Video: Gamecocks Stun #1 Alabama
A quick video/picture montage I put together from the day that will live in infamy in South Carolina for many years to come.
Clemson Tigers Tackle Another Cupcake Schedule?
Perhaps a tad unfair…though they do start out with a laughable first few games and play in the perennially weak ACC…but ESPN seems to think Clemson has the most laughable schedule in college football this year. I tend not to agree, but if ESPN says something bad about Clemson, it’s likely I need to agree. Soon enough they’ll get back to blatantly pulling against the Gamecocks on our ESPN games and fainting when the Tigers brush that stupid rock.
“It would be tempting to say Wisconsin has this year’s phoniest cupcake-enhanced sked, but that distinction goes to Clemson: The Tigers open by hosting North Texas, which is on a 5-31 streak, then the next week host Division I-AA Presbyterian, which finished 0-11 in 2009, including a 34-point defeat by Elon. Here is Clemson’s schedule — that’s the real schedule, not a spoof.”
Read more at ESPN’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback Eats Some Cupcakes
Whining About the Papa John’s Bowl
Updated 1/3/09
Well, a poor performance in a lackluster bowl secured the Gamecocks second disappointing bowl performance in two years, with the years also being mediocre at best.
Here’s the commentary on the eye-closingly poor performance in the post season.
We might have had an excuse in last year’s Outback Bowl. For this one, there’s no explanation according to Ron Morris.
20,000 Gamecocks fans show up for the PapaJohn’s.com Bowl. Gamecocks offense doesn’t.
What more really can be said here, we didn’t even play the game. It was boring and humiliating. Again, as is customary for Gamecocks fans to say, we’ll get ‘em next year. Maybe our new Offensive line coach will help (yes, we did have an offensive line coach this year).
Well, it looks all but settled the Gamecocks will be bowlin’ at the Papa John’s Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. Considering the mostly lackluster season we had, I should be grateful. And with the possibility of an 8-5 season rather than what could’ve been a 6-7 at worst, we should take it. See The State story here. Update: Or did things just get more interesting?
But, just like the stupid Papa John’s Pineapple pizza, I don’t have to like it.
Perhaps if I whine loud enough they’ll decide they don’t want us. Or at least I can get free pizza coupons for being an unhappy customer.
If you haven’t heard much of the Papa John’s Bowl, here’s a brief top ten overview of it…and why I don’t want it long time. This is a crappy list, I know. So is the bowl. But I’ll feel better afterwards.
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1) Last year’s game – Rutgers beat NC State.
Rutgers and NC State last year had a combined 3-11 record the first half of the season. In 2006, powerhouses South Florida and East Carolina duked it out for the golden pepperoni.
2). Technically the name is the PapaJohns.com Bowl. It isn’t even the pizza place, it’s just their website.
3) On the brightside, that empty corner might get more use if we’re playing. Oh wait, it’s in Birmingham. Yes, this is actually a photo from the official Papa Johns Bowl website. Perhaps Connecticut travels well?
4) It’s on January 2nd.
The only upside is that in previous years, it was on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29. Everyone’s still asleep on January 2nd from the New Year’s games, getting rested up for the BCS games. Mainly I’m whining because I’m going to have to take an extra day off work. (oh that’s a Saturday. Well…I drive really slow ok.)
5) USC will likely play the winner of the Connecticut-South Florida game. Assuming one of them scores by Jan. 2nd. Does the plot thicken and USC ends up playing a top 25 team??
6) Spurrier on the bowl inciting confidence - “But if it is Birmingham, that’s certainly fine with all of us.”
7) If we lose I’m going to punish myself with eating Papa John’s crust plain without any garlic butter sauce on it for a year.
8 ) It’s the lowest rated SEC Bowl tie-in. While Papa John’s may be better the next day, SEC leftovers aren’t so great.
9) Actually this is an upside, at least we’re not the cheaper half of the pizza bowl rivalry.
10) Another upside, if we end up winning, Clemson can save face and say they lost to the PapaJohns.com Bowl Champion Gamecocks.
Bonus – this also is a picture from the Papa Johns Bowl website. This bowl may be alright after all. Go Gamecocks!
Garcia gets tackled by ref and national attention
While us Gamecocks fans saw this Saturday night and scratched our heads, apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought this was a little odd. If you recall QB Stepehn Garcia got laid out by the ref, and it’s been college football’s talk of the week on the web and ESPN.
The more I watch it the more I see why. What the heck was going on here?? Apparently 2 out of 3 angles look like LSU’s defense growing by one player may not have been as much of an accident as it seemed? For the record Spurrier and Miles say there was no foul play. (That is besides the Gamecocks’ fourth quarter offense).
Smelley Wins SEC Player of the Week
This'll sober ya up, Garcia.
http://www.thestate.com/gogamecocks/story/546580.html
USC quarterback Chris Smelley was named the SEC’s offensive player of the week after throwing for a career-high 327 yards in the Gamecocks’ 31-24 win at Ole Miss.
Smelley, a redshirt sophomore from Tuscaloosa, Ala., completed 22 of 32 passes and tied a career high with three touchdown passes.
The right-hander has completed 63.1 percent of his passes this season, which ranks second among SEC quarterbacks, for 1,171 yards. His nine touchdown passes are tied for the conference lead.
Smelley is the second USC player to be honored in as many weeks. Kicker Ryan Succop was the SEC’s special teams player of the week following the UAB game.
