Back To The Lab Again

After a second consecutive end-of-season collapse put its all-time record at one game under .500, the University of South Carolina is still fielding a football team in 2009, believe it or not.

But with half of its starting lineup lost either to graduation or the NFL draft, the 2009 Gamecocks don’t figure to be terribly improved from a 2008 squad that lost its final three games by a combined score of 118-30.

Terrible, maybe.

Just not terribly-improved.

That doesn’t bode well for fifth-year head coach Steve Spurrier, whose hot seat grew positively scorching after fans fumed through the year-ending blowout losses to Florida, Clemson and Iowa.

We’ve done the Spurrier math multiple times now, but the bottom line is that after four seasons he has failed to make South Carolina competitive in the Southeastern Conference.

He hasn’t recruited the athletes the Gamecocks need, nor has he maximized the talent he’s been able to acquire.

And unless he can figure out a way to shake some sense into redshirt sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia – oh, and get an offensive line to block for him – the Gamecocks won’t be competitive this year, either.

Why Spurrier has bet his career at Carolina on Garcia is something we’ll never understand. For whatever reason, it seems the kid simply refuses to put in the work required to win in America’s toughest football conference.

Plus, another off-field incident and he’s gone.

Hope springs eternal in Columbia, though. Especially during the spring.

But even if it didn’t, the Gamecocks have made damn sure that they’re the only game in town.

Anyway, courtesy of the USC Sports Information Office, here is the entire schedule of Gamecock practices this spring, which will be held at the Bluff Road practice fields across the street from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

All practices are open to the public, and fans can take photographs during the first fifteen minutes of each practice.

Practice No. 1: Tuesday, March 3, 4 p.m.

Practice No. 2: Thursday, March 5, 4 p.m.

Practice No. 3: Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m.

Practice No. 4: Friday, March 20, 3:45 p.m.

Practice No. 5: Saturday, March 21, TBA

Practice No. 6: Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m.

Practice No. 7: Friday, March 27, 3:45 p.m.

Practice No. 8: Saturday, March 28 (Scrimmage No. 1), TBA

Practice No. 9: Tuesday, March 31, 7 p.m.

Practice No. 10: Friday, April 3, 3:45 p.m.

Practice No. 11: Saturday, April 4 (Scrimmage No. 2), TBA

Practice No. 12: Monday, April 6, 7 p.m.

Practice No. 13: Tuesday, April 7, 7 p.m.

Practice No. 14: Friday, April 10, 3:45 p.m.

Practice No. 15: Saturday, April 11 (Garnet & Black Spring Game); 1 p.m.

For more information, visit USC’s official site.

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