Arkansas Week...

The Record
6-3 (2-2 SEC East, 3-3 SEC), #23 AP Poll/#25 USAToday Coaches' Poll
Like both MacArthur and the Gamecock offense…I have returned.

The Previous Week
Lost to Tennessee 27-24 (OT) in Knoxville
It’s been a tough two weeks for Gamecock fans. First, we lay an egg on our own home field versus Vanderbilt…Vanderbilt, effectively killing our shot at the SEC and a Top 5 ranking. But as we sat back at the tailgate, wallowing in our own sorrow, the dominoes started to fall into place again. Down goes Kentucky! Down goes Tennessee! We were back in it.

Then on to Knoxville. It was a beautiful fall day—and actually not that cold, considering past trips to Rocky Top. Gamecock fans made a strong showing, getting there early and making our presence known. Unfortunately, the USC offense didn’t show up until after halftime. Eight quarters without a touchdown…two full games…it was a thorough 21-point beatdown that really showed no signs of turning our way. Even our band got crushed.

I hope you didn’t go to the bathroom during the third quarter, because you probably missed a boatload of Gamecock heroics on the field. Blake must have had his spinach at halftime…he was hitting receivers all over the place…even downfield. Yes, we threw the ball downfield. Cory and Mike got cranked up. Succop nailed a clutch FG with about a minute and a half left. Then…well, you watched it.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus Arkansas in Fayetteville
So here we are again. Down, but not quite out. How ridiculous is it that we could still win the SEC East? And it’s not even really that far-fetched. Improbable, yes. Impossible, no. We just need to play balls-out the next two games and hope that we get some help from some frenemies like Kentucky, Auburn, and Vanderbilt.

But why worry about the other guys when we have Arkansas to worry about? This game is always a weird one. Is Matt Jones still playing? To this day, I have nightmares about that dude. Looks like Herman Munster, runs like Barry Sanders. But the Razorbacks don’t need a running QB anymore, now that they’ve got McFadden and Jones. They can’t throw the ball for Dick, but they don’t need to either. Can we stop them? At home?

The Team
I just don’t know anymore. Has there even been a more Jekyll/Hyde Carolina squad than this one? When we’re on…we can run with anyone. But when we’re off…damn, we can suck. I’d like to think that things are back on track after the way we kicked in last week. All signs point to another late-season resurrection for Blake. Is he for real…again? We all know he can do it. But will he?

The defense has been holding up their end of the bargain all season. Even in our losses, you can’t really hang it on them. Most of our opponents’ scores have come off of turnovers and bad special teams play giving up good field position. How often have we actually seen another team drive on this offense? And in those rare instances, how many times have we let them get into the end zone instead of settling for a field goal? I have all the confidence in the world in this unbelievably talented—yet frighteningly young—defense.

The Gamecock Nation
Frustrating losses aside, this has been a tough week for Gamecock fans for far more serious reasons. The loss of six of our students and one of their Clemson friends has obviously overshadowed any concerns about a football team. When you look at their pictures and read about their lives, you realize that “they” were really part of “us.” The Gamecock Nation is made up of tens of thousands of people just like them. They wanted to enjoy a nice weekend at the beach, have a good time, and watch some football. I’ve done the same thing, you’ve done the same thing…we’ve all been there.

So when something like this happens, it doesn’t just affect a few people. It affects everyone who’s part of this community. We identify with these people because we are these people. I never met them, but I feel like I know them. Being part of the Gamecock Nation brings it all together. We spend our Saturdays with 80,000 strangers and 80,000 friends at the same time. So while at a time like this, football can seem incredibly trivial, it can also be incredibly important. Without football, I wouldn’t have had the chance to share a lifetime of experiences with these people. Without football, I wouldn’t have been made more whole by our shared sense of community. Now, with football, we can all share—together—just one of things that makes this Gamecock life a life worth celebrating.

Vanderbilt Week...

The Record
6-1 (2-0 SEC East, 3-1 SEC), #6 AP Poll/#8 USAToday Coaches' Poll
We did our job…went in to Chapel Hill…took the Tarheels’ minds off of basketball for four hours…made just enough ballplays…and came out with a win.

The Previous Week
Beat UNC 21-15 in Chapel Hill
It was a gorgeous fall day for football up in Chapel Hill. Kenan Stadium was packed with Tarheels still hung over from “Late Night with Roy,” and Gamecocks hoping to see their team administer an epic beatdown.

And for a half…the beatdown was going well. Smelley was clicking—spreading the ball around to three different receivers on three first-half TD passes. Boyd and Davis were making some tough runs, keeping the chains moving. It was nothing spectacular, but the Cocks put in a workman-like performance worthy of a 21-3 halftime lead.

Then…the second half. In what is starting to become a habit, USC came sleepwalking out of the lockerroom, unaware that there was still 30 minutes of football left. Drive after drive, they ended up in third-and-short situations, were unable to convert, and were forced to punt. And for a quarter, UNC complied by not taking advantage of our ineptitude.

But in the fourth quarter, the Tarheels came alive—putting points on the board and keeping the Gamecocks in submissive position the rest of the way. All we needed was one more first down to ice this thing, but that first down would never come. All we needed was a field goal to put it out of reach, but it clanged harmlessly off the upright.

So, as if someone had queued last year’s Kentucky game up on the Tivo, it came down to some desperation throws at the end. And thankfully, this game ended in the same fashion…with a bunch of grumpy—but victorious—Gamecocks.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus Vanderbilt in Columbia
It’s been established that this Vanderbilt team is not the Vandy of old. They’re a capable squad that will make you work for a win. They won’t just lie down. And they have the best wide receiver in the conference. This is a good team.

But this is a team USC has no business losing to, especially at home. Will Spurrier bounce back from his “putrid offense” in the UNC game with one of his patented blowouts? Will he make this a statement game that says we deserve our lofty ranking? It seems like a bit of a breather, but this is a conference game and will be an important jumping off point for the second half of the season.

The Team
“No heart…no heart,” Cory Boyd was overheard saying Saturday after the game. He was understandably pissed at his team’s performance against UNC, and for good reason. This was a game that was firmly in our grasp at halftime. We should have come out in the second half and extended the lead to Spurrieresque blowout proportions.

But whether it was lack of heart, lack of killer instinct, or lack of proper blocking technique…something was amiss. But the good news is that our team and our coaches know about it and are on the case. We know we have the talent, but we haven’t been able to string together four good quarters yet. I am confident that they will solve this problem and come out roaring Saturday—putting together a satisfying, complete game for the home crowd.

The Gamecock Nation
Lou Holtz talked about culture change. Steve Spurrier is bringing about culture change. Two examples from Saturday night proved this to me, undoubtedly.

• Seconds after the game was over, the UNC crowd erupted into a spontaneous standing ovation for their Tarheels. They were ecstatic that they got that close to winning. Their celebration should look familiar…it’s the same celebration that broke out in Williams-Brice after we almost knocked off #2 Auburn last year. And it’s the same celebration that earned a harsh rebuke from the Head Ball Coach.

So while we watched the Tarheels celebrate their loss, the USC fans were disgusted. We were pissed…and I’m glad we were pissed. It shows that we have expectations. Close isn’t good enough for us anymore.

• Back at the tailgate, we huddled around a stranger’s TV to watch the end of LSU/Kentucky. In between one of the overtimes, one of our friends said, “Well, at least we’re bowl-eligible.” And that was the first time I had heard that phrase all week. It was almost two hours after the game and no one had mentioned it.

Back in the day, six wins was the Holy Grail. Could we do it? Could we get six wins? Could we make it to a bowl? Golly gee gosh, can we go to a bowl, pleeeeease? “Bowl-eligible” was a constant in a Gamecock fan’s vocabulary. But this last Saturday, it was virtually absent. After reaching the same benchmark that would have sent us into spastic celebration only a few years ago, we stewed over our win, not noticing a thing.

That’s culture change.

UNC Week...

The Record
5-1 (2-0 SEC East, 3-1 SEC), #7 AP Poll/#12 USAToday Coaches' Poll
We haven’t been ranked this high since…who knows when. Florida lost. SoCal lost. Oh, and Clemson lost…again. It’s a good time to be a Gamecock.

The Previous Week
Beat Kentucky 38-23 in Columbia
As Weslye Saunders rumbled towards the end zone early in Thursday night’s nationally-televised showdown, visions of SEC Championships were dancing in our heads. This was the year it would all come together. The dark times were finally behind us! Then…whoops…fumble…touchback…Kentucky ball. Same old Carolina. Another vicious Cock tease.

But before the 76,200 rain-soaked fans could even say “Blackout,” Jonathan Williams and Eric Norwood made a century of bad Carolina Karma their bitch—forcing a turnover from the thought-to-be Heisman-worthy Andre’ Woodson and stumbling into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

From there, things stayed relatively even through halftime. Smelley lead a great scoring drive, but couldn’t put together too much more, thanks to a surprisingly-stingy Kentucky defense. But the Carolina defense showed up as well, holding the normally-potent Wildcat offense to only 10 points by halftime.

Offensively, the third quarter was a disaster, but again the USC defense took charge. As Casper Brinkley came down on Woodson, the Kentucky QB made another costly blunder—throwing a pass behind his receiver, who bobbled the backwards pass onto the ground and into the arms of the opportunistic Eric Norwood. The score was now 24-10. And while a lot of drama remained, this turned out to be the winning score. The game was already over.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus UNC in Chapel Hill
Thursday night, this was looking like a cakewalk. But by Saturday afternoon, lots of Gamecocks had to be scratching their heads as the UNC/Miami score scrolled across their ticker. What did it mean? Is UNC actually OK? Should we be worried?

Yes.

And no.

If we learned one thing Saturday, it’s that UNC should not be overlooked. They came to play against Miami and will certainly come to play against the Gamecocks. Their team—and their fans—will be jacked up for the challenge. They see the #7 team in the country rolling into town and their mouths are watering. For Butch Davis, this could be a program-defining victory. And I will be the first to tell you, yes, we could lose this game.

But we won’t. The shocking win over Miami might have been just as important for USC as it was for UNC. Now, Steve Spurrier will have no difficulty convincing his team not to overlook the Heels. We have a ton of players from North Carolina who want bragging rights bad. And this is a team that knows it’s not so good that they can just sleepwalk up to Chapel Hill and win. This team has work ethic. This team will be out for blood.

The Team
For the offense, it’s either feast or famine. Smelley has shown that he is capable of leading gorgeous drives when we need them…just look at that last drive before halftime against Kentucky. But he has also shown that the wheels can come off the wagon just as fast…what the hell happened in the 3rd quarter? This will be a great opportunity to spread the ball around, get our young receivers into the game, and try to re-establish our occasionally-shaky running game.

Defensively, what more could you ask for? We lose Pepper. We lose Brinkley. Yet the defense doesn’t miss a beat—holding in check one of the most heralded of offenses we’ll face this year. With this defense on the field, I am completely confident that we can stay on the field with any team in the country.

The Gamecock Nation
I am a relatively new Gamecock fan. I wasn’t here for the ACC era. I don’t really get the hatred that a lot of Gamecocks still have for the Tobacco Road establishment. But I’ve heard enough stories to realize that this game is big. This game is about “Carolina.”

What is “Carolina”? Is it George Rogers hoisting the Heisman or is it Michael Jordan downing the Hoyas? Is it Tanneyhill’s glorious mullet or is it Montross’ gruesome blood-geyser? It depends on who you ask. The answers you get in Columbia and Chapel Hill are pretty obvious. But what about the swing states? If you walk into a bar in Bozeman, what answer would you get? Fellow Gamecocks, I hate to tell you, but you probably wouldn’t like the answer.

So that’s what this game is about. There hasn’t been much recent history in this series. The rivalry has remained dormant with the Carolina of the pansy-ass blue variety being the most recognizable one. But win this game, and maybe, just maybe, the folks in Bozeman will start to turn. If we can win this game, we can prove to these people who the real Carolina is. Prove it on the field and everything else is just talk. Let’s kick some baby blue ass on Saturday and turn some of those Blue States into Red States.

Kentucky Week...

The Record
4-1 (1-0 SEC East, 2-1 SEC), #11 AP Poll/#18 USAToday Coaches' Poll
Winning the type of game that Tommy Bowden always loses, Steve Spurrier guides the Gamecocks to what he calls “one of the best overall games, maybe the best, we've had in the three years I've been here.”

The Previous Week
Beat Mississippi State 38-21 in Columbia
Smelley looked sharp on an early drive as USC took a 7-0 lead, much to the delight of the disturbingly-sparse home crowd. It didn’t take the Gamecocks long to assert themselves in this one—announcing to the world that this year’s team is for real. Unfortunately, it didn’t take Mississippi State long to come right back—announcing to the world that this year’s Bulldog squad isn’t going to roll over.

After those 1st quarter salvos, things swung back-and-forth, with USC strolling into halftime with a thin 17-14 lead. Things were looking OK, but not nearly consistent enough to finish off Sylvester Croom’s much-improved Bulldogs. Halfway through, this one was still a toss-up. Surely the Gamecocks would come out clicking and clacking to start the second half—proving they were worthy of their #16 ranking.

But early into the second half, things were looking shakier that before. After a couple of seriously rough USC series, MSU took a 21-17 lead. Smelley was all over the place, we were piling up the penalties, and even our pimp kicker, Ryan Succop, missed a field goal.

Then, with the block of a punt, everything changed. After a couple of near-misses last week, we had finally blocked a kick, and Shane Beamer had earned his paycheck. Under his guidance, the special teams have steadily improved every week. And now that we’ve tasted some of that Beamer Ball magic, our opponents will be on-notice. Don’t let your guard down, or you’ll be on the ass end of a Pontiac Game-Changing Performance.

From that point on…it was over. We got touchdowns. The crowd was into it. And the defense was stifling. Coach Spurrier finally had his complete game.

The Upcoming Week
Thursday versus Kentucky in Columbia
While the Gamecocks have been compiling an admirable 4-1 start, the Kentucky Wildcats have attracted even more national acclaim—running out to a 5-0 record and a #8 national ranking.

Who saw this coming? Seriously? ESPN is probably crapping their pants as a #8 vs. #11 showdown got dropped in their laps…on a Thursday night. While it was not a stretch a month ago to call this one an important game, did anyone really think the game would take on an importance of this magnitude?

Every Gamecock who walked out of Commonwealth Stadium last year knew that we had barely survived. A game that we all thought had been in hand had suddenly turned dangerous, as Kentucky roared back and took a Hail Mary shot at the end for a win. Spurrier was pissed—infamously calling out Ron Cooper for an explanation on what happened. But as the season went on, Kentucky continued to win (including a hilarious victory over Clemson in the Music City Bowl). And by the end of the season, no one could deny that Rich Brooks had done the unthinkable and had started to build a legitimate program at Kentucky.

Which brings us to Thursday. The winner will take control of the SEC East, with Florida heading into a chainsaw down in Baton Rouge, and Georgia and Tennessee locked in a veritable elimination game in Knoxville. It’s starting to be a bit of a cliché around here, but is it not too far-fetched to call this one of the biggest games in Carolina history? The winner will be guaranteed a spot in next week’s Top 10, be in control of their own destiny, and stake their claim as “the new kid in charge” of the SEC East. The loser will go home dreaming of what might have been.

The Team
It wasn’t always pretty, but the offense clicked more often than not, eventually racking up 38 points. Smelley now has a bona fide conference victory under his belt and the confidence of his teammates. Boyd and Davis are continuing to successfully mix it up on the ground, something we will need to do with authority this week against Kentucky’s suspect rushing defense.

The defense stepped-up with the loss of Jasper Brinkley and finally kept an opponent’s rushing attack in check. At the same time, our passing defense moved up one spot in the rankings…to #1 in the country. But all of that means nothing as they face their first real test of the season in the high-flying Wildcats.

And the special teams…all of a sudden, they are truly special. For the first time in…who knows how long…maybe forever…I feel confident that we can make a game-changing play on special teams.

The Gamecock Nation
For years, we’ve been spoon-fed laudations about how we are the greatest fans in the country. And while we’ve been enjoying the praise, we’ve gotten fat and lazy. I’ve been to every Carolina home game since 1996, and its hard not to notice a trend. During the meat of the Lou Holtz years, The W-B was packed out, even for most of the crap games. But now, even though we’re a much better team, our stadium is noticeably emptier for our non-marquee games.

Well finally, someone has lashed out…that someone being Steve Spurrier. This morning on his weekly coach’s show, he launched a salvo at our fans, challenging them to attend every game…even the pedestrian ones like Mississippi State. It’s shameful that our fans have become so pansy-assed that they need their head coach to beg for them to come to games.

What the hell has happened to our so-called “loyal” fans? Hell, you can’t even call them fair-weather fans, because it was fucking gorgeous in Columbia on Saturday, and they STILL weren’t there. When you’re more concerned about the traffic on Bluff Road than the tackling on the field, you need to re-evaluate your priorities and roll-over your dead-weight season tickets to any one of the thousands of fans who would love to have your seats.

So if you can’t, for whatever pathetic reason, make it up to Columbia this Thursday, please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, give your tickets to someone who will.

Mississippi State Week...

The Record
3-1 (1-0 SEC East, 1-1 SEC), #16 AP Poll/#21 USAToday Coaches' Poll
Losing is never good. But when you lose and then only drop four spots, you must be doing something right.

The Previous Week
Lost to LSU 28-16 in Baton Rouge
We all learned a tough lesson from SOS after the Auburn game last year…don’t cheer for your team when they lose. So I wasn’t cheering in celebration last Saturday night, but walking back to our car from Death Valley, I couldn’t help but feel pretty good about the whole experience. Considering the 48-7 depantsing Virginia Tech got down there a few weeks ago, our Gamecocks came out looking practically victorious. I’m not sure whether that says more about how hilariously awful the ACC is or how much progress USC has made in becoming competitive against any SEC team anywhere. Losing by only 12 in the brutally oppressive home stadium of the nation’s best team appears downright courageous compared to what most people thought might happen.

But you could turn that score inside and out still not figure out quite what it means, though. I’ll be the first to admit that it FELT like we lost by more than that. But upon closer inspection, one LSU touchdown was on special teams, and another was surrendered on a short field after a turnover. I expected big things out of our defense, but they surpassed even those expectations by really only giving up two honest-to-goodness scoring drives against the Bayou Bengals.

The offense is another story. Unable to find a running game against the LSU defense (I can’t wait to see what they do to Tebow), we turned to the air…and eventually to Chris Smelley. It’s not that Blake was horrible, it’s just that he wasn’t getting things done. When you quarterback for Steve Spurrier, you are expected to get your team into the end zone…period. When you don’t, it’s time to find someone who can. Smelley turned out to be that guy. He wasn’t stellar either, but he got us going in the 4th quarter, making things a lot more respectable.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus Mississippi State in Columbia
The Chris Smelley Experience gets underway for real this Saturday. The team is now his. Screw it up, and we’re back to Mitchell. Yep, we’ve got ourselves a Steve Spurrier Quarterback Controversy™! SOS has jerked around QBs to great success, so it should be fun to see what the competition evolves into this Saturday.

But how about that opponent…Mississippi State? 3-1 and playing with a lot more spunk than last year’s team, the Bulldogs are not a team to be overlooked. By beating Auburn, they announced to the rest of the SEC that they are genuinely up for a fight. Honestly they’re the perfect competition for us this weekend. If Smelley were to go nuts against Southwest Dingleberry State, what could we seriously take from it? Mississippi State is a good team that is certainly capable of beating us, so a win on Saturday would be a win well deserved…regardless of whoever is leading the charge.

The Team
A 12-point loss at LSU should not hurt our team’s morale in the slightest. This was, by far, the most daunting game on our schedule. And to perform that admirably, they should believe they can beat anyone.

But for the Gamecocks to make it to Atlanta, we’re going to have to overcome a lot more than our own insecurities. This afternoon, news came from the team that Jasper Brinkley is now done for the season. The linchpin for our highly-ranked defense, Jasper was without a doubt the straight-up nastiest Gamecock to take the field in years. And in a defense whose only one true weakness is run defense, losing a future NFL first round linebacker is even more of a kick to the gut. Who will step up? Ingram? Shackleford? This is a crippling blow that must be overcome before Kentucky’s pinball machine offense comes into town for next week’s monster matchup.

The Gamecock Nation
When you’re in the hunt for conference championships, moral victories just aren’t going to cut it. But even with the defeat in Death Valley and the loss of Brinkley, we still have every reason to be confident that this team can be special. Is that a moral victory? Maybe, but if my belief in this team is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.

Looking ahead, it’s hard not to salivate over a 7-1 record and Top 10 ranking heading into Knoxville. It’s right there on the schedule just waiting to be taken. A Top 15 showdown with Kentucky next Thursday looms as a huge roadblock to that dream, but beat MSU this week and we could be in for something epic.

LSU Week...

The Record
3-0 (1-0 SEC East, 1-0 SEC), #12 AP Poll/#14 USAToday Coaches' Poll
#12? Really? #12? The 12th best team in the nation? The same University of South Carolina Gamecocks who played in Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday night? There are only 11 teams better than us? #12? This is gonna be a looooong week…

The Previous Week
Beat SC State 38-3 in Columbia
"I wasn't throwing the ball as well I can," Mitchell said. "I just played like crap really." You don’t say? When you set out to be a “Steve Spurrier Quarterback,” please try to be a little more Wuerffel, a little less Grossman. Blake was chucking the pigskin all over the field like Quincy Carter, but mercifully directing most of the giveaways deep downfield. However, when a team turns the ball over 5 times and still wins by 35, something had to be going right. The running game was unstoppable, chewing up chunks of yardage and moving us steadily down the field. The defense was incredible again, smothering the hapless SC State offense and getting the ball back to our manic-depressive offense early and often.

The Upcoming Week
Saturday versus LSU in Baton Rouge
They’ve been called the best team in the SEC, and possibly the country. They’ve also been called a gorilla with a chainsaw for a dick. But this week we’re calling them gracious hosts. After a long Friday night in New Orleans (see you at Patty O’s, Blake!), it’s off to Baton Rouge for a relatively early 3:30 game. As a fan, it sucks to miss out on a night game in Death Valley, but it’s gotta help our chances of winning. Since 1960, LSU is 202-59-3 at home in night games and only 19-22-3 in day games. We’ll take any advantage we can get.

The Team
Go ahead and laugh at our ranking and crack on our quarterbacks, but I really don’t care…we’re 3-0. No matter how rough we may have looked so far, we’re still putting together what might become one of our best seasons ever. This team is starting to take on the identity of one of those teams that runs the ball, plays great defense, and just manages to win. It may look ugly, but we’re dragging you down with us. It worked for Ohio State in 2002.

The Gamecock Nation
Is this the biggest game in USC history? It could be. If we win, we would vault into the top 10 and have realistic shot at being 8-0 heading in to Knoxville. But if we lose…what do we lose? Get blown out and it could be a very short stay in the rankings, but keep it respectable and we could hang around in the top 20. Hell, look at what LSU did to VT and the Hokies are already back up at #17. What’s the shame in losing at the #2 team in the country?

But why talk about losing when we can win this sucker? It’s not that far-fetched. As fans, we need to look at this game with confidence. Even if you’re not confident we’re going to win, you need to be confident that we can win. Don’t take too much away from the laughable SC State game. We were there, we were in the stadium, we saw our team stumble into a 35-point win. But let’s keep it on the downlow, nobody has to know.

As a program, I think we’re passed the days of getting romped on the road. This is a different USC team and we should expect a different outcome. It’s going to take a monumental effort from the Gamecocks, but this team can do it. The rest of the nation clearly didn’t watch the SC State game, because they vaulted us way into the top 15. And if that’s where they want to put us, then we should act like we belong. Starting today, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks are a top 15 program. So act like you’ve been there before…even if you haven’t.

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.