SEC Power Poll, Week 11: Low Turnout, But Change Carries the Day
by cocknfire
on Nov 12, 2008 1:51 AM EST
in Football
1. Florida, 162 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Alabama, 160 (6)
3. Georgia, 134
4. LSU, 127
5. South Carolina, 113
6. Mississippi, 96
7. Kentucky, 86.5
8. Vanderbilt, 70.5
9. Arkansas, 52
10. Auburn, 46
11. Mississippi State, 27
12. Tennessee, 18
Sorry for the low turnout, but we had one slow week last year as well. Looks like this week will be it this season.
It might have made a difference. Florida, which actually split too first-place votes with Alabama, edged the Tide by two points for first. The only other change was Tennessee wresting control of the race for the "Worst of the Best" Cup with a convincing loss to Wyoming. I can assure you: When the SEC Power Poll started last year, none of us imagined Wyoming would ever alter the standings.
Voters explain more after the jump.
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FIVE REASONS: South Carolina vs. Arkansas
by cocknfire
on Nov 8, 2008 1:47 AM EST
in Football
Gamecock Man is really scarily prompt. The Game Thread is here, ready for your non-televised comments.
1. Defense. As always, the key to the team's fortunes will be defense. Why the edge this week? Passing is the key to Bobby Petrino's attack; it's also the strong point of the South Carolina defense, which ranks first in the SEC, allowing just 144 ypg through the air. If the Gamecocks can shut down Casey Dick and Co., they should be able to minimize the damage from the Hogs' rushing "attack," ranked 94th in the country.
2. Scoring. Struggling with putting points on the board, as the Gamecocks have at times. Well, then, Arkansas is the team to face. The Razorbacks defense allows opponents to put 31 points a game on the board, ranking last in the SEC and 97th in the country.
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Conversing with the Enemy: Arkansas Razorbacks Edition
by Gamecock Man
on Nov 7, 2008 11:57 AM EST
in Football
I got in touch with the Arkansas bloggers at Razorbacks Expats for a little Q&A action. Read on for insider info on Bobby Petrino, Casey Dick, and the rest of the Hog crew. My answers to their questions are here.
3. While your defense has played a little better lately, you've been gouged a few times and, although you created a few key turnovers to keep the score relatively low, you even gave up over 500 total yards to Tulsa. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your defense, and how do you expect Spurrier, Stephen Garcia, and the Gamecocks to attack you? What kind of game do you expect to have Saturday?
Looking at South Carolina's offensive stats, we'd expect you guys to primarily come at us through the air. And given the teams' various strengths and weaknesses, we're looking for a fairly low-scoring affair.
4. Do you have any major injuries right now that may affect the outcome of this game?
Well, Darren McFadden has a bad case of turf toe, so it looks like he'll be out. Aside from that case of wishful thinking, there's nothing too major outside the normal stuff that all teams have at this point in the season. Our starting defensive ends, Damario Ambrose and Adrian Davis, both have hurt knees and might not play. All-purpose defensive guy Jerico Nelson and offensive guard Grant Cook might also be out.
Other than that, we worry a bit about Michael Smith. He's been great for us this year, but he's a little guy and, because he's our best offensive player, he tends to get a lot of carries. So he's always a bit at risk to get banged up.
5. Carolina fans know all about players like Casey Dick and Michael Smith, but since you have a young team this year, we're not very familiar with some of your other guys. Tell us a little about one lesser-known player that you expect to be a key performer Saturday.
Actually, we'll give you three for the price of one. The Hogs have a couple of up-and-coming freshman receivers - Jarius Wright and Joe Adams - who have both shown good potential this year. As young guys, they've been inconsistent but have each had some big moments. Wright had a breakout game against Tulsa with 112 receiving yards, for example.
Casey Dick's favorite target is probably sophomore tight end D..J. Williams. He's big and fast, and has shown signs of being a serious playmaker in Petrino's offense. Our guess is that out of the three guys listed here, you'll probably be hearing his name the most over the next couple of years..
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FIVE POINTS: South Carolina 27, Tennessee 6
by cocknfire
on Nov 2, 2008 6:22 PM EST
1. Not as good as you thought it was. Sorry to burst your bubble a bit, but South Carolina didn't outplay Tennessee nearly as badly as the score indicates, nor as badly as I thought while I was watching the game. First downs were even, at 11 apiece. Total yardage? South Carolina 255, Tennessee 207. Time of possession? South Carolina, 32:30 to 27:30. The story was one of turnovers (Vols 3, Gamecocks 1) and bad coaching decisions by Phil Fulmer and Co. This win was important emotionally and in terms of momentum, but it was not an indication that eight wins are assured.
2. The Eric Berry interception. You want to say "It could have been worse -- they could have scored," but that wouldn't be accurate. The game was almost out of reach when Berry grabbed the Garcia pass, so the score wouldn't have hurt that much. Losing as many as three offensive players could hurt worse. We're probably okay without Eric Baker, but losing Lemuel Jeanpierre (or any offensive lineman) isn't good -- maybe not fatal, but also not somethign to be shrugged off. Luckily, it seems that Stephen Garcia should be ready to play next week against Arkansas.
3. Stephen Garcia Watch. Better, though it might not really show up in a line that shows him completing less than 50 percent of his passes and not doing so well rushing.
But the encouraging thing I saw was that Garcia is beginning to use his mobility to do more than take off running when the play breaks down. He's using it to buy time for his receivers and backs to get open -- such as on the TD pass to Mike Davis to go up 7-0. This is where the combination of Steve Spurrier's offense and Garcia's legs could be most dangerous: If Garcia can escape the pocket and give Spurrier's plays more time to work.
4. Bowl eligible -- and likely going. Even if South Carolina wins no more games this year, the Gamecocks should end up in the postseason. Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State and/or Arkansas are going to be hard-pressed to make a bowl game this year. So the question now is how high South Carolina will go. An 8-win season will almost assure a Peach Bowl berth and could put the Gamecocks in the Outback Bowl. (That scenario: Florida and Alabama both go to the BCS, Georgia heads to the Capitol One, LSU goes to Cotton and South Carolina heads to the Outback.) Obviously, a return to the Liberty or Independence bowls would not be ideal, so the Gamecocks need to put together a couple more wins.
5. Up next: Arkansas. Don't write off the Hogs. They've found a good running back, even if he can't "replace" Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, in Michael Smith.
And, like any Petrino team, Arkansas is piling up the passing yards; their 249.7 ypg are 29th in the country and second in the SEC. Fortunately, that plays into the Gamecocks' strong suit. But this will be a game; the Hogs just won a big game against Tulsa and could have momentum on their side.
GRADE: B-
Sure, this was probably an inferior opponent, but South Carolina has lost to inferior Tennessee teams before. The Gamecocks capitalized on some mistakes by the Vols and made a hard-fought game a clear win. They will need better games to defeat Clemson and Arkansas and to keep things respectable against Florida.
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The Morning After
by cocknfire
on Jul 25, 2008 8:55 PM EDT
in Football
You would think Bobby Petrino would know better.
After all, this is the same guy that joined the Atlanta Falcons and then bolted because -- regardless of what he might say -- the job got too hard when the team lost Michael Vick.
Now, the Gypsy Coach of the South steps into essentially the same situation at Arkansas. A team that has been good but not great. (Though the Hogs were a better college team the last two years than the Falcons were an NFL team in the two years before Petrino came.)
And a team that has lost its most valuable pieces.
Darren McFadden and Felix Jones are gone. And the rest of the league couldn't be happier.
See ya later, guys. You won't be missed.
"I'm just glad that we don't have to game-plan for them anymore," said Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon.
It's easy to see why.
There are a number of statistics that show how impressive -- and indispensible -- the McFadden-Jones tandem was. Here's just a few:
McFadden holds Arkansas' career records for rushing attempts, yards (by 1,040!) and 100-yard games (22, leading the next member of the list by six, or half a season). He owns the top two seasons in terms of rushing yards, as well as the 12th.
Felix Jones is the all-time Arkansas leader in yards per carry for a season and a career, fifth in career yardage and fourth in the number of career 100-yard games.
And on and on it goes.
Amazingly, Petrino appears to have faced not a single question about the departure of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones during his session in the print and Internet room. (C&F is going by the transcript, since he had to miss Petrino's remarks.) Petrino did talk a little bit about Michael Smith, apparently the front-runner for the starting position.
"He's a smaller running back that is very quick and has a great burst," Petrino said. "Can do a lot of things with him. ... So we're going to have to try to figure out ways to utilize his strengths and get him the ball in the open field."
Of course, Petrino has a different plan for the offense. And it will be hard for the offensive line and QB Casey Dick to operate a pass-first offense in a game situation for the first time. And for a few times after that. (In fairness, if past history is any indication, it might be hard for Dick to operate any offense that doesn't consist of "hand the ball to the impossibly strong and fast guy and watch him run.") The Gypsy Coach of the South can play it down as a "learning experience" that "hasn't been difficult" if he wishes; we'll see when the games begins.
The smart money says this will be a hangover season for Arkansas, much as 2004 was for Ole Miss (after they lost Eli Manning). When a team has a great player, it can be intoxicating, creating a buzz around the program that feels good at the time.
But if you rely too much on beverages to have a good time, no amount of coffee and tylenol can stop the world of hurt you face the next morning.
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