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First things first. There’s a lot of negativity going around Gamecock Nation right now. Folks are surprised selling the Gamecocks because we failed to lay the wood to Vandy. While I won’t disagree that last night’s game left a bit to be desired, I think we should also get a bit of perspective. Vandy has beaten us the past two years, and this time we finally got them. The past two losses were difference makers; this time around, if we win a couple more, we won’t be looking back at this game and thinking that we blew our chance at a good season by losing to Vandy. It wasn’t the pretty 30+ point victory I was hoping for, but it was a victory. We should be mindful of that.

Moreover, I think there are some good things to take away from the game. They are:

• Stephen Garcia, Alshon Jeffrey, and Kenny Miles all played well. Garcia had a couple of bad plays and needs to learn how to avoid the sack, but his throws were on the money last night. He’s progressing nicely and will soon be making better decisions. There’s not really anything to say about Alshon. He’s going to be an A. J. Green-caliber star before all is said and done. Miles is also very solid.
• The defense only gave up three offensive points. Although they gave up some yardage, the three points is good by any measure, even against Vandy.

Continue reading after the jump.

All of that said, we have some things to work on before traveling to Knoxville this week. These include:

• Penalties. I said it last night; I’ll say it again. Stupid mental errors are killing our drives. We’ll need more than 14 points to win the rest of our games, and we won’t get it if we keep ending up in 3rd and 20 situations due to penalties.
• Where is Jarvis Giles? Look, I love Kenny Miles as much as the next guy, and I think Miles is definitely our best back. However, Giles has the ability to make big plays in space, so you’d think we would have a few plays designed for him. Instead, he gets three runs, all of them between the tackles, which doesn’t take advantage of his skill set. I would have especially like to see him on one of those final drives. Vandy was gassed and we could have used Jarvis’s fresh legs. Let’s hope our coaches figure out a way to get Jarvis on the field soon, as he’s too good not to play.
• On the same subject, we appear to have all of about four running plays in our playbook; maybe five or six if you count the designed runs for Garcia. You would think we would diversify our running game a bit.
• The offensive line gave Garcia time for parts of the night, but at other parts they disappeared, and those were often on key plays. It’s not going to get any easier for them over the next two weeks, either.
• Our rushing defense is a little soft. I expected we’d see Larry Smith and the Vandy running backs move the ball on the ground, and they did so. I expect you’ll see us stack the box against the Vols. If Crompton is off, it’ll work, but if he’s on, we could be in trouble.
• How many sure interceptions have we dropped this year? That one C. C. Whitlock bobbled almost came back to haunt us.

These are all problems, but I think some of them can be corrected. I hope so, at least. This Tennessee game is as big as any we’ll play this year. We should have a chance to win, but we’re going to need to play really, really well to do so.

Go ‘Cocks.

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1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Terrence Cody helped the Tide survive a scare. This team needs to figure out its red-zone woes.

2. Florida Gators

Also had trouble over the weekend. I’d be worried about this weekend’s game if I were a Gators fan.

3. LSU Tigers

Finally came out with an overwhelming performance. Could they be heating up at just the right time?

4. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Gamecocks squeeked by Vandy in another underwhelming performance. This team continues to win but hasn’t played a complete game yet. Kindof like the Iowa of the SEC.

5. Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels finally look like they might be ready to make a little run.

6. Tennessee Volunteers

The Vols are playing decent ball right now, especially on defense. They were one good kicker away from beating ‘Bama. (As an aside, isn’t it just Gamecocks luck that Daniel Lincoln had the one good game of his career against us back in 2007?)

7. Georgia Bulldogs

Had an off-week to prep for Florida. Do they have anything for the Gators?

8. Arkansas Razorbacks

The Hogs reverted to their pre-Florida level against Ole Miss. Still a dangerous team, but probably not a good one.

9. Kentucky Wildcats

The ‘Cats picked up a relatively easy win over LA-Monroe.

10. Auburn Tigers

The wheels have seriously come off the Chizik train. The Tigers may vie with 2007 South Carolina for the worst finish in SEC history.

11. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Another week, another missed upset opportunity for the Bulldogs. Will they finally win one of these games at some point? ‘Bama or Ole Miss, perhaps?

12. Vanderbilt Commodores

The Commodores came to play against South Carolina, but this time, the Gamecocks won.

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My hats off to Vanderbilt for playing such a gritty game. I’ll have a full recap up tomorrow. For now, here are some things to think about.

1. Phew. That was close, but we beat Vandy. It wasn’t beautiful and I would have liked to see us build more momentum going into the tough part of our schedule, but it does feel good to get a win over these guys after two years of futility. In the end, a win is a win, and we got the win. It’s also worth saying that this is a game we probably wouldn’t have won last year. This year’s team made the plays it needed to make and hung tough at the end.

2. The offense played well, but it didn’t show up on the scoreboard. What’s the problem? I actually thought the offense played quite well in this game, especially Stephen Garcia, Alshon Jeffrey, and Kenny Miles. I think this might have been the best game Garcia has played for us; he made good decisions and put a number of tough throws right on the money. That TD toss to Jeffrey was a thing of beauty, and the earlier touchdown pass was also a good throw that D. L. Moore should have caught more cleanly. (That was a catch, though; his left foot was down when he gained possession.) The offensive line had some problems, but I wouldn’t say they played a bad game outside of the penalties. All in all, we put up 432 total yards. That’s a good night against a tough defense.

However, we only got 14 points out of it, and all those yards don’t mean a thing without points to show for them. Some of the problems weren’t exactly in our control, such as the bad field position we often had due to Vandy’s stellar special teams play. However, some of the problems are things we need to work on. Penalties killed some of our drives, and our play calling seemed to get strange when we would get close to the red zone. I also thought Spurrier was a little too conservative late in the game; it’s one thing to run it up the middle every time when you’re up by two scores and another altogether to do it when you’re only up by four and need to get a few more first downs. The conservative approach was even more suprirsing considering how hot Garcia was.

3. Penalties. What’s the problem? There are some penalties that I can stand, like Melvin Ingram’s facemask early in the game. Ingram was playing hard and was just in a bad position. But all these mental mistakes from the offensive line are frustrating. You’d think that our coaches would have addressed these problems by this point in the year, but apparently not. We really need to limit this stuff down the stretch if we’re going to finish strong.

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This is the place to talk about VU-USC as well as the other games today. Go ‘Cocks!

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South Carolina squares off with Vanderbilt Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Here are five things I predict will happen in the game:1. USC Will Win The Time Of Possession Battle By At Least Five Minutes: Because of it’s ineffective offense, Vanderbilt has held the ball for just 26:33 per game, almost seven minutes less than the opposition. The Commodores average yards per

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Time to host the Vanderbilt Commodores for homecoming. Here are my thoughts on the game.

Three Keys

1. Motivation

I don’t mean to disrespect Vandy, but we all know that the ‘Dores aren’t as talented as we are. However, the past two years the ‘Dores have been the better team, as they’ve come to play confident and mentally prepared, whereas as we’ve come out unfocused and mistake-prone. This year needs to be different. The players have motivation to come out and play their best in this game, that motivation being the fact that they’ve made fools of themselves in this game for two straight years and have had to endure trash talk from Bobby Johnson. If they can’t come out ready to lay the wood tomorrow night, something is wrong with them.

2. Turnovers

Turnovers have killed us the last two years against Vandy. I mean, seriously, how many times have we thrown interceptions against these guys just when you think we’re about to march down the field and score? And to tell the truth, I don’t think Vandy is good enough to beat us without coming up way ahead in turnover margin. The problem, of course, is that Vandy knows this and is good at taking calculated risks that end up netting them the turnovers they need. We–especially Stephen Garcia and our offensive line–need to be prepared for this and come out playing smart ball.

3. Running the Football

Vandy has a solid passing defense and relies on turnovers to win games. How do you counter this? You run the football well. For some reason, in both of the past two games against Vandy, we’ve abandoned the run, despite the fact that we have a size and talent advantage against Vandy in the trenches. With our new focus on running the ball better, I don’t think that will be the case this year. We’ll run the ball early and often, and whether or not we are successful doing so will go a long way towards telling us how we do in this game.

Fun Memory

Remember this game? Our last win against the ‘Dores. Despite fumbling the ball a few times, we lit Vandy up in this one. This win started a streak of good play for us that ended with the Vandy loss the following year. Hopefully we’ll see the team come out playing like this again (without the fumbles) and gain some momentum going into the tough stretch ahead.

Prediction

This game worries me simply because we’ve played so poorly against this team the past two years. However, while this Gamecocks team still has many flaws, it appears to have drastically improved in the area that’s been most detrimental to us in the past two Vandy games: turnover margin. Stephen Garcia only has four interceptions on the year, or, in other words, one more than Blake Mitchell and Chris Smelley combined to throw in the infamous 2007 Vandy game. If we can continue to protect the ball well, we’ll take away Vandy’s best chance to win this game. That’s exactly what we’ll see happen. I doubt we’ll light Vandy up considering the defense they have, but I do think you’ll see us pull away late in a physical game for something like a 24-27 to 6-10 Gamecocks victory.

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Vote With Your Remote!

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UK’s Wall and MSU’s Sidney Facing Eligibility Questions

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via www.uscrugby.org

via www.uscrugby.org

Columbia, SC – USC Men’s Rugby was in top form this past weekend, putting forth a dominant performance despite the low score of 19-07. Facing Carolinas League foe N.C. State, the Gamecocks came out hard, pinning the Wolfpack deep in their own territory for much of the contest.
 
Club president/captain Anthony Hughes said that the Carolina, “played a very controlled game,” one in which the club, “dominated in the set pieces and rucked very well.” According to Hughes, USC “could have scored a lot more but NCST should be applauded for their stout goal line defense.”
 
The Gamecocks led 19-00 at the half, but “a few backline injuries meant several key players were replaced and the backs were disjointed,” according to head coach Geoff Mason (as reported to ARN). Nevertheless, Mason “was pleased with the forwards efforts and the defense was strong all day.”
 
Junior Nick Hart played an exceptional game, filling in scrum half, and slotted one of USC’s 3 tries on the day. Seniors Justin Schlachterman (hooker) and Chris Stevens (wing) put in USC’s other two tries, and sophomore Cullen Clair was 2/3 in conversions, once again playing excellent rugby. Of note, the match produced the lowest combined-score in a USC A-side match in the history of the club’s play at the STWFC Rugby Field. The club is now 14-5-1 at home since it began play at their current location in February 2007.
 
In the B-side match, Carolina’s depth and talent was on display once again, overwhelming the Wolfpack 48-00. The Gamecocks second XV is undefeated on the season, and was a large portion of the club that won the 2009 Palmetto Collegiate Cup last weekend in Greenville, SC. Against N.C. State, USC ‘B’ played a masterful match, dominating ball possession and scoring countless tries of well-timed dump passes and running into space. Fullback Tom Plumley was the key player on the day, running in a nice try in the second half of play, while also making conversions and penalty goals all game long.
 
Lander University A proved no problem for USC C, as the Gamecocks D3 Palmetto Side put up 60 points on the visiting Bearcats. Flanker/lock Jack Protzman led the team with high intensity and, according to club president Hughes, “was a rucking machine.” “Seeing how much those 30 guys have improved from the beginning of the year is really exciting. It is a testament to how much our program has improved and how much potential these young guys have.” The match marked USC C’s final match of the Fall semester, as the side will now be integrated into USC A & B for the club’s two remaining events. This spring the Gamecocks C-side will play in USA Rugby South’s Division III competition, taking on Furman, College of Charleston, The Citadel, Lander, and Armstrong Atlantic State in the Palmetto League – a brutal conference that has produced the last 7 South Championships while capturing 6 of the last 7 Division III National Championships. Such competition will do wonders for the continued growth and success of USC rugby, as participation in last year’s league is a large factor behind USC’s dominant run so far in Fall 2009. The University of South Carolina is the only school in all of USA Rugby South to operate 3 full sides in South matrix competition, with USC A and B participating in USA Rugby Division I.
 
Next weekend Men’s Rugby at the University of South Carolina travels to Birmingham, AL for the fourth consecutive SEC Championship Rugby Tournament, a tournament that was recently revived in 2006. Last year the club’s A-side finished 4th, losing to Division 1 rival Florida in the Plate Final. In the Second Division, USC B finished 1-1, but was denied the opportunity to defend its 2007 Plate Championship, as the tournament eliminated the Second Division 3rd-place game.
 
Heading into the tournament, USC has to be looked upon as one of the favorites, though getting past Tennessee or LSU will be no easy task. The Volunteers have dominated the Gamecocks in recent rugby action, and LSU heads into the tournament fresh off its upset of then-#2 Arkansas State. The victory moved the Tigers up to #6 in the American Rugby News Top 25. The Gamecocks will unfortunately be without backline player Richard Pyke (knee) and flanker Andrew McCauley (face) for the remainder of the season, as both players were injured in action against N.C. State.
 
USC finishes its Fall season at home on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm against Appalachian State University. The B-side match will follow at 2:30 pm. Both matches will take place at USC’s STWFC Rugby Field, behind the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center.
 
 American Rugby News article on the match | 2009/10 Schedule

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Columbia, SC – American Rugby News (ARN), the nation’s leading collegiate rugby news agency, has ranked the University of South Carolina 22nd overall in its most recent Down Under Endeavours Top 25 (October 20th, 2009). The ranking is USC’s first appearance in the poll since February, when a loss to Arkansas State knocked the Gamecocks out of the #25 spot they’d held since November 2008.

Founded in 1967, the Men’s Rugby Club is the oldest sports club on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The club is an elite member of USA Rugby South’s premier Division I competition – an honor bestowed upon only 8 other USA Rugby South clubs (#9 Arkansas State, #23 Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia, and 2010 newcomers Florida State and South Florida) – and is the only club in the South to field 3 fully competitive sides in league play. With an open membership of over 75 members, the club is the third largest rugby club in the United States as of September 27th, 2009.

South Carolina Men’s Rugby was a national powerhouse from its inception until the mid-1990s, and the club is proud of its return to national prominence. In 1984, the club was selected #1 in a national pre-season poll (by a now dormant ranking publication), a reflection of the club’s regular past dominance over both senior men’s and men’s collegiate rugby sides. The team’s greatness is reflected well in its alumni, as former USC ruggers have gone on to serve on the USA Rugby Board of Directors (Jeff Smolka), played on the USA Rugby Men’s Senior National Team (Phillip Rockefeller, ‘89), established National Division III powerhouse Furman Men’s Rugby (John Roberts, ‘90) and men’s senior powerhouse Atlanta Old White (Rick LeBel), founded the South Carolina High School Rugby League (Jeff Smolka), as well as many other accomplishments, including serving as the popular broadcasting voice of USC sporting events (Brad Muller, ’92).

The club’s current coach, Geoff Mason, is the only former professional coaching in collegiate South competition, and has been a large part of the club’s renaissance since 2003. A success on the field, Mason played in the New South Wales Rugby League competition for Sydney University, Newtown and Penrith in the 1970’s as a prop and second row and represented Newcastle against New Zealand in 1978. From there, he emigrated to the US in 1980 and was Player/Coach at USC from 1981-1985. He also played for Olde Grey 1986-1990 where he represented Combined South and East in the National All-Star Championships. Afterwards, he coached USC from 1992-1994 where the club reached the South Final Four. Since Coach Mason’s return to USC in the spring of 2004, USC has risen to new heights and returned to national prominence. Taking over a previously under-achieving Division II team, Coach Mason quickly helped the team reach the USA Rugby South Division II playoffs in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Building on this success, coupled with increased performance on the organization level, the club moved to the South’s prestigious Division I competition – an honor bestowed upon only 9 collegiate clubs in USA Rugby South, where the club’s A and B-side teams both placed 4th of 7 in their first year of Division I play (spring 2008). In the spring of 2009, the club’s A-side finished 5th of 7, but its B-side rose to 3rd, and USC became the first club in the South to place a C-side into full league play (Division III – Palmetto League).

This week’s ranking is a reflection of Carolina’s 4-0 record in full regulation play. The club also put together a motley side of mostly B & C-side players at the 2009 Palmetto Collegiate Cup, winning that competition despite the tournament coinciding with USC’s Fall Break. 

Next weekend Men’s Rugby at the University of South Carolina travels to Birmingham, AL for the fourth consecutive SEC Championship Rugby Tournament, a tournament that was recently revived in 2006. Last year the club’s A-side finished 4th, losing to Division 1 rival Florida in the Plate Final. In the Second Division, USC B finished 1-1, but was denied the opportunity to defend its 2007 Plate Championship, as the tournament eliminated the Second Division 3rd-place game.

Heading into the tournament, USC has to be looked upon as one of the favorites, though getting past Tennessee or LSU will be no easy task. The Volunteers have dominated the Gamecocks in recent rugby action, and LSU heads into the tournament fresh off its upset of then-#2 Arkansas State. The victory moved the Tigers up to #6 in the American Rugby News Top 25. The Gamecocks will unfortunately be without backline player Richard Pyke (knee) and flanker Andrew McCauley (face) for the remainder of the season, as both players were injured in action against N.C. State.

USC finishes its Fall season at home on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm against Appalachian State University. The B-side match will follow at 2:30 pm. Both matches will take place at USC’s STWFC Rugby Field, behind the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center.

In the Spring of 2010, USC will begin play in the inaugural Carolinas Rugby League, a result of the South’s reorganization of its collegiate competition. The Gamecocks are joined in the CRL by Division 1 foes Clemson University and the University of North Carolina, as well as D2 sides Appalachian State (#6 – Rugbymag.com), East Carolina (#22 – Rugbymag.com), North Carolina State , and Wake Forest. The Carolinas League represents a new opportunity for growth and cooperation in North and South Carolina, as the league will name its own All-Star Team, MVP, and crown its own champion. It will also send its top D1 and top two D2 sides into South playoff action, with USC aiming for the South Final Four on March 27th and 28th. 

The Men’s Rugby Club at the University of South Carolina is an open membership club that takes all interested athletes, regardless of experience level. Many USC ruggers have little to no experience prior to competing at the collegiate level but adapt quickly, as evidenced by club newcomer Calvin Storey’s selection to the 2008 SEC Tournament All-Star Team (Nov. 8th, 2008) – Storey only began play with the club in the spring of 2008. The club regularly fields 3 full sides, and is a proud member of USA Rugby, USA Rugby South, and the Palmetto Rugby Union. Additionally, the club is honored to compete in the SEC Championship Rugby Tournament. Several club members are also annually selected to the Palmetto Rugby Union Collegiate All-Star team and compete in the USA Rugby South Local Area Union All-Star Tournament each November, where they are selected to tryout for the USA Rugby South Collegiate All-Star Team. 

The club is always welcoming of new players, and interested athletes should visit the team’s website at www.uscrugby.org for further contact information.

American Rugby News Down Under Endeavours Top 25:

1 (1) California (idle) [5]
2 (3) Utah (6-0) [5]
3 (4) BYU (idle) [5]
4 (5) Navy (6-0) [4]
5 (6) Dartmouth* (10-1) [2]
6 (7) LSU* (2-0) [4]
7 (9) Delaware* (5-0) [4]
8 (16) Colorado* (6-2) [4]
9 (2) Arkansas State* (2-1) [4]
10 (8) Army* (0-0-1) [2]
11 (11) Penn State (4-1) [4]
12 (12) San Diego State (idle) [4]
13 (13) St Mary’s (idle) [5]
14 (14) Arizona (idle) [4]
15 (15) Cal Poly (idle) [4]
16 (10) Kutztown (5-2) [4]
17 (20) Central Washington (1-0) [3]
18 (21) Bowling Green (8-0) [2]
19 (18) Texas A&M (idle) [4]
20 (19) UC Davis (idle) [5]
21 (17) Colorado State* (4-4) [4]
22 (unranked) South Carolina (4-0) [3]
23 (22) Florida (3-0) [3]
24 (23) Syracuse (4-1) [2]
25 (24) Harvard (4-1) [2]

*denotes exhibition games

source: American Rugby News

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Steve Spurrier held his weekly call-in radio show on Thursday night. Here is a summary of what he said:FIRST SEGMENT: Spurrier has not arrived at Wild Wings yet. Fans are reminded to arrive at W-B Stadium early on Saturday because of the State Fair. Parking coule be difficult for those who linger.SECOND SEGMENT: Spurrier has arrived. USC is very healthy right now. WR Moe Brown has a concussion

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1. Dropped balls. Penalties. Pass protection. Quarterback dazed and confused. 3rd and really long. How do we fix these things? Are they really big problems or did we just face a defense for the ages tonight?

2. How good is our defense? In the absence of defenses that can embarrass us like Bama just did, can our defense carry us to our goals?

3. What the F$#@ was up with that final drive? Where was the urgency?

4. How does this change expectations?

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South Carolina travels to No. 2 Alabama Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Here are five predictions for the game:1. USC Won‘t Miss Jarvis Giles or Heath Batchelor: Giles piled up huge numbers against Florida Atlantic (113 yards) and SC State (74 yards) but has just 45 yards on 15 carries (3.0 yards per carry) in three SEC contests. Giles has a tendency to run backwards when he gets into

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Time to take on the Tide under the bright lights of Bryant-Denny. Do we have anything for the heavily-favored Red Elephants? We’ll soon see.

Comment on the game in the open thread. Also feel free to weigh in on WFU at Clemson, Georgia at Vandy, Arkansas at Florida, and anything else that catches your attention.

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The 5th ranked Lady Gamecocks were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by number sixteen Georgia.  Carolina had a 1-0 halftime edge, but Georgia took advantage of a PK and a goal in the run of play from senior Carrie Patterson to come back for a 2-1 victory.  It was the first time Carolina had given up more than a single goal in a game, and the first time the team had trailed all season. 

It sounds like South Carolina just ran into a hot keeper.  Just like a starting pitcher can hurl a team to an upset, a keeper can do the same in soccer.  The Lady Bulldogs’ keeper came up with seven saves from twelve Carolina shots, while managing eight shots of their own.

South Carolina is still first in the East thanks to Florida’s 2-2 tie at Tennessee.  The Lady Gamecocks (13-1-1, 5-1-1)  travel to Knoxville for a Sunday match with the Lady Vols.

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Recent unfounded accusations of neologisms aside, I thought it only fitting to borrow a term from the ever-disappointing writers over at The State for my mid-season re-cap. In case you missed this gem, the headline of one of Seth Emerson’s pieces ran as “Tampering Expectations” for some time before someone apparently realized the mistake.

Emerson’s piece relays Spurrier’s comments about the expectations surrounding the Gamecocks’ upcoming game with the Tide. Essentially, Spurrier says that this team has an incredible opportunity in front of them, but that fans should keep their own expectations for success reasonable. In other words, temper them. Or tamp them down. Or, if you work at The State, “tamper” them.

Insert collective groan here.

However, it did get me thinking: what are reasonable expectations for a team that was predicted by most to finish 5-7 or worse but is currently sitting at 5-1 mid-way through the season? Sure, if you operate in a knowledge vacuum you might be tempted to say that any team at 5-1 should have at least 4 more wins under its belt by season’s close. If you were a pessimist, you might look at USC’s schedule and declare that there’s really only one more win in it for the Gamecocks – Vanderbilt. As usual, you can safely assume that the truth is somewhere in between.

As I see it, current expectations for the ‘09 edition of the Gamecocks must be adjusted – up. Coming into this season, the disastrous end to ‘08 and the incredible youth on our two-deep had most saying that a 6-6 season would be moral victory that could lead to much better things in ‘10 and beyond. I, myself, remember thinking that 4-8 or worse should result in Spurrier’s exit, 5-7 or 6-6 should put us in wait-and-see mode depending on how we finished, and 7-5 or better would be a resounding success.

At 5-1 I think Gamecock fans can reasonably expect a winning season and a trip to a bowl game. At this point Vanderbilt is a definite win. Yeah, I said it. If we lose to Vandy this year, Steve Spurrier is going to have a full on brain aneurism a la Tom Cruise at the end of Mission Impossible III. Read my lips. It’s not going to happen.

But 10-2 isn’t going to happen either. Reasonable people see losses to Alabama and Florida ahead. That leaves Tennessee, Arkansas, and Clemson as toss ups. I think it may be optimistic, but still reasonable, to predict we win two of those three. From where I sit, anything less 7-5 at this point is a failure. Complete and unqualified. Anything less than 8-4 is a failure to take advantage of a golden opportunity. 9-3 or better and Spurrier squelches any talk of having lost his touch. Eric Hyman then commissions Blue Sky to create a statue that captures Spurrier in all his glory.

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I got together with Roll Bama Roll’s Create Story: SB Nation: Garnet And Black Attackoutsidethelines for a little tete-a-tete to preview this game. Here’s what he had to say. My answers to his questions are forthcoming at RBR.

1. One of the big question marks for Alabama coming into this season was Greg McElroy. Obviously, McElroy has turned out to be a pretty good player. How do you feel about your quarterback situation at this point in the season and what should South Carolina expect from the Tide passing game?

It’s hard to not feel very good about McElroy at quarterback. He’s been a smart quarterback, moved well in the pocket, been accurate in his throws, stretched the field vertically, and has generally done everything that you would want your quarterback to do. He hasn’t been entirely perfect, though, and did struggle last week against Ole Miss, but I don’t think it’s really anything overly unexpected. The Rebels have a good defense, and McElroy was going to experience some growing pains at some point. As for against South Carolina, I expect McElroy to have his typical solid-to-good day, so long as we can keep Norwood and Matthews from overly harassing him.

2. Alabama has one of the best rushing attacks in the SEC, while South Carolina had trouble slowing down Kentucky last weekend. Will ‘Bama move the ball well on the ground against South Carolina, and if so, how?

(2) If we will commit to running the football — which we didn’t do last week — then I imagine we’ll have a good bit of success on the ground against the Gamecocks. Perhaps I’m wrong, but with Ingram and Richardson in tow, it’s hard not to feel optimistic after watching South Carolina State and Kentucky combine for almost 400 yards against you guys. As for how we look to move the ball, expect to see lots of runs out of the Pistol and the shotgun… we operate out of those two sets probably about 75-80% of the time now, and you see a nice mix of both inside and outside runs.

3. Despite moving the ball fairly effectively, Alabama had problems putting the ball in the end zone against Ole Miss. What caused these problems, and could they continue against South Carolina?

(3) The problems in the red zone against Ole Miss were poor play-calling, penalties, and carelessness handling the football. A couple of drives stalled because we got too pass-happy near the goal line, another ended because of a false start penalty, two more ended with fumbles, plus we had one dropped touchdown pass. It was extremely frustrating to watch us continue to be completely unable to punch it across the goal line, but by the same token it did seem like the reasons we were unable to do so were largely one-off happenings that largely won’t re-occur in the future. We basically shot ourselves in the foot all afternoon against Ole Miss, and I imagine we have a bit of a regression to the mean against the Gamecocks. We won’t necessarily be an unstoppable juggernaut in the red zone, mind you, but I don’t look for a repeat of the struggles against Ole Miss either.

4. South Carolina has had an efficient but not spectacular offense this year. The key to slowing down South Carolina, though, is to pressure play tight man coverage and to pressure the quarterback. How well will ‘Bama do these things and how?

(4) We play a pretty good bit of man (though perhaps not as much as many think), and I imagine we’ll continue to use our typical mix of cover schemes. We always throw a million different looks at opponents, and I don’t see any reason to think Saban will change that long-held strategy this weekend against South Carolina. The real key, like you mentioned, will be the pass rush, and I think that’s where we likely take control of this game. We’ve got some great players on the defensive line, and it’s probably the deepest unit in the country to boot. We rotate players constantly and wear down opponents, and given South Carolina’s struggles on the offensive line, I really like our chances of taking over this game at the line of scrimmage. I do think South Carolina has some great skill position players on the outside, and we’ll probably see a fight to the draw there, but I look for our defensive line to take advantage of your offensive line.

5. If you could have one South Carolina player, who would it be?

(5) Eric Norwood, and it’s not even close to anyone else. Not only is he a great player in his own right, he would be the ideal replacement for Dont’a Hightower at the Will linebacker position. I’d probably take Norwood over literally every single other player in the conference, including Tebow.

6. Prediction. Who will win and how will it go down?

(6) I think ‘Bama wins this one, but doesn’t cover the spread. I’m not exactly expecting a nailbiter, but by the same token I don’t think this one will be a blowout by any stretch. South Carolina will fight hard and they have some good players, but I do think ‘Bama is the better team and that will ultimately show. I say the Tide gets a relatively comfortable, by SEC standards, victory somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 points.

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Tomorrow evening brings us to Tuscaloosa, AL to take on what is undisputably one of the best teams in the country. The nation’s eyes will be on us and a win in this game would be one of the biggest in our program’s history. Can we do it? The odds are stacked against us, but I think we have a chance. Here’s what I think we have to do to get it done.

Three Keys

1.The Offense Must Break Through

Overall, I would say that this team has executed a veritable sea-change in its offensive play since 2008. However, a number of shortcomings have kept it from truly breaking through. Those include penalties, poor red-zone offense (oftentimes related to the penalties), and, last week, a couple of turnovers. (We can all agree, though, that our turnover margin is much improved overall from last year.) We can’t have any of these problems hold us back this week. With their defense, the Tide won’t give us much. Therefore, we need to play near-perfect, mistake-free offensive ball. We need to limit the penalties. We need to have no turnovers. And perhaps most importantly, we need to convert touchdowns when we have the chance. I have some hope that we can do these things after watching us come close several times. The key, perhaps, will be for our injury-ravaged offensive line to play the game of its life.

2. Big Plays

Conventional wisdom in a game like this–one that matches up a pretty good team against a great one–is for the pretty good team to try to keep it close until late in the game. At that point, the underdog can make its move. And I do think, if our team plays its best, that we can do that. However, I’m not sure that I trust us to win if we simply go out there, play relatively conservatively, and try to slug it out with ‘Bama. The Tide have greater depth than us and an offense that’s designed to pull away late in tight games. Therefore, while we should avoid tempting the gods, we should take some risks early. A flurry of early scores that not only keeps it close but gives us a lead is what this team needs to go into the fourth quarter with a winnable ball game on its hands.

3. Stephon Gilmore

I see Gilmore’s play as absolutely essential to this game. Why? Because he’s going to have to cover Julio Jones man-to-man. Conventional wisdom would suggest that we should use zone coverage to slow down Jones, but I just don’t see that as an option, as ‘Bama’s well-tuned rushing offense will gash any zone we throw at them. Moreover, we probably need a turnover or two to win this game. That’s why Ellis Johnson will–or at least should, from where I’m sitting–sell out to stop the ‘Bama run and pressure Greg McElroy, leaving Jones all up to Gilmore. We recruited Gilmore to be the next great corner at DBU, and this is his time to show us how good he can be. Can he stop Jones all night? Probably not. But if he can cover Jones well enough to prevent any huge plays and to allow our front line time to do what it needs to do for us to win this game, he’ll have done his job.

Fun Memory

Our first win against ‘Bama.

Prediction

After a somewhat sluggish performance last week in which I thought the team might have been looking ahead to this week’s game, I expect you’ll see us focused and playing our best this week. That should equal a tight game in which we bid for the upset. I really do think this team is capable of challenging ‘Bama; this South Carolina team is probably the best overall team Spurrier has had here. We have a very good defense and an offense that seems to get a little better each week. We’re really not that far from being able to compete with the ‘Bamas and Floridas of the world.

That said, we’re still not quite on that level. Without a screw-up or two by ‘Bama, I don’t see us being able to beat the Tide, especially with the game being in their house. Unfortunately, ‘Bama is a well-coached team that isn’t going to give us anything, so I have a hard time seeing us winning. The game will be close, though; I’m going with 27-21 Tide. I’ll be satisfied with that. While I’d love to win this one, if we can at least maintain our dignity better than the Tide’s other opponents have done, we’ll have some momentum going into the rest of our schedule, in which we’ll still be in position to accomplish our goal of an eight- or nine-win season.

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Per The State:

USC freshman tailback Jarvis Giles is suspended for the Alabama game for an undisclosed violation of team and university policy, media relations director Steve Fink said Friday.

Fink said Giles would not make the trip to Tuscaloosa, but did not know whether the suspension extended beyond Saturday’s game.

Giles is the Gamecocks’ second-leading rusher with 245 yards on 42 carries.

This isn’t ideal for tomorrow, but it’s not the end of the world, either. Giles may be the team’s second-leading rusher, but most of his yards have come against the weaker portion of our schedule. Kenny Miles and Brian Maddox are most of the snaps against the real competition, and I expect that would have been the case against ‘Bama tomorrow regardless of whether Giles was on the field. However, Giles is an important part of this team going forward, so let’s hope he gets his act together.

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Steve Spurrier held his weekly call-in show on Thur. night. Here is a summary of what he said: 7:00 PM – We’re awaiting the start of the show.FIRST SEGMENT: Kickoff Sat. at 7:45 p.m. ESPN TV. Rain this week. Disruptive? Preparation has been OK. Indoors Mon and Tue. USC has played well when they’ve practiced indoors. Temps expected to be in the 50’s in Tuscaloosa. Night game. Team must hang out

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Here are the results, courtesy of TSK:

1. ALABAMA (10), 208
2. FLORIDA (8), 206
3. LSU, 175
4. SOUTH CAROLINA, 158
5. AUBURN, 129
6. ARKANSAS, 125
7. TENNESSEE, 105
8. OLE MISS, 93
9. GEORGIA, 87
10. KENTUCKY, 54
11. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 46
12. VANDERBILT, 18

Follow the link to TSK to see what the pollsters had to say about each team

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Gamecock Man on RBR Podcast

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My accuracy was pretty dismal last week, so take these picks with a grain of salt.

Georgia Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Commodores

If Georgia were in their current tailspin last year, I would probably call for a Vandy victory here. However, the ‘Dores are among the country’s worst teams this year, so while this game might be close, I doubt they’ll win. Expect Vandy’s defense to keep things tight, but their offense just doesn’t have enough to beat the ‘Dawgs.

Mississippi St. Bulldogs at Middle Tennessee St. Blue Raiders

An SEC team traveling to Murfreesboro? What’s the world coming to? MTSU actually beat Maryland earlier this year and may be able to give the Bulldogs a game. However, State has actually been playing quite well lately They just haven’t been able to break through with a big win against what has been a pretty brutal schedule thus far. Look for the Bulldogs to come out fired up and win this one.

Arkansas Razorbacks at Florida Gators

Many pundits have called this a trap game for the Gators. I don’t see it. Florida will move the ball at will against the soft Arkansas defense, and while the Hogs’ offense isn’t too shabby, it’s weakness is a strong pass rush, an attribute the Gators have in spades. Watch for Ryan Mallett to be sacked early and often as Florida crushes Arkansas.

UAB Blazers at Mississippi Rebels

The Rebels get a breather as they attempt to regroup and figure out a way to get back in the mix for a major bowl bid.

Kentucky Wildcats at Auburn Tigers

The ‘Cats have shown a bit of life over the last couple of weeks, but don’t have much to show for it. Auburn, on the other hand, was demolished by Arkansas last week after a promising 5-0 start. How will the two teams respond? I’m thinking that Kentucky’s offense is good enough to move the ball against Auburn, but if I were a ‘Cats fan, I would worry that the transition from losing Mike Hartline will be a tough one. Auburn, on the other hand, should be able to score frequently against Kentucky. Expect a close Auburn win.

Content provided by GamecockCentral.com Blog – Scott Hood.

Moments after USC had “upset” No. 4 Ole Miss, 16-10, on Sept. 24, in front of a raucous crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium, Eric Norwood confidently told ESPN’s Erin Andrews that the outcome didn’t surprise the Gamecocks at all.And it shouldn’t have.Now they need to take that same attitude to Tuscaloosa this weekend. Unless the Gamecock players approach that game with the expectation of winning, it

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Gamecock Man on TSK Now