FOOTBALL

South Carolina receives formal notice of NCAA investigation | ESPN
Cocknfire of Team Speed Kills seems to think this may not be such a big deal. I'm inclined to disagree. 

Have a looksee at the letter for yourself. Sure can't be a good thing. (H/T Seth Emerson).

Culliver cleared for Georgia game | TheTandD.com
So does this mean that Culliver sat out the Southern Miss. game for no reason? What's up with that?

You know, I'm starting to feel about the NCAA the same way I feel about steroids in baseball. Yeah it's bad, but at a certain point all this ancillary really detracts from the game. I know the NCAA is just trying to keep the College game from becoming professional, but they're really making a mess of it. I would prefer that the players follow the rules, but do I think it's worth a two-month investigation and millions of distractions to find out if A.J. Green sold a jersey? Heck no.

This tick-tacky crap that the NCAA is going after is getting out of hand. They should be focusing their efforts and kids getting payments from boosters, or free cars, or a job where they never have to show up. Would anyone care if Chris Culliver had help paying for an INSURANCE POLICY? Really?

Gamecocks continue UGA prep | Scout.com
More news from Thursday. G.A. Mangus had this to say about the vaunted Todd Grantham defense:

"A 3-4 is a 3-4 and a 4-3 is a 4-3," Mangus said. "Everybody's running the same type blitzes out of 3 down and 4 down. We've studied it like we study every opponent so we'll be ready to handle their blitzes come Saturday. So far we've done well with that, but there's gonna be some things they pull out too."

There may yet be hope for us. Maybe.

Gamecocks Practice in Midst of Investigation | Scout.com
More practice coverage.

Georgia to use 3-4 Defense: Let's Explain It | Leftover Hot Dog
General Malaise goes into further detail regarding UGA defensive strategy.

Game 2 Preview UGA vs. South Carolina | Leftover Hot Dog
Even if you already know everything you want to about the game, check out this link for the picture of A.J. Green at the bottom. Good stuff.

Gamecocks Podcast: Talking Georgia Game | Leftover Hot Dog
And don't forget to check out LOHD's podcast preview of the game. It's required listening.

NCAA College Football Take 2 - College Football | ESPN
This article is interesting only because it's worth noting that even some college football "insiders" still don't know the open secret that Ellis Johnson is our de facto defensive coordinator.

Georgia Bulldogs-South Carolina Gamecocks: A Preview of the 63rd Meeting | Bleacher Report
A breakdown of Saturday's game by someone who is presumably a Georgia fan. He gives the nod to Georgia on offense (understandable), USC on defense (sensible), Georgia on special teams (was there any question?), and Georgia for coaching (what?!?). His reasoning goes thusly:

There is no denying that Spurrier will go to the College Football Hall of Fame in the near future. He has had major success at Florida, winning a national title in 1996. But since 2005 when he arrived at South Carolina, he has compiled a 36-28 record and has not been able to get things going in Columbia due to various reasons.

I'm not sure I think Mark Richt would have done any better in Columbia during the same time. It's hard to ignore the significant advantages that Richt in Athens over Spurrier. Also, you did guys know that Mark Richt has never lost at Williams- Brice, and that he has only lost six road games during his entire career at UGA?

Who to Blame for the A.J. Green Situation? I’ll Give You One Guess | The Rubber Chickens
TRC makes the novel point the ultimately the blame falls on the people that knowingly broke the rules.

Vols coach tells players to clean up their act -- literally  | ajc.com
You can't make this stuff up. (H/T: The Rubber Chickens)

SOCCER

Gamecocks head to New England | The Daily Gamecock
The Gamecocks will face Brown and Yale this weekend at the Brown Soccer Classic.