What I Want to See: South Carolina

Image: Georgiadogs.com (2005 UGA vs. SC)

Paul's got some preseason looks at our 2008 opponents upcoming, but I couldn't wait any longer to roll one out myself. Originally, I was going to do an in-depth analysis of each team on the schedule, but I decided to provide a few things I'm looking for in each game instead. I have a couple of reasons for this.

First, most of you are hardcore Dawg fans who have already bought several of the preseason magazines because the Dawgs are ranked No. 1 in many of them. Those magazines have all sorts of information about every team, but don't necessarily analyze teams from a Georgia perspective. Second, there are people who do a far better job of team analysis than I can do. What I will provide is a set of things I look forward to about each game, either because they signal good things for Georgia or they are things we as Dawg fans enjoy.

I don't mean to insult Georgia Southern or Central Michigan, but I'm starting with Carolina. The Central Michigan game is important if only because it provides a trial run for offenses we will see later in the season.

If any of you watched the Motor City Bowl last year, you saw Dan LeFevour running the Chippewas spread offense. LeFevour is Tebow-light and the only player other than Vince Young to finish a season with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. Facing him early will help in Jacksonville and presummably against Auburn's new Tony Franklin spread.

But, the real first game of the year is Carolina in Columbia. Here's what I want to see:

#1 - 17 points or more. Since 1997, South Carolina has scored more than 16 points once in the series. That was in 2000 when Quincy gave them five picks (and even with five picks, they scored 21). In the three losses during that period, UGA has scored a single touchdown. I foresee the same Gamecock offense as we've always faced, lots of cock, but not much fire. The Dawgs need 17 points or more, from a historical perspective, to get out of Columbia with a win.

Those points won't be easy. Phil Steele has a high regard for Ellis Johnson's group and predicts that they will be greatly improved. I've even heard Steele saying that Carolina shut Georgia down last year, which is true, so this year should be even more of a challenge for the Dawgs against essentially the same personnel in Columbia. But, I disagree. Even if you take for granted that Johnson, a fine DC, will have his troops in top form under a new scheme, I think the UGA offense will be much better than what SC faced in Athens last year.

Knowshon had a big game behind what was at the time a green offensive line. Stafford was good enough to win, but his receivers kept dropping balls. Mike Moore and Tony Wilson dropped key passes that could have turned the game's momentum to the Dawgs. You didn't see much of those two guys after that game and I don't recall many drops by wide receivers in the second half of last year.

Bottom line: the Cocks will have a good defense just like last year's group, it's just that the Georgia offense will be better.

#2 - A couple of catches from A.J. Green. Everybody's heard the whispers from the practice fields. Supposedly, Green is all that he was cracked up to be based on summer workouts. Will it carry over to fall camp when the pads go on? If A.J. gets playing time in the Carolina game, gets open, and catches a couple of balls, that means the coaches, the team, and Stafford are confident in him, even as a true freshman. It also means he'll have beaten out some upperclassmen for PT. If Green, or any other receiver, can turn into a legit threat to take pressure off MoMass, we should be tough to stop. A big game here for the South Carolina native will go along way toward validating the hype and scaring some future defensive coordinators.

#3 - A pass rush. Carolina's offensive line should be solid. They have everyone back from last year except their center. Last year's line gave up two sacks to a UGA defensive line that still lacked the cohesive flash of force and speed that almost killed Colt Brennan. This year, the prospective pass rush looks like last year, a solid group of returning tackles with two question marks on the ends. If we can rush off the ends in this game and apply pressure, I'll have all my questions about the defense answered.

#4 - Lots of visor tossing.

So there's what I'm looking for. How about you?

Quinton

UGA vs. South Carolina Kickoff Confirmed

The last trip to Columbia turned out pretty good. Image: DawgPost.com
As expected, the SEC announced today that CBS will carry the Georgia Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks game at 3:30 pm EST. Georgia is 33-22-1 in CBS games.

Actually, the SEC announced their full TV slate for the first three weeks. As many of you know, TV contracts are driven by the home team's contract. Several SEC teams are hitting the road in the first few weeks and providing the networks with additional programming options. All told, there will be 16 games televised across six networks during those first three weeks.

CBS (1 game) - Coverage starts in Week 3
ABC (3 games)
ESPN (6 games)
ESPN2 (4 games)
ESPNU (1)
Raycom (3 games)

With all the ESPN, ESPN2 and Raycom spots locked up for the first three weeks, the only way our games against Georgia Southern and Central Michigan would be televised are (a.) Pay Per View or (b.) the rumored Fox Sports South mini-contract. If those two games aren't televised, you have to expect that they will be a 1:00 pm start. I'm still holding out hope for at least one of them to be a 3:00 pm kickoff.

See Also:
-- CBS College Football Theme


PWD

Suddenly Leading the SEC

Image: Georgiadogs.com

Taking on the toughest nonconference schedule in the country earlier this year appears to be paying off for the baseball team. After sweeping a two game series against Clemson this week, the Diamond Dawgs swept #9 South Carolina this weekend in a huge, huge series. The sweep puts Georgia alone atop the SEC baseball standings.

There are two important aspects about how the Dawgs have been playing recently. First, the bullpen, which was a liability early in the season, is locked in. The pen hasn't given up an earned run in an astonishing 34 innings. Second, while Gordon Beckham has cooled off from his nuclear start (he's still hitting .419), the offense is still producing runs. Early in the season, Beckham could seemingly will home runs, hitting like Roy Hobbs with an aluminum Wonderboy. Beckham obviously can't maintain a .500 average and he doesn't have to for the Dawgs to keep winning. Rich Poythress, Ryan Peisel, and Bryce Massanari have shown they can pick up the slack when Beckham is merely human.

The Dawgs head to Georgia Tech Wednesday and then return home for another big SEC series with Kentucky over the weekend.

See Also:
-- SEC Weekend Recap - JimFromDuluth

Quinton

Georgia beats South Carolina senseless

Sundiata Gaines continues to rise to the challenge of playing on a team of disappearing players. He followed his 32 point performance against the Gators on Saturday with a 27 point, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals performance vs. the Gamecocks.

It was exactly the type of win Felton desperately needed. I'm in meetings all day. So I'm not expecting much posting from me. Here are other articles about the blowout win:

-- Dawgs snap losing streak - Macon Telegraph
-- Yata leads Rout - UGASports.com ($)
-- Domination - Red and Black
-- Just what they needed - ABH
-- Georgia is a good basketball team - Bulldawg Blawg

PWD

MAILBAG: Steve Spurrier vs. Chan Gailey

One of our readers sent us this tidbit....

Did you know that Chan Gailey (GT) over his final three years won more games than Steve Spurrier (SC) over the same time frame. Three years is the time frame for this conversation as that's how long Spurrier has been with the Gamecocks.

The records over the past 3 years:
-- Gailey: 23-16 / 16-9 (includes ACC Champ Game)
-- Spurrier: 21-16 / 11-13

Vs. biggest rivals over the past 3 years:
-- Gailey: 0-3 vs. UGA and 2-1 vs. Clemson
-- Spurrier: 1-2 vs. Clemson and 1-2 vs. UGA

Spurrier is considered by many to be a miracle worker at South Carolina despite results lower than Chan "Mr. Mediocre" Gailey's.

Yet, it's Gailey that had the Conference Divisional Championship Trophy, 3 consecutive bowl game streak, and a New Year's Day Bowl appearance compared to Spurrier's...well....Liberty Bowl trophy.

My Point:
Is South Carolina really going anywhere? The high water marks of the Gamecock's 2007 season were their victories over Georgia and Kentucky.

Yet, the Chickens just approved a $1 million annuity for Spurrier in hopes of getting him to coach for 4 more years. I'm sure that recruits in South Carolina's 29th (Rivals.com) and 37th (Scout.com) ranked recruiting class will be relieved to know that he's there for the "long term."

And furthermore, when compared to Spurrier, should Tech still have run off Gailey to bring in a coach who's wrangled up the #33 (Scout.com) and #47 (Rivals.com) ranked recruiting classes? The lowest ranked classes at GT in 4 or 5 years.

And yes, Chicken fans...I know. "16-12" I also know #2 in the Nation vs. Home for the Holidays.

PWD

Brian Van Gorder Ditches Spurrier. Returns to Falcons

Breaking News: Brian Van Gorder is on the cusp of becoming the new defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons according to the Atlanta Journal, The State, CSTV and GamecockCentral.com. Apparently, he always wanted to be a [____insert type of coaching job here______].

Van Gorder is the former defensive coordinator of the South Carolina Gamecocks, former linebackers coach of the Atlanta Falcons, former head coach of Georgia Southern, former linebackers coach of the Jackonsville Jags, former defensive coordinator for UGA, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

This will be Van Gorder's sixth job in the past five seasons. Pardon me while I laugh at the Gamecocks for a minute. Chuckle. Chuckle. Chuckle. Van Gorder was set to meet with four star Palmetto State blue chipper defensive end Robert Quinn today. I'm sure that visit will go swimmingly well for the chickens.

Prediction: The Gamecocks will hire someone else -- probably John Tenuta or John Hoke -- and the Gamecock Nation will loudly proclaim that this new genius locks up their 42nd consecutive Pre-season National Championship Trophy.

Update: Van Gorder has now resigned as Falcons defensive coordinator to become the head coach of the Wayne State Titans. He always wanted to be a college head coach.

Update: Van Gorder has resigned as head coach of Wayne State to become the cheerleading coach of the Ft. Lauderdale Fighting Tigers. He announced that he always wanted to coach cheerleaders.

See Also:
-- All Georgia Sports Blog Stories about Brian Van Gorder

(Ht - Kit Kitchens)

PWD

Van Gorder to Gamecocks

And the journey continues....Brian Van Gorder will take over as Defensive Coordinator for the Gamecocks in January. We listed this as one of the likely options for Van Gorder's next stop after his current employer announced that he was moving to Arkansas.

It's a good fit for BVG. I hope he finds happiness.....just one less game of happiness in the SEC East than we find. However, as someone said on a message board recently, "If Spurrier and Van Gorder are on the same staff, their recruiting coordinator may never sleep again." Touche. Two guys with an matched passion for spending time with high school football coaches. lol.

By the way...this could be a net positive for UGA.
Over the past 3 years, the Dawgs have averaged only 15.7 points against Spurrier. Tyrone Nix, outgoing Gamecock DC, wasn't Spurrier's problem when facing us. It was his QBs.

I highly doubt that Van Gorder is going to hold us to even fewer points than Nix did. 15 points is pretty low already, and we're bringing in a dramatically more experienced offense to Columbia next year.

Nix wasn't a bum against us. He was a bum against the rest of the SEC after his players would drop like flies due to injuries later in the season. At that point, Spurrier's half assed recruiting would catch up with him because they don't have the depth of the SEC super powers.

It's a break even development for Dawg fans in head to head play. But it could be a net win for Georgia as Van Gorder's defense might improve the Chicken's play later in the season. Thus, helping Georgia win the SEC East by giving UF and UT more losses.

He's a very good coach, but I don't think this has any bearing on our game in Columbia next year. And I don't think it changes the fact that Spurrier isn' t going to win the SEC any time soon. As for Gamecock smack talk about this....let me preempt you by saying, "I can't hear you for my Sugar Bowl tickets which are stuck in my ears."

PWD

Steve Spurrier's New Album

This was sent to me. If someone knows who put it together, I'll attribute it. Excellent work by someone.

PWD

Inside the Stats: UGA vs. South Carolina

Willie Martinez (Image: Jim Hipple)

I noticed on the message boards and in the comments section of this blog some heavy blame for the loss coming Willie Martinez's way. I'm the last guy to tell you our defense doesn't have areas that need improvement, but I took a closer look at some of the stats.

In some ways, the stats emphasize what the scoreboard says...if you only allow 16 points, you should win. The stats also point to more problems with our offense than defense by a long shot. But let's look at the numbers first.

(Preface: "Meaningful Drive" is my own term. It simply means all the drives of the game except the single play knee downs to end of both halves South Carolina. All other stats are driven off the concept of "meaningful" drives. Thus the "*"):

	UGA	SC
Total Offense*	341	320
Meaningful Drives*	12	11
Total Plays*	81	66
Yards / Play*	4.2	4.8
Yards / Drive*	28.4	29.1
Plays / Drive*	6.75	6.0
3rd Down Conversions	3-18	1-11
"Three and Out"	2	3

Stats can obviously be misleading, but some things jump off the page. First is the third down conversion stat. I had no idea that we held them to 1 of 11 on third down. Also, I was shocked to see that their average number of plays per drive and average number of yards per play was virtually identical to ours overall.

However, when you remove the statistical outliers of their biggest offensive play (McKinley's 31 yard reception) and our biggest offensive play (Moreno's 49 yard run) here's what you get for yards per play:

UGA - 3.65 yards / play (without the outlier)
SC - 4.4 yards / play (without the outlier)

If you're only getting 3.65 yards per play for most of the game, that's simply pathetic. Our QBs, WRs, OL and offensive coordinator need to mature in a big hurry because against the SEC's best, that's not going to cut it.

The defense isn't all sunshine obviously:

• Time of possession on meaningful drives was roughly a 1 minute advantage for UGA. So our defense shouldn't have been as dog tired as they looked at the end to my obviously untrained eye.
  
  
• Three of the five longest Gamecock runs of the night came on the first three plays of the their final possession when UGA was mystifyingly in a nickel package. After those first three runs (totaling 38 yards and basically putting us in a horrible field position and cutting our comeback drive's chances way, way down), Martinez pulled the extra DB out, brought Brandon Miller back into the game and rolled a Safety towards the line of scrimmage. From there we stoned them. My question: What the heck did Coach Martinez think they were going to do with 4 minutes left and a 4 point lead?

Should Willie catch as much grief from this one as he has? Personally, I'd say "no." It was still just 16 points.

In my opinion, we lost because we couldn't move the ball, and we didn't make plays when it mattered most. The big coaching blunders were (in no particular order):

• The 4th down rooskie call. There's a reason Richt has never called that play on 4th down. Bad call by Bobo. But it's not why we lost. Just a glaring thing that didn't go our way.
  
  
• Going to the nickel at the end in a clear running situation for SC.
  
  
• Really bizarre substitution patterns in the 4th quarter at WR. As Buck Belue said last night on the CSS Dawg Report show, (paraphrase) "Why is 5'8" Mikey Henderson running a fade route in the end zone against a 6'0" cornerback. That's Massaquaoi's play to make." We need our play making wide outs in the game in the right formations with the game on the line."
  
  
• Coming out flat. In my opinion, they looked very flat in the first half. Richt also felt that this was the case based on his post-game comments

It isn't the first time that we've come out flat, and it won't be the last. Bear, Neyland, Erk, Carroll, Spurrier, you name it....all coaches have teams come out flat from time to time. It comes with having 18-22 year olds on scholarship. But it doesn't make any fan less annoyed.

In spite of all the negative, we were still just 1 or 2 plays from winning the game. In my opinion, it's not a talent problem this season. It's a maturity / execution problem. We are exactly what Richt said we were preseason. A young, talented team that should be really good later in the season. The entire question is will they get experienced enough, fast enough to avoid falling into a hole early that's too big to climb out of later.

I thought this was a 9-3 season before. Still do.

See Also
-- Play by Play - ESPN
-- Drive Chart - Yahoo Sports
-- Box Score - ESPN

PWD

UGA vs. Alabama TV Schedule?

(UPDATE -- David Ching has the info. CBS will use their 6 Day Option. We will either be at 7ish or 3:30)

No word yet on the start time for UGA at Alabama. Normally, CBS announces its pick 13 days before kickoff. However, they get two or three six day exemptions per season where they can announce near the last minute.

In other words, we might hear something this afternoon on the kickoff times, but we might not Also complicating things...ESPN gets to pick out of order a few times per year and take the top game.

Because UGA lost to South Carolina and LSU kicked the immortal hell out of Virginia Tech, we're not a layup to play Bama on CBS at 3:30 EST.

Our competition for SEC time slots:
-- South Carolina (#16 or so) at LSU #2 (unquestioned best game of Sept. 22nd)
-- UK (Top 25 if they beat Lville) at Arkansas (Top 15 if they beat Bama)

The TV schedule looks set up for a CBS 3:30 game, an ESPN 7:45 pm game and an ESPN2 twilight game. Not that it matters but CBS has listed UGA vs. Bama as "tentative" for weeks at 3:30 pm EST.

If I ran ESPN, I'd take SC at LSU with the wild card. And I'd put the winner of the Alabama vs. Arkansas game on CBS with the loser playing on ESPN2.

It'll be interesting to see if we find out today or not.

PWD

SC Recap: Thoughts on the Game

(Image: Jim Hipple)

The Gamecocks played a good game, and their secondary in particular played better than I expected. I don't want to take away from them, but once again the biggest culprit in this defeat was our own team.

Same song different verse
On offense...WRs dropping balls, QBs missing open men, and OL blocking problems. On defense a complete inability to stop the run directly up the middle and almost no production from the SAM or MIKE. If you thought the ending looked like UGA vs. UK last year, it did to me as well.

Many of the problems are correctable:
-- Dropped Passes: The Top 3 WRs (Bailey, Mo Mass and Henderson) have shown a consistent ability to catch the ball this season. Massaquaoi's catch on 3rd and 25 was as money as any catch that you'll ever see in college football. The other guys...not so much. Get the ball to our legit play makers with the game on the line, and we can improve here. I'll never understand why we are throwing the ball to our seventh best WR according to the depth chart, with the game on the line.

-- Play Calling: To borrow a line...Bobo is essentially a freshman when it comes to calling plays. There are going to be growing pains. Norm Chow wasn't Norm Chow when he was a 32 year old. I thought we got way too cutesy on the two fourth down plays, but there were other exceptional play calling moments like the wheel route to Moreno and the heaviest use of the Toss Sweep in Richt's entire career at UGA. (Clock Management will be covered later)

-- OL Play: This will get better over time, but it likely won't get better fast enough to solve all our problems. We start two freshman OL. Saturday night is what happens when you do that in the SEC. If you're looking for encouragement here, you should've seen the LSU vs. VT game. I watched it late tonight on DVR. Coach Searels recruited all those kids for the Cajuns, and they are dominating.

-- MIKE: When Ellerbe is playing Middle Linebacker (MIKE), we're solid to very good. Unfortunately, he spent most of the night at WILL as Marcus Washington secured the quietest 3 solo tackles in history. I haven't watched Dewberry close enough to see why he doesn't play more at WLB. But we've got to find a way to get faster guys than Washington on the field.


Some Problems are Tougher to Make Go Away
-- Clock Management: In the Ok State game, I actually agreed with the first half decision to let the clock run down when OSU had the ball. Gundy is known for being a gunslinger, and they are the heavy underdog. Why let them contemplate a trick play before the half? BUT, the decision to not use the timeout on 3rd down with two minutes to go vs. SC was dumb. It's just basic math there. (BTW -- I have no problem with kicking a field goal on 4th and 15 with 4 minutes to play and two timeouts. Plus, it sorta worked. We stopped them. If we had managed our timeouts properly, we would've gotten the ball back with around 1:45 or more left which would've been plenty of time to attempt a drive).

-- OL Play: We don't own a time machine to make these talented young guys older faster.

-- SAM: Brandon Miller had 1 solo tackle. Once again, we get very little from the strong side linebacker spot. That's a trend that has marked the arrival of Coach Janeck in 2005.

-- Youth: Do you remember Paul Oliver vs. Tennessee in 2004 or Tim Wansley vs. Joe Hamilton in 1999? Even exceptionally talented CBs often struggle well into their sophomore years. Bryan Evans (losing the ball in the air several times) and Asher Allen (tackling) seemed to really struggle in this one. Only time and game reps will solve that.

-- Getting Mauled in the Middle: I have no idea from a scheme or personnel standpoint why we're getting so obliterated at the line of scrimmage for long stretches. I want to put it on LB play, but the DTs have to make some plays as well. I also don't understand why we were in the nickel when SC got the ball back with 4 minutes left in the game. Did Martinez actually think they would pass? It took three first downs on that drive to bring the 3rd linebacker into the game and bring CJ Byrd into the box to defend the up the gut run.

Overall:
When you don't know what your young OL will give you from play to play, it wrecks your game planning. You end up attempting to be or being forced to be something that you're not. When you add bad passing, poor catching and penalties to the mix, it's an explosively bad combo. No one consistently looks good calling plays on 3rd and 10.

Stafford played poorly at times, but he put the throws on the money when it mattered most in the 4th quarter. He showed a lot of leadership is taking all the blame at the end. But a more realistic situation involves spreading some of that onto his OL who didn't give him enough time early on, his coaches who abandoned the run at times and his WRs who dropped way too many passes.

I want to be annoyed with the defense. However, if you hold the other guy to 16 points...you should win.

Look at the bright side:
Auburn looks much more beatable now.

See Also
-- Richt says don't play the blame game - AJC
-- Kyle King's pretty different take - DawgSports.com
-- Lack of experience vexes Dawgs - ABH
-- In hindsight - Ching

PWD

(All images from Jim Hipple)

UGA vs. SC Photos: The way I remember it

You want to know how I'll remember this game? Well, the photos tell the tale. All photos by Jim Hipple. Click to enlarge.













As always. Thanks to Jim Hipple for the pics. More photos from positive things later.

PWD

Click-Clacked

On a single night, one could plainly see all the major weaknesses that have caused almost all of Georgia's losses over the past six years. All those pesky things that plagued the team last year, and the past six years, resurfaced acutely and remained all night, eventually costing the Dawgs the game and perhaps their chance at the SEC East. It is puzzling how these same issues keep coming up, over and over, some occurring every year, without cure.

First, our receivers continue their problems with receiving. Stafford's passes continue to bounce off the hands of our receivers. Some balls could have been placed better, but if it hits your hands, you should generally haul it in. Second, the familiar red zone problems resurfaced. Brandon Coutu is a long range weapon. It pains me to see him kick inside the 20. Bobo seemed to have cured the red zone woes toward the end of last year, but they were out in all their glory Saturday. Third, I understand our offensive line is young, but we cannot run between the tackles. Practically every run that had any success was a sweep to the outside with Southerland leading the way around the corner. We were mostly stoned inside. Fourth, we continue to have crucial play calls that leave everyone scratching their heads. The play fake, hide-a-ball call on 4th and 2 in the fourth quarter was mystifying. The decision to kick a field goal, while plausible, was another controversial decision. I'm happy that Richt is our coach, but these issues continue to cost us.

I kept waiting for two things to win us the game, one is expected in every close game, the other specific to the Cocks. First, I just kept waiting for the defense to make a big play. In close games we win, we seem to always get some sort of break caused by the defense, a timely interception in opposing territory or a forced fumble. That play never happened Saturday. Second, the Cocks always seem to make a critical mistake late in the Georgia game, a fumble, a drop, or just a bone headed play. To their credit, Carolina played a solid game, free of glaring error.

This loss stings and it may be difficult to take a positive impression from the game. While we have our weaknesses, I think we will improve as the year goes on. Our offensive line should gel with more game experience. Bobo will find ways to get Knowshon in a position to make more big plays (a la the wheel route Stafford missed Saturday). Our defense should keep us in every game. We will certainly find it difficult to win the East, but that doesn't mean it is impossible. We still have a very favorable SEC schedule when compared with Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. There is, however, no room for error. All is not lost. Kyle gives reasons for hope, but it looks to be a rocky road to Atlanta. It is still possible, but as Coach Richt has said, we are behind the eight ball.

Quinton

Five Questions for Ron Morris

In preparation of our battle with the Cocks Saturday, we spoke with Ron Morris, columnist for Columbia's The State newspaper.

1. Was last week's average performance against Louisiana-Lafayette a surprise to you given the hype surrounding Carolina in the off season? South Carolina's performance was not surprising in the least. Let's break it down. First, the offensive line is very young and played better than expected. But USC used its two backup quarterbacks, Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher, both of whom were reasonably effective. On defense, it is no surprise that Louisiana-Lafayette ran wild on USC. Lafayette uses the kind of option offense that drives USC's defense crazy. USC never could contain Lafayette's quarterback, and thus never could shut down the running game. No surprise.

2. How do you see Saturday's game going and what are your keys to the game? I really believe South Carolina is going to take it to Georgia. There are two keys, both of which will favor USC. First, USC's inexperienced offensive line is not bad and should be able to create holes for running backs Cory Boyd and Mike Davis as well as time to throw for Blake Mitchell, who should have a big, big game against Georgia's secondary. Second, if you think USC's offensive line is green, take a look at Georgia's. USC has a very good defense that did not show its true colors against Lafayette. Look for Jasper Brinkley to have a huge game against Georgia. I'll be surprised if Matthew Stafford has time to throw, and if Georgia scores more than 14 points.

3. Given Spurrier's frustrations over Carolina in the past few months, can you foresee him leaving Carolina before he appears in an SEC championship game? Steve Spurrier will not leave South Carolina, no matter the circumstances. This is his final job. He likes it here. This is where he wants to conclude his coaching career. I don't think there is any room for discussion on that point.

4. If you had to name your twin boys rhyming names, can you do better than Jasper and Casper? Just spent some time in the Brinkleys home town of Thomson, Ga., and those two guys are highly regarded there. I don't know that I could top the names.

5. What would Gamecock fans rather do: punch Blake Mitchell in the face or run their fingers through Steve Taneyhill's mullet? Right now, punch Blake Mitchell in the face for his continued stupidity. By Saturday night, after USC defeats Georgia, they will want a statue of him erected outside Williams-Brice Stadium.

No way Ron is right on number 5. Look at that thing.

Quinton

Gamecock Week Smack Talk (Best of)

Click to hear
Gamecocks 2001 Intro (real audio)
Some anti-Gamecock Smack Talk to start your morning. From the Georgia Sports Blog archives:

• Dawgs go 27-2 vs. Gamecocks during 2005-2006 Year - PWD
  
  
• Spurrier: "I'm going to coach until I'm 125 years old." - PWD
  
  
• Dissecting a Tradition: Gamecocks 2001 Intro - PWD
  
  
• Father's Day Gifts for Gamecock Fans - SaxonDawg
  
  
• SC has Mascot Envy - Dawgnoxious
  
  
• Trailer Park Magazine Athletic Department of the Year - PWD
  
  
• Spurrier's Football Mistress - SaxonDawg
  
  
• Gamecocks Seen Your Video - PWD
  
  
• Lisa Simpson Said it Best - PWD

pwd

No....Thank you South Carolina

South Carolina. Too small to be a state. Too big to be an insane asylum.

PWD

SEC Media Days: Gamecock Headlines

Some quick headlines from the Spurrier and the Chickens.
-- Spurrier runs up the score with media - The State
-- Spurrier Talking Championships Again - SportingNews (AP Story)
-- Gamecock Quotes -- Chattanooga.com
-- Optimistic Ball Coach -- Charleston Courier
-- Spurrier speaks. Insert foot - AL.com blog
-- Spurrier shoots from the mouth - AL.com blog

Best dumb question / dumb answer (ht - Kentucky Sports Report):

Spurrier is asked how his recruiting will change on August 1 when the NCAA rule outlawing text messages begins. "We'll quit text-messaging on August 1."

Nice. More headlines for the Gamecocks will be online tomorrow morning at various pubs.

PWD

Gamecocks Announce Future Schedules

I missed this a few weeks ago. But it's interesting to see what the Gamecocks are doing from a scheduling standpoint thru 2016. It shows a mix of quality intra-regional match-ups, well located mid-tier regional games, mind numbing boredom and Div I-AA beat downs to compliment the Clemson series. It's basically all over the place.

South Carolina's Future Schedules:

2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Clemson (H)	Clemson (A)	Clemson (H)	Clemson (A)	Clemson (H)
UNC (A)	NC State (H)	NC State (A)	UNC (H)
UL-L (H)	UAB (H)		Troy (H)	ECU (Charlotte)
SC State (H)	Wofford (H)	Citadel (H)	Furman (H)	SC State (H)
2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Clemson (A)	Clemson (H)	Clemson (A)	Clemson(H)	Clemson (A)
		ECU (Char.)
ECU (H)		Troy (H)	ECU (A)	ECU (H)
Wofford (H)	Citadel (H)	Furman (H)

I've said numerous times that booking games with non-conference schools in border states is the best way for Spurrier to off set the limited in state talent pool and expand his recruiting footprint. Thus, the UNC and NC State series are a great fit for the Gamecocks.

I also like the unique 2-2-1 series with East Carolina that has 2 games at home, 2 in the fertile recruiting area of Charlotte and 1 at ECU. I think that it's a smart move by their AD. I'd crap a brick if Damon pulled this move at Georgia, but it does make sense for the Coots given their where they are as a program. Obviously...not all SC fans agree with me. Others just don't like dealing with Skip Holtz, ECU's head coach (as if he'll be there in five years).

I also can't poke fun at their Div I-AA games as it looks like UGA and many of our neighbors are going to book one Div I-AA game per year from now on. But you do have to hope they'll continue to step up and schedule aggressively post 2010. If their future schedules look more like the 2014 and less like 2010 (see chart above), they're not exactly reaching for the stars.

A great fit for them scheduling wise would be Georgia Tech. The two schools played each other eight times in the 70s while both were wandering the wilderness as independents, and they played four more times in the late 80s-early 90s before SEC expansion.

It'll be interesting to see how the schedules unfold for our SEC brethren.

See Also:
-- Gamecock Schedules = Boring - FanHouse
-- Gamecocks to wrestle with peasants - Leftover Hot Dogs
-- Clemson backs out of series with Pitt - FanBlogs.com
-- Football Scheduling Complexities - GSB

PWD

Georgia vs. South Carolina 2006 Highlight Video

UgaMummra put this together after the game. It's worth watching again on a slow offseason afternoon.

PWD

Georgia Football Scheduling Trivia

Clemson vs. UGA '03
With Georgia upgrading its non-conference schedule, I thought I'd take a minute to research some useless trivia about the historical out of conference games played by Georgia.

UGA's most played non-conference opponents who still actively play football are (Includes Bowls):

1. Georgia Tech* - 101 games
2. Clemson - 62 (last played 2003)
3. North Carolina - 30 (last played 1971)
4. Tulane* - 25 (last played 1985)
4. Furman - 23 (last played 1950)
5. Mercer - 22 (last played 1941) Do they still play football?
6. Virginia - 19 (last played 2000)
7. Miami (Fla.) - 12 (last played 1966)
8 (tie) Florida State - 11 (last played 2002)
8 (tie) Yale - 11 (last played 1934)
10. The Citadel - (last played 1958)
*Many games with GT and Tulane were played prior to their respective departures from the SEC.

Random Facts and Tidbits:

• South Carolina - The Dawgs have played the Gamecocks 59 times, but 44 of those match-ups took place prior to the chickens joining the SEC in 1992. I would wager that few teams have three non-conference opponents with 40+ games played against them (GT, SC and Clemson). Vince Dooley and Georgia were the chief sponsors for South Carolina's admission into the SEC. You'd think they could show some gratitude. Overall record 44-13-2. 11-4 in SEC play.
  
  
• Clemson - From 1920-1973, Georgia ran up a blistering 21-1-1 record against the Tigers. The series was played almost every year from 1962-1991. The series turned in 1974 with a Tiger victory, and it stayed fairly even until '91. Under the lights in Athens, Georgia began its current 5 game winning streak. Record: 41-17-4
  
  
• Tulane - Tulane left the SEC in 1966, and we've only played them 5 times since their departure. Oddly enough, the two teams faced each other in New Haven, Connecticut in 1932. I have no idea why. We tried to book at 2 for 1 with them for '02, '03 and '08, but they cancelled at the last minute leaving the Dawgs high and dry.
  
  
• Miami - All 12 games were played in Miami. Most of them were booked by Wally Butts, and quite a few were played *after* the Georgia Tech game. UGA is 7-4-1 vs. the Canes.
  
  
• North Carolina - The Bulldogs have played the Tar Heels 30 times in 7 different cities (Athens, Chapel Hill, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Macon, New Orleans and Raleigh). Record: 16-12-2
  
  
• Yale - Of the 11 match-ups with Yale, only the 1929 game was in Athens. The others were all at Yale. The '29 game was the grand opening of Sanford Stadium.
  
  
• Mississippi State - UGA has only played MSU 21 times despite both schools being charter members of the Southeastern Conference. The league didn't establish a firm rotation of conference opponents until the 1970s or 80s. GT has only playe