Georgia Pre-Game...

Much like fellow South Carolinian Stephen Colbert, I like to think with my gut. It requires little-to-no effort, it doesn’t need to be defended by facts, and it’s not as hard on the noggin. So in that spirit, I will be presenting a pre-game Gut Check every week. You can read great breakdowns and analyses at any number of places on these Internets. But I won’t tell you who I think is going to win…I will tell you who I feel is going to win the game.

The Game
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Sanford Stadium
Athens, GA
5:45 (ESPN)

The Set-Up
This is a game we Gamecocks like to feel is a rivalry. Ask a Georgia fan, you’ll probably get a much different answer. But to us…this is as close as we’ve gotten to beating one of the big boys on a regular basis.

Most of the recent games have been competitive affairs, with memorable plays that swung the outcomes in one way or the other. Quincy Carter’s liberal distribution of the football…Brian Scott’s clutch goal line catch…Pollack’s whatever-that-was…Pinnock’s fumble…the missed PAT and field goal in 2005…it’s a litany of gamechanging moments, so who knows what awaits in 2007?

Much has also been made of the importance of this game. In what is essentially an early-season elimination game, the winner has an early step-up in the East, while the loser is already behind the 8-ball. It’s not coincidence that the two greatest seasons in recent USC history have all started with an early-season win against Georgia.

For this season’s game, there are still a lot of question marks left up on South Carolina’s board. How will our drinkin’ fightin’ dancin’ QB do in his 2007 debut? How much did we hold back against La-La? Will our much ballyhooed defense assert themselves this week? Can we get pressure on the keg-lifting sophomore Stafford?

All technically good questions, but regardless of the inevitable answers, this one is going to come down to the intangibles. For the first season in recent memory, the Gamecocks are coming into this game with some momentum carried over from the previous season. Also, we have a talented but young group of players who could click (and clack) at any moment. So why not now?

The Deciding Factor
We have a coach who is walking into a snake pit of hatred possibly unparalleled in college football...an environment in which he thrives. Just take a look at how SOS has gotten our team to perform in the road games against our four most hated rivals since he’s been here:
• Georgia (05): L, 15-17
• Tennessee (05): W, 16-15
• Florida (06): L, 16-17
• Clemson (06): W, 31-28

Sure they’re not all wins, but this is a road competitive streak against our four biggest rivals that is unmatched in recent Carolina history. And it is no coincidence. It will be close…but we will emerge from Between the Hedges victorious. And probably covered in projectile piss, beer, and chewin' tobbacy.

The Final
South Carolina, 24
Georgia, 21