Friday, September 29, 2006

AU vs USC recap...


Good article on espn and check out the video when you click here.

Also a reader of LOHD gave us this article and it is good.....click here.

No matter how you look at it the Gamecocks played a heck of a game and Auburn was lucky to leave ole' willy with a 'W.' The crowd was the loudest it has been in a long (very long) time and it was a perfect night for football. Looking onward to the rest of the season ... let's only hope that Carolina plays like that every game and use the loss to auburn as a building block.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Gameday Preview of da Tigers vs. da Gamecocks...



Let's hope USC has more luck than this gamecock....

Auburn preview

7:45 ESPN
Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC
Auburn -14 O/U 37

By the fifth game of the season, everyone is starting to get an idea how the season is going to unfold. With that in mind, this preview will be less about match-ups and more focused on what SC needs to do to win.

News out of Auburn this week

Little has changed for Auburn. Running back Kenny Irons (if you don't know who he is watch on Thursday, you will) is back after sitting out the Buffalo game. He is 100% and the single biggest obstacle for the Gamecocks to overcome. His brother, #4 CB David Irons, has been running his mouth most of the week about how he is going to cover Sidney one-on-one. Auburn is often found in man coverage, but they are unlikely to do that against Sidney. If they are dumb enough to do that, it may not matter if Syvelle or Blake is lying on his back. (more on that later).

South Carolina this week

Syvelle is going to start. After throwing a school record 5 touchdown passes last week why shouldn't he? Cory Boyd wants to play badly and has said that he will come hell or high water. Spurrier interjected that Boyd will only play if he is 100%. With the vagaries of ankle injuries being what they are, Boyd's status will be a gametime decision.

What probably will happen

Auburn will score ... a lot. This game has the potential to be similar in score to last year. The only thing that makes me hesitant to call this a for sure blowout is the vegas line of 14. For some reason (probably because they are experts and have millions of dollars riding on the accuracy of their lines) Vegas tends to be really accurate for the most part with their lines no matter how ridiculous they seem when they open on Monday.

Look for a heavy dose of Kenny Irons and a South Carolina defense that can only hope to contain him. Look for SC's o-line to be overpowered and outmatched all game. This isn't what is going to happen or what has to happen, but it is what is most likely to happen.

That being said, it will still be worth the Gamecocks time to show up and try to win. They can in fact win, but they need many things to go their way.

How South Carolina can win

1. Make Auburn pass

Why - Because it's not running. Auburn is second in the conference and twenty-seventh in the nation in rushing offense averaging 184 ypg. They are seventh in conference and 69th in the nation in passing averaging 183 ypg. Conversely South Carolina is 11th in the conference and 101st in the nation in rushing defense (remember 290 yds by Wofford). The big suprise is SC is 2nd in conference and 3rd in the nation in pass defense. SC has to have the game play to its strengths.

How can USC possibly make Auburn abandon its vaunted running game? By making it ineffective. South Carolina will have to stack the box and have career games from its defensive linemen and linebackers. Corners will be left on islands, and if that wasn't bad enough they are going to have to be strong in run support as well (Fred, I'm looking your way).

2. Get some turnovers

The value of turnovers has been extolled for generations. A rudimentary recounting of their importance would only waste time here. A big part of turnovers is being in the right place at the right time and having the offense commit mistakes. Admittedly there is an element of luck involved, but that element will have to be heavily in South Carolina's favor to pull off the shocker.

3. Get good field position

Field position makes scoring easier. It also magnifies opponent's mistakes while minimizing your own. USC will not start in good field position after Auburn kicks off. Something like 88% of their kicker's kicks go for touchbacks. SC can win the punting game though. USC is #1 in the country in net punting averaging 43 yards per punt. This sometimes overlooked factor will play a big part if South Carolina wins the game.

4. Score

Seems obvious doesn't it? USC has to maximize its opportunities. Think the opposite of the Georgia game (something like Tennessee last year shoud do). SC needs to get into scoring position more than a few times. FGs made at a bare minimum, and more likely USC needs TDs every chance they get.

5. Block someone

SC has to find a way for the offensive line to block. The mistakes being made by this line so far this season include pretty much every one known: missed assignments, slow reaction, false starts, holding, and plain old getting beat. Running lanes would be something nice to ask for from this group, but it might be too much to ask. Pass protection (which is easier to do than run blocking) has to be priority one. This line has had parts of games here and there where they gave adequate protection. For South Carolina to win, the protection must be better than here and there.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Good stuff

Well with all the tabloid hype from TO trying to take his life and Randy Moss having his baby or something like that. Just kidding! Here are two stories that are worth reading about snakes and wangs.


snake story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15021048/

Wang story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15018869/

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

2 days away

The question of the week, should I place a wager on the USC/ Auburn game. 14 points is a pretty nice spread, the people in Vegas must have been out of the country last when these two teams met last year. Here is a little run down of there offensive and Defense lines. If anything stands out just let me know.

Offensive

LT- King Dunlap (6-9 321 Jr.)
LG- Ben Grubbs (6-3 314 Sr. )
C Joe Cope ( 6-1 272 Sr.)
RG Tim Duckworth ( 6-4, 310 Sr.)
RT Jonathan Palmer (6-5 318 sr)

Defense

DE Marquies Gunn (6-4 268 Sr,)
NG Josh Thompson (6-0 295 Jr.)
DT Sen’Derrick Marks (6-4 287 RFr.)
DE Quentin Groves ( 6-4 254 JR.)

Check out King Dunlap and his back up Oscar Gonzalez ( 6-7 294 RFr.) Who our the Cocks team is going to get past those two guys.

Monday, September 25, 2006

You knew it was going to happen


Congrats Mr. Rice, even thought it was against FAU. We can build on it for this Thursday

SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK SIDNEY RICE Wide Receiver SOUTH CAROLINA 6-4 • 202 • Sophomore Gaffney, S.C. (HS)
Rice caught nine passes for 161 yards and an SEC-record-tying five touchdown in South Carolina's 45-6 win over Florida Atlantic.
Rice's touchdown catches were for 23, 21, 8, 41 and 19 yards.
Rice came out of the game with over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
His 30 points scored in a game ties for fourth in the SEC record books.
In just 15 collegiate games, Rice has caught 18 TD passes.

Swing and a miss...

Ryder Cup....or should it be called the European Cup?
Even with Tiger Woods getting to pick his partner and finishing with a winning record for the first time in the Ryder Cup, it still didn't change the outcome from two years ago.

Europe 18½, United States 9½.

You would think the US would dominate in Golf but it is not the case in this format. Euro has won 6 out of the last 8 and has held the trophy since 1999.

So what needs to be done to stop the slide....

Ditch the selection system. Instead of depending on the PGA of America's dumb point-scoring formula and two captain's picks, let the next captain pick all 12 members of the U.S. team. Lehman's two wild-card choices, Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank, won two of the 3½ points earned by the Americans on Sunday. Together, they accounted for nearly half of U.S.'s total points. Paul Azinger is the favorite to become the next U.S. captain for the next go round in 2008.

Any thoughts???

Monday Sports Talk

Here is some more talk of coach's on the hot seat.....let's look at the ACC. We already talked about Bowden at FSU (son Jeff will get de-moted before they fire or "retire" ol' poppy Bowden.) So with the standardized 12-game NCAA schedule, we can now say the college football season is 25 percent complete and after three games it's apparent this will be an offseason with a high rate of turnover in ACC coaches.
In the most trouble:
---Larry Coker (Miami) -- The guy who said college football is a house of ill repute and the coaches are just the piano players was talking about men like Coker. Great guy who lost three of his last four games, including the most lopsided bowl defeat in school history. Has won once in the last six against a Division I opponent.
---John Bunting (North Carolina) -- Progress has been microscopic. A big win over Miami, another here and there, but nothing so far to indicate the big rock has been pushed all the way up the hill. Lop-sided loss to Klempson did not help him...
---Chuck Amato (North Carolina State) -- Good early speed but it got old all of a sudden. The patent leather red shoes and ridiculous sun glasses are fine when you're winning, they make you look silly when can't establish your program in the top third of the conference. The win vs. BC helped him but it is a long season.....
---I'm guessing Terry Bowden resurfaces at an ACC school next year. His father and brother both mentioned how they think Terry should return at this summer's ACC preseason media fest and they said it in a way that lacked a certain spontaneity you would expect in an unscripted observation.

Comments?? (Also that is a actual pic from the Clemson game this past weekend. Word.)