Saturday, November 24, 2007

Keys to a Win against Klempson...


Let's keep it simple this week with the Keys to Winning for S. Car:

1. Stop the Run --- simply put....must limit Davis/Spiller. Please Nix!!!
2. Keep CU Offense off the field --- BC did a great job of this and that is keeping CU offense, led by Harper, off the field. This is done by SC having long drives and stopping CU on 3rd downs.
3. USC Special Teams --- USC can not allow CU long returns on kick-offs nor punts. Also the flipside of this is that Succop must be perfect in all he does today from FG attempts to punts.
4. USC must score quickly in the first half --- USC does not have to score first but we can not get behind to CU. We saw against Ark and UF that once we get behind we can not come back no matter how good the offense is in the 2nd half. A similar start could be devastating to a Gamecocks’ team that has been outscored 58-17 in the first quarter and 93-30 in the first half during its four-game losing streak. USC is 5-1 when it scores first this season, but that has not happened since the North Carolina game.
5. Intangibles --- USC must have a winning attitude and not quit. USC must do the little things like make open field tackles and play smart. No turnovers!!!

Prediction --- USC 27 Clemson 23
GO COCKS!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thinking Clemson...

The USC-Clemson game Nov. 24 will kickoff at 7 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2. It will be the Gamecocks’ fourth consecutive appearance on ESPN or ESPN2 and sixth overall.

The four-game losing streak, Spurrier’s worst skid since his first year at Duke in 1987, has sent the Gamecocks plummeting from a 6-1 record and No. 6 national ranking to an unranked, 6-5 team in danger of not making a bowl game.

The long-time rivals meet again Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium with the Gamecocks (6-5) looking to snap a four-game losing streak while 21st-ranked Clemson (8-3) looks to rebound from a 20-17 loss to Boston College that kept the Tigers from the ACC championship game. Clemson leads the series 63-37-4, including 48-29-3 in Columbia. USC won last year 31-28 and is looking for its first winning streak against the Tigers since the Gamecocks won three in a row from 1968-70. Clemson is 13-3 in Columbia in the last 16 games, including eight of the last nine.

SO let us look at Carolina for a second.....This is a big game especially after USC surrenders all-time highs in rushing yards (542) and total yards (651) in a 48-36 loss at Arkansas, USC allowed Florida to roll up 537 yards in a 51-31 drubbing. The 99 combined points are the most surrendered in consecutive games by a Spurrier-coached team.

"Got to try something different here, see if we can make something happen for the last game,” Spurrier said. Uh Yeah....The Gamecocks are ranked last in the SEC and 106th out of 119 teams nationally in rushing defense, giving up an average of 208.9 yards per game. The Gamecocks are ninth in the conference in total defense (372.2 ypg).Though USC is fourth in the country in pass defense (163.3 ypg), Spurrier believes that statistic is skewed because teams know they can run against the Gamecocks......UH Yeah there coach this is true and why clemson worries me. I hope Tommy Bowden did not read that last stat....Florida quarterback Tim Tebow passed for a career-high 304 and two touchdowns against USC, while rushing for 120 yards and a school-record five touchdowns. Tell tell sign of things not looking good on the defense side is ....USC has forced just one punt in each of its last two games.

It is never a good sign for a defense when opposing players are re-writing conference record books. But that was the case for Razorbacks tailback Darren McFadden and Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, both of whom jumped into Heisman Trophy contention on the backs of USC defenders.

Nix says the problems are threefold: failure to get off blocks, poor tackling and a lack of effort. All that added up to some sobering numbers against Arkansas and Florida: 99 points, 1,188 yards and a 22-of-29 third-down conversion rate for the Razorbacks and Gators.
Part of the third-down woes can be traced to first and second downs. Nix said USC has not forced opponents into many obvious passing situations. As a result, the Gamecocks have one sack in 88 pass attempts the past three games.

So what is on the line against CU? Well...a bowl berth for USC to start and that in-state pride thing is always important but really a bowl berth. USC has been bowl eligible since its sixth win on Oct. 13 at North Carolina, USC is suddenly sweating a bid. The SEC has a record number of teams eligible for its eight guaranteed bowl slots this year. While SEC officials have talked to other bowls that might have at-large spots, NCAA rules require bowls to take a team with a winning record over a 6-6 school. Six of the SEC’s 10 teams already have at least seven wins.
Spurrier said the Gamecocks are a “borderline” bowl team, although bowl and conference insiders believe USC will land a bid if it beats Clemson.

I think USC can win the game this saturday.....Oh and let's make sure we get Junior receiver Kenny McKinley...who had seven catches for 95 yards against the Gators, now has 69 receptions, five shy of the school record set by Sterling Sharpe in 1986...gets 6 catches this game please.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at LOHD!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Almost game time

Well it is that time again, were as a gamecock fan you don’t know what to think. Clemson was steamrolling everybody until last weekend when they ran into the Eagles. Let’s just hope OBC has had enough time to find a wrinkle in the Clemson team, to allow us to do what we did last year.

So today’s I hate Clemson them is……favorite IPTAY acronyms

1.) I Plant Taters And Yams
2.) I Pay Ten Athletes Yearly
3.) Internet Porn Taught All Year
4.) I Plowed Ten Acres Yesterday
5.) It's prison time again ya'll

Monday, November 19, 2007

another cheap shot


I saw this guy selling Clemson 2007 ACC championships t-shirts on Saturday.
also this week we will have Gamecock vs. Clemson Trivia as well as start your own rumor about Steve Orr Spurrier.
I heard this morning that he has already excepted the Texas A&M job.

A shot of Humor for our CU friends...










Sunday, November 18, 2007

Thank you BC

BC defeated Klempson 20-17 last night.

Matt Ryan led the Golden Eagles with 31 of 47 passing for 315 yards, but the winning play was the go-ahead touchdown to Rich Gunnell on a play that was vintage Ryan. Drifting to his right to avoid a rush that had brought him down five times, he had full view of the field, and when cornerback Crezdon Butler gave up on Gunnell, Ryan struck for 43-yard touchdown.

I hope Nix and staff watched the game and saw how to shut down Clemson's running attack and limit those screen passes. Please Nix do lots of homework this week and get the Carolina D ready because meez thinks Clemson will be ready!