SC State Week...

The Record
2-0 (1-0 SEC East, 1-0 SEC), #17 AP Poll/#23 USAToday Coaches' Poll
Two wins. Zero losses. You can't ask for a better start to the 2007 season. This also marks our first appearance in the polls this season.

The Previous Week
Beat Georgia 16-12 in Athens
You know the facts...if we beat UGA, we have a good year. If we lose to UGA, we struggle to make a bowl. So go ahead and check this one off our to-do list. That's one down on our slaughterhouse road schedule for this season, with LSU, Tennessee, and Arkansas still to come. I didn't know many USC fans who were counting on a win down Between the Hedges, so I'm considering this one a steal. Either way, we won, it's in the books, and we're moving on.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus SC State in Columbia
SC State comes to town, bringing with them the mysterious force known as the Black College Football Experience. You and I know there is no way we should lose this game, no matter what coachspeak you hear this week. But let's not rule anything out here, lest we become Michigan. We are South Carolina, after all. Our disappointment knows no bounds.

The Team
We're in a good place right now. To say we came out of Athens with a win against #11 Georgia is an accomplishment...and we didn't even play that well. It was really only Mitchell's first game and he already seemed on track. Our running backs were tough and picked up yards when we needed them. We're still looking for some receivers to help out McKinley, but it's only a matter of time before our young WR corps gets up to game speed.

Our defense? La-La game notwithstanding, they looked pretty tough. If we keep up that same intensity we saw down in Athens, we might just have a chance in Baton Rouge in two weeks.

The Gamecock Nation
Saturday's win was probably far more monumental than just a road upset against a highly-ranked rival. It wasn't just a harbinger of a good season, it was a milestone for the entire Gamecock Football program that can be traced back to the day the Furman Paladins kicked our asses 44-0 on December 24, 1892. On that day, our program started off 0-1, and we've seemingly been playing catch-up ever since.

We are not a bad program, we a mediocre program. And a stunningly consistent one at that. For going into this season, the University of South Carolina Gamecock football program had compiled a record of 515-517-44. If you haven't done the math by now, I'll just go ahead and tell you...we are now a .500 program. It's taken years to scratch and claw back from the disastrous records of the 60s and 90s, but now we're here...back at even.

All indications point to nothing but progress from here on out. And hopefully, by about 10:00pm Saturday night, the University of South Carolina will officially be a winning football program.