THE MONOLOGUE
An ugly win is certainly better than a loss of any type. There was plenty of ugly on Saturday for South Carolina in seeing Ole Miss’ offense go up and down the field on the Gamecock defense and in watching as players seemed to go down left and right with injuries.
The pretty was in South Carolina scheming up plays to get open over and over, in winning one-on-one matchups (none bigger than Bryan Edwards’ superb catch), taking care of the football, and dominating the fourth quarter. Poor as Ole Miss’ defense has been, it was still an impressive performance.
Even though the Gamecocks allowed the Rebels to pile up yardage, and ample points on the scoreboard, USC scored a few more to win. In doing so, Carolina checked off a couple key boxes. Get out of the gate quickly in the game? You cannot do much better than a 90-yard kick return for touchdown to begin the game, even if it took bouncing off an offensive lineman’s hands to get the play started.
Win the fourth quarter? The Gamecocks faced a 10-point deficit entering the final period before going on to score a pair of touchdowns to win it. In the fourth quarter, USC held Ole Miss to a total of 16 yards. The Rebels began on the fourth on the Gamecock two-yard line and punched it in within the next two plays. After that, the Rebels’ fourth quarter drives consisted of three consecutive three-and-outs (for -2, 2, and -3 yards on each drive, respectively) and then a six-play drive that consisted of one first down and then a turnover on downs that allowed USC to grab possession and run out the clock.
Saturday’s game is the type that we have seen South Carolina lose many times in the past. Whether or not the Gamecocks should have been tied in the fourth quarter to Tennessee and down in the fourth quarter to Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks is a different discussion; whether or not they should have won is very relevant. One way or the other, the Gamecocks got it done, and that’s really all that matters.
STAT OF THE WEEK
In our weekly “Breaking down the keys” feature, one area we highlighted was USC’s need to play great red zone defense against Ole Miss. The Rebels have moved the ball against many opponents this season, but have tightened up for whatever reason in the red zone. Against Power 5 opponents, Ole Miss had scored touchdowns on just 35 percent of possessions, per RebelGrove.com. The Rebels were top 25 in red zone rushing when they opted to run the football, yet do not run it as often down there, checking in at 92nd nationally in red zone rushing percentage.
The Gamecocks did not hit that 35 percent mark defensively, but Ole Miss did have to settle for three field goals in the red zone, compared to five touchdowns. That, and the lack of Ole Miss hitting any huge scoring plays, was the difference in the game.
OPENING THE HISTORY BOOKS
34 years ago on Saturday, the Gamecocks had another come-from-behind win on the road.
The Gamecocks, then undefeated in 1984, trailed NC State in Raleigh by the score of 18-10 heading into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Mike Hold had entered the game to help the Gamecocks rally, and despite losing starting running back Kent Hagood (broken leg) late in the contest, USC was able to notch the victory on the strength of Hold and running back Thomas Dendy. The latter scored with less than a minute to clinch the victory.
(Thanks to GamecockArchives.com for always supplying great information on past USC games, players, and accomplishments).
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
Whether your preference is dry-rub or sauced ribs is your call; I’m certainly not going to stand on a pedestal and tell you what is right or wrong. Me? I think they’re both great.
I was excited to hit Memphis for the first time prior to the weekend trip to Ole Miss to get a taste of the city’s culture, and also some of their famous Memphis-style ribs. So on the advice of many trusted sources, we headed down to the narrow alleyway that led to Rendevzous on Thursday evening. This resulted:
It was every bit as good as it looks.
From there, we drove out of Memphis, stopping on the side of the road to peek at Graceland, before heading to Oxford.
The best way I can describe the town is: classy. There's an old style feel to everything that we really enjoyed, and the people there are great. It was neat to head to The Square and check out Square Books, where John Grisham first received the call that one of his early books was hitting the New York Times bestseller list. We spent most of the evening and night walking around, taking in more good food and drink and a neat atmosphere that included a ton of Gamecock fans. Fortunately, we took advice I had received prior to getting there to eat dinner early, as a 7:00 p.m. or later dinner arrival meant you were looking at a three-hour wait.
In short, I highly recommend the trip. For those who missed it, you'll probably have to wait a while for the next opportunity.
LINKAGE
*** Sam Bradford has been paid lots of money to play football during his career:
*** This Division III punt went 95 yards:
*** Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas paid homage to Joe Horn with his cell phone celebration over the weekend. See Joe’s thoughts on it here...
*** Anyone who knows me knows that I love some ranch dressing. It’s good on just about anything, as long as it’s good ranch. If you’re a fan like me, perhaps you’ll enjoy this history of the delightful dipping sauce:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/dining/ranch-dressing-history.html
*** For no reason whatsoever, here’s a compilation of the best of Fred and Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld. You’re welcome:
*** Any long drive – such as the one from Oxford back to Columbia – always gets me thinking: man, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could teleport?
https://www.wired.com/2018/09/geeks-guide-peter-f-hamilton/
*** Derek the panda, the most fearsome of all predators:
*** And finally, this picture made me so happy. My late father loved some Bob Ross (who doesn’t?) and I so badly wish I could show him this picture of “Dog Ross”.
Later in life, my dad took up painting and was a natural. And looking at this picture on display by this dog, I was reminded of a mountain scene my dad painted that looked almost just like this.
THE CLOSEOUT
The Gamecocks will hit the road once again on Saturday to take on a Florida team that was, quite frankly, shocked by Missouri on Saturday in a convincing loss to the Tigers.
Florida submitted an odd box score that saw the Gators give up 11 of 18 third downs to Drew Lock and the Tigers while going 3 of 15 on third down on offense. Starting quarterback Feleipe Franks did not throw an interception, but a watch back of the tape shows that he missed a ton of throws. He was benched in favor of Kyle Trask, who did throw one touchdown, but Florida managed just 5.3 yards per pass completion and one score through the air against a Missouri pass defense that’s been, well, very poor the entire season.
The Gators certainly did not look like the 11th-best team in the country on Saturday, and they’re likely not going to play as poorly this Saturday as they did on the Swamp over the weekend. They did look vulnerable, however, and perhaps the outlook on this contest looks better for South Carolina than it did a few weeks ago.
This Gamecocks team still has many questions, especially on defense, and particularly with the certainty of key injuries at safety (which entered the Ole Miss game thin and exited perilously thin) and the possibility of others lingering for important games the remainder of this season.
Four games, not counting a bowl possibility, remain this season. USC’s outlook contains two games that are should-win, one that is a could-win, and one that likely makes Gamecock fans swallow hard thinking about the possibilities. The business at hand this weekend, however, is to try to watch another road win that would serve as a big encouragement going forward, an opportunity to face those questions head on and to defeat a ranked team in The Swamp.
Keep it tuned here the rest of the way; we're thrilled to be able to cover it for you.
An ugly win is certainly better than a loss of any type. There was plenty of ugly on Saturday for South Carolina in seeing Ole Miss’ offense go up and down the field on the Gamecock defense and in watching as players seemed to go down left and right with injuries.
The pretty was in South Carolina scheming up plays to get open over and over, in winning one-on-one matchups (none bigger than Bryan Edwards’ superb catch), taking care of the football, and dominating the fourth quarter. Poor as Ole Miss’ defense has been, it was still an impressive performance.
Even though the Gamecocks allowed the Rebels to pile up yardage, and ample points on the scoreboard, USC scored a few more to win. In doing so, Carolina checked off a couple key boxes. Get out of the gate quickly in the game? You cannot do much better than a 90-yard kick return for touchdown to begin the game, even if it took bouncing off an offensive lineman’s hands to get the play started.
Win the fourth quarter? The Gamecocks faced a 10-point deficit entering the final period before going on to score a pair of touchdowns to win it. In the fourth quarter, USC held Ole Miss to a total of 16 yards. The Rebels began on the fourth on the Gamecock two-yard line and punched it in within the next two plays. After that, the Rebels’ fourth quarter drives consisted of three consecutive three-and-outs (for -2, 2, and -3 yards on each drive, respectively) and then a six-play drive that consisted of one first down and then a turnover on downs that allowed USC to grab possession and run out the clock.
Saturday’s game is the type that we have seen South Carolina lose many times in the past. Whether or not the Gamecocks should have been tied in the fourth quarter to Tennessee and down in the fourth quarter to Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks is a different discussion; whether or not they should have won is very relevant. One way or the other, the Gamecocks got it done, and that’s really all that matters.
STAT OF THE WEEK
In our weekly “Breaking down the keys” feature, one area we highlighted was USC’s need to play great red zone defense against Ole Miss. The Rebels have moved the ball against many opponents this season, but have tightened up for whatever reason in the red zone. Against Power 5 opponents, Ole Miss had scored touchdowns on just 35 percent of possessions, per RebelGrove.com. The Rebels were top 25 in red zone rushing when they opted to run the football, yet do not run it as often down there, checking in at 92nd nationally in red zone rushing percentage.
The Gamecocks did not hit that 35 percent mark defensively, but Ole Miss did have to settle for three field goals in the red zone, compared to five touchdowns. That, and the lack of Ole Miss hitting any huge scoring plays, was the difference in the game.
OPENING THE HISTORY BOOKS
34 years ago on Saturday, the Gamecocks had another come-from-behind win on the road.
The Gamecocks, then undefeated in 1984, trailed NC State in Raleigh by the score of 18-10 heading into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Mike Hold had entered the game to help the Gamecocks rally, and despite losing starting running back Kent Hagood (broken leg) late in the contest, USC was able to notch the victory on the strength of Hold and running back Thomas Dendy. The latter scored with less than a minute to clinch the victory.
(Thanks to GamecockArchives.com for always supplying great information on past USC games, players, and accomplishments).
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
Whether your preference is dry-rub or sauced ribs is your call; I’m certainly not going to stand on a pedestal and tell you what is right or wrong. Me? I think they’re both great.
I was excited to hit Memphis for the first time prior to the weekend trip to Ole Miss to get a taste of the city’s culture, and also some of their famous Memphis-style ribs. So on the advice of many trusted sources, we headed down to the narrow alleyway that led to Rendevzous on Thursday evening. This resulted:
It was every bit as good as it looks.
From there, we drove out of Memphis, stopping on the side of the road to peek at Graceland, before heading to Oxford.
The best way I can describe the town is: classy. There's an old style feel to everything that we really enjoyed, and the people there are great. It was neat to head to The Square and check out Square Books, where John Grisham first received the call that one of his early books was hitting the New York Times bestseller list. We spent most of the evening and night walking around, taking in more good food and drink and a neat atmosphere that included a ton of Gamecock fans. Fortunately, we took advice I had received prior to getting there to eat dinner early, as a 7:00 p.m. or later dinner arrival meant you were looking at a three-hour wait.
In short, I highly recommend the trip. For those who missed it, you'll probably have to wait a while for the next opportunity.
LINKAGE
*** Sam Bradford has been paid lots of money to play football during his career:
*** This Division III punt went 95 yards:
*** Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas paid homage to Joe Horn with his cell phone celebration over the weekend. See Joe’s thoughts on it here...
*** Anyone who knows me knows that I love some ranch dressing. It’s good on just about anything, as long as it’s good ranch. If you’re a fan like me, perhaps you’ll enjoy this history of the delightful dipping sauce:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/dining/ranch-dressing-history.html
*** For no reason whatsoever, here’s a compilation of the best of Fred and Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld. You’re welcome:
*** Any long drive – such as the one from Oxford back to Columbia – always gets me thinking: man, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could teleport?
https://www.wired.com/2018/09/geeks-guide-peter-f-hamilton/
*** Derek the panda, the most fearsome of all predators:
*** And finally, this picture made me so happy. My late father loved some Bob Ross (who doesn’t?) and I so badly wish I could show him this picture of “Dog Ross”.
Later in life, my dad took up painting and was a natural. And looking at this picture on display by this dog, I was reminded of a mountain scene my dad painted that looked almost just like this.
THE CLOSEOUT
The Gamecocks will hit the road once again on Saturday to take on a Florida team that was, quite frankly, shocked by Missouri on Saturday in a convincing loss to the Tigers.
Florida submitted an odd box score that saw the Gators give up 11 of 18 third downs to Drew Lock and the Tigers while going 3 of 15 on third down on offense. Starting quarterback Feleipe Franks did not throw an interception, but a watch back of the tape shows that he missed a ton of throws. He was benched in favor of Kyle Trask, who did throw one touchdown, but Florida managed just 5.3 yards per pass completion and one score through the air against a Missouri pass defense that’s been, well, very poor the entire season.
The Gators certainly did not look like the 11th-best team in the country on Saturday, and they’re likely not going to play as poorly this Saturday as they did on the Swamp over the weekend. They did look vulnerable, however, and perhaps the outlook on this contest looks better for South Carolina than it did a few weeks ago.
This Gamecocks team still has many questions, especially on defense, and particularly with the certainty of key injuries at safety (which entered the Ole Miss game thin and exited perilously thin) and the possibility of others lingering for important games the remainder of this season.
Four games, not counting a bowl possibility, remain this season. USC’s outlook contains two games that are should-win, one that is a could-win, and one that likely makes Gamecock fans swallow hard thinking about the possibilities. The business at hand this weekend, however, is to try to watch another road win that would serve as a big encouragement going forward, an opportunity to face those questions head on and to defeat a ranked team in The Swamp.
Keep it tuned here the rest of the way; we're thrilled to be able to cover it for you.
