Sunday, September 9, 2007

That went well

South Carolina 16, Georgia 12

Just some quick thoughts here. So we got out of Athens with a win. The Gamecocks were uninspiringly solid throughout, taking the lead early in the first quarter and never looking back. The offense wasn't pretty, but they made more than enough plays to keep a small scoring cushion over the Bulldogs. This was one of those games that the old Carolina would have slowly let bleed away. So it was especially refreshing to see our running backs take over late in the 4th quarter, gaining a couple of first downs and chewing up the clock.

But the story of the game had to be our defense. In a complete 180 from last week, we had playmakers flying to the ball from all angles. They weren't LSU-nasty, but they were surprisingly aggressive. Stafford was under duress for much of the game, throwing off target and missing receivers right and left. The luster from last week's Oklahoma State win has worn off quickly and Stafford will need to hit a couple reps of keglifts to get his arm back on track. It was a performance that was dictated entirely by our stifling defense. Kudos to Tyrone Nix for turning things around so drastically in only one week.

And it wouldn't be a Georgia game without mention of their legendarily short-tempered redneck fans. As our Head Ball Coach walked off the field at halftime with a 10-3 lead, he was met with a chorus of boos from the Bulldog faithful. So, being ever so polite, he responded with a wave. "Weren't they giving me an ovation? I didn't realize I was that important to them," Spurrier said.

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