But the once top-rated squad in the country coughed up 361 yards to Ole Miss, including 243 passing and 118 rushing. In fairness, 148 of those yards came in the first two Ole Miss drives. After that, the defense came up with three turnovers that contributed to the win. And the effort only dropped South Carolina to No. 6 in total defense, which is still pretty good.
5. Where from here? The Kentucky game is obviously huge at this point. After that comes LSU, then the bye, then two winnable games against Tennessee and Arkansas in Columbia. Trips to Florida and the Team from the Upstate are still intimidating. An eight-win season suddenly seems closer than it did Friday, but it could still take an upset. We'll know more Saturday.
GRADE: B+
Close to an A, but the defensive troubles can't continue. This team is still going to depend on keeping the other side to 21 points or less -- unless Saturday's outburst was what we can expect from the offense for the rest of the season, instead of an aberration. Even so, this was probably the best all-around game by South Carolina this year.
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Reviewing Ole Miss
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 5, 2008 11:32 AM EDT
in Football
The Gamecocks beat the Rebels yesterday by a final score of 31-24. This was a pretty big win for the guys, as we were on the road and Ole Miss appears to be a solid team after they beat Florida last week. Not to mention that we finally broke a long SEC losing streak.
With winnable games against Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Clemson coming up, as well as the potential for an upset against LSU or Florida, this win indicates that there's good reason to believe we're still capable of getting to a bowl not located in Shreveport or Birmingham. I said at the beginning of the year that Spurrier needs eight wins to prove that he's moving the program forward, and we appear to be on track to get there. It won't be easy, as all our remaining games with the possible exception of Arkansas are going to be tough, but if we continue to play like we did today, we can do it.
What did we learn about the Gamecocks yesterday? Well, first of all, we learned that Chris Smelley is a better QB than we've given him credit for. A lot of people (including myself) questioned Spurrier's decision to go with Smelley over Garcia, but Smelley had a career day, going 22-32 and throwing for 327 yards. He finally threw a few passes down the field and for the most part was very accurate and hit some big throws to Jason Barnes, Jared Cook, and Moe Brown. He also played smart. His one interception was a pretty bad decision, but for the most part he did the right thing with the ball when there was no one open. He even showed some mobility on a few scrambles. All in all, he definitely earned the starting job for another week.
We also learned that Spurrier has been holding back for the past couple of weeks. I was impressed by the variety of formations and calls Spurrier made against Ole Miss. Who knew that we were capable of running plays other than HB screens? We saw a number of spread WR formations as well as a pretty effective I formation.
Spurrier also got more out of the running game than he had in previous weeks, which helped open up the passing game. We finally ran the ball to the outside a little and we had some success doing so. Mike Davis and Bobby Wallace look like a pretty reliable duo of tailbacks, although I doubt we'll see any 100 yard performances from either of them.
The offensive line played OK. I don't want to say well, because Smelley got smacked a few times and had to scramble to escape a beating other times. But Ole Miss brought a pretty powerful pass rush to the game, and our line gave Smelley time to throw for the most part. They also did MUCH better blocking the run, which had been a pretty sore spot so far.
My thoughts about the defense are mixed. We didn't have the kind of dominating performance I had hoped for. Ole Miss gained 361 yards and moved the ball with ease at times. I also would've liked to have seen us put more pressure on Jevan Snead, who had lots of time to throw most of the time.
However, I probably shouldn't have expected a dominating performance against the Rebels, who have some serious play makers in Snead, McCluster, and Hodge. And it's not like we didn't play well on defense. The first quarter was rough, but our guys settled down later in the game. They also came through big on turnovers. Nate Peppers ran a fumble back for a TD, and the fumble Emanuel Cook recovered on our goal line and ran back for 50 yards likely made the difference in the game.
All in all, this was a big win for a team that desperately needs some momentum. The game against Kentucky will be another tough game, so there's not much time to celebrate.
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FIVE REASONS: South Carolina at Mississippi
by cocknfire
on Oct 4, 2008 12:59 PM EDT
in Football
Sorry to be late this week. As always, visit the Open Thread during the game.
1. The QB mess. Usually, even when I disagree with Spurrier, i can understand why he's doing what he's doing. When it comes to starting Chris Smelley over Stephen Garcia, I'm lost. Say all you want about whether Garcia was too quick to run; it doesn't matter if Smelley makes a better decision if he can't get the receiver the ball. Garcia appears to have the better and more accurate arm. A worse passer whose more likely to throw the ball is not the better option.
2. A deceptive record. Yes, the Rebels are 3-2 with losses to Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. But they are 11 points away from being undefeated. And don't forget that one of those three wins is over Florida. Ole Miss is a great team.
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Ole Miss-USC Blogger Previews Link Dump
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 4, 2008 10:50 AM EDT
in Football
Leftover Hot Dog Read our buddies' take on the game.
The Red Solo Cup These guys think the game will be a cake walk for the Rebels.
Hotty Toddy Blog Hotty Toddy Blog looks at USC vs. UM by the numbers.
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Previewing Ole Miss / Gameday Open Thread
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 3, 2008 8:32 PM EDT
in Football
Too old to win a fight with a rabid rooster.
Below are my three keys to victory against the Rebels. As always, stay tuned for cocknfire's FIVE REASONS and please hold forth with your comments in the open thread. If everything goes according to plan, I'm going to be watching on 360, so I'll have regular updates for everyone.
Keep Playing Good Defense
The Gamecocks currently have one of the best statistical defenses in the country, and unless the offense does an about-face tomorrow, we need the defense to continue to play well. The first key is to contain Dexter McCluster and friends when they go out of the Wild Rebel. McCluster will get his yards, but we can't allow the Rebels to chalk up any big plays when they try to trick us with misdirection. Having coached at MSU, Ellis Johnson knows Houston Nutt's game and should have us ready to play a disciplined ball game.
The second key is to pressure Jevan Snead. Snead is a good QB, but he's been a bit mistake-prone so far this year, so I say we get in his face and force him to play the game of his life just to keep from throwing an interception. If we can force a couple of turnovers on the Rebels early, we could take a commanding lead and Ole Miss will be hard-pressed to make a comeback against our defense.
Offensive Line Play
I must sound like a broken record at this point when I talk about line play, but protection is KEY to any chance of success against this team. Ole Miss has a defensive line with a number of future NFL talents, so expect the Rebs to bring pressure. First of all, we need to establish some sort of running game. This will open up the potential for vertical throws.
Second of all, we've gotta pick up the pass rush; anyone who saw what Mississippi's front four did to Tebow last week knows that they're capable of bringing it to us. Too much pressure will equal bad throws from Smelley, and that will mean horrible turnovers which might cost us the game. However, if we can establish the run and pick up the pass rush, we will have some good matchups against the Rebel secondary, and I have confidence in Chris's ability to find his receivers if we give him time, especially if Kenny sees time tomorrow.
Open up the Play Book
Since we exploited the middle of the field during the second half of the Georgia game, the range of plays on offense with Smelley under center has been pretty limited, mostly involving screen passes to the RBs, hitches to our wideouts, and various short-in or out throws to Jared Cook. Simply put, we need a little more variety--we keep hearing about how Garcia doesn't know the play book, but we rarely see evidence that Smelley is willing to do much with all of his knowledge.
Granted, we need to establish the run if we want the offense to open up. Chris said it best after the Wofford game: it's hard to go vertical when the opposing defense is sitting back in prevent packages, knowing that you can't run the ball well enough to take advantage. So, this key goes hand in hand with the previous one. If we get good line play, especially run blocking, we can probably open up the field for a little excitement.
The other component to success here is finding some way to use Garcia even if Smelley plays a good game. Garcia has the ability to come in and make the Rebels second guess themselves, and we need to exploit that.
At any rate, we've had a couple of weeks playing against lower-tier opponents, and you have to believe that the Ol' Ball Coach has been coming up with a game plan for Ole Miss. The Rebels, on the other hand, have been slugging it out with Vandy and Florida, so we should have an edge up on preparation.
Prediction
This looked like a tough game at the beginning of the year, and after seeing Ole Miss take down the mighty Gators, it looks even scarier. On the flip side of things, this is a chance to turn the season around, to end our SEC losing streak and show that we're in it for the long haul this season. I really, really think we need this game, because it's hard to see us getting more than six or seven wins if we don't win tomorrow. If we can get at least an efficient, low turnover offensive performance and keep playing defense like we have all season, I think we can win, probably with a margin close to 24-17. However, if we don't do those things, this could get ugly quick. Houston Nutt will eat us alive if we give him the short field.
By the way, South Carolina hasn't beaten Ole Miss since joining the SEC, so our SEC losing streak won't be the only history we're working against in this game.
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This Week's SEC Matchups
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 3, 2008 10:45 AM EDT
in Football
Check out each team's linked blog as well as my buddy cocknfire's new site Team Speed Kills for in-depth previews of these games. cocknfire think Vandy will beat Auburn, undoubtedly hoping that continued Commodore success will make our Gamecocks look good. We'll see.
Saturday, October 4th
The Gators shouldn't have much trouble finding their offensive rhythm against an Arkansas team that has given up 49 and 52 points in its last two contests. Gators win big.
This should be only a minor test for the Tide, but upsets do happen, so they need to be prepared. Kentucky comes into this game with one of the country's best defenses: the Wildcats have not given up more than fourteen points this season, and in three of their four games they've held their opponents to three points or less. However, other than a weak Louisville team they've played nothing but cupcakes, so it's hard to know how they'll handle Bama's efficient offense. My guess is that they won't; look for Bama to win big.
South Carolina at Ole Miss
More on this one later tonight.
Auburn at Vanderbilt
Lots of folks will be tuning into this game as the SEC game of the week, although I'm a little more intrigued by Bama/Kentucky and, of course, Ole Miss/Carolina. I just think this is the end of the line for Vandy, at least as far as an undefeated season, a national ranking, and a shot at Atlanta go. Vandy will have a lot of trouble scoring against Auburn's defense, so I think the key for the Tigers is to take care of the ball. Vandy has been living off of turnovers so far, a fact that won't be lost on Tommy Tuberville and his staff. They know that they will win if they take the turnover away from the Commodores.
That said, Auburn's offense may be good for a couple of blunders. Plus, Vandy has had two weeks to prepare for an Auburn team that has gotten a little banged up after a number of slug fests with SEC rivals. Bobby Johnson is a good coach, so expect him to have a good game plan. So, while I don't think Vandy has enough gas for this game, I don't think they're out of it either, especially if they play the game of their life. College Gameday is in Nashville and there's not been this much attention focused on Vandy in many years, so if they're ever going to come through with a performance for the ages, this is the night.
Northern Illinois at Tennessee
Tennessee really needs this to be an easy game.It might not be, though; Northern Illinois is 2-2 with one close loss coming to resurgent Minnesota. As bad as the Vols are this year, they'd better come prepared.
Idle: LSU, Georgia, MSU
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Smelley to start against Ole Miss
I don't agree with this move, but Spurrier's the coach. And, when you think about it, there are some good reasons for this choice. This is an SEC road game, and while Garcia played well last week, we need to remember that playing well against UAB is not preparation for playing well against a good SEC team on the road. Smelley's been in those situations before, and Garcia hasn't (although Smelley hasn't exactly lit it up in those situations, obviously).
Still, Ole Miss's defensive front worries me, and I think Garcia's running abilities might help us against their pass rush. At least we know that Spurrier probably won't be shy to put Garcia in if need be. He's non-committal about Garcia playing, but I have trouble believing that we won't see Garcia if Smelley stinks up the field (pun intended). Actually, I think we'll probably see both anyways. Even if Smelley performs well, expect Garcia to come in for a number of plays as a change of pace.
3 days ago
Gamecock Man
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Introducing Team Speed Kills
by cocknfire
on Oct 2, 2008 2:17 AM EDT
in News
Many of you have heard me vaguely referring to a new project I've been working on for SB Nation. While, it's finally open for business: Team Speed Kills, a new blog looking at the entire SEC.
Some other great bloggers will be joining me over the next few weeks, and I hope all of you will as well.
Don't worry or celebrate too much, depending on what you think of me: I'll still be doing some stuff here for Garnet and Black Attack, like writing Five Reasons and 5 Points and posting the SEC Power Poll. But some other stuff, like Theorems and Stratagems of the Game (currently in a bye week) and the BlogPoll ballot will be moving over to the new site.
Hope to see you there.
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Talking Ole Miss with The Red Solo Cup
by Gamecock Man
on Oct 1, 2008 7:28 PM EDT
in Football
I had a chance to toss some questions at the die-hard Rebels fans over at The Red Solo Cup. My answers to their questions are here. Read on for their answers to mine.
More than anything else, we learned that there are, in fact, games that we can win against teams that are competent. We've been so close so many times only to watch that first down be converted, that field goal clear the upright, that penalty ruin our chances. We've watched Ole Miss figure out ways to lose too many games to count with an abacus.
To see the Rebels actually ball out and win a game against a team with better talent just speaks volumes about where we have come under HDN. With a game like this, you wonder whether it's a fluke or a sign of the season to come. We're obviously hoping that it's the latter. With only one game left that is absolutely unwinnable (Alabama), hopes are soaring. As far as my expectations for the season. We're just praying that we'll go 7-5.
See the rest of the interview after the jump.
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