The University of South Carolina football team has been installed as a 13.5-point favorite this weekend against Vanderbilt – which we think is a pretty optimistic assessment in light of the dismal defensive effort the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1 SEC) put forth last weekend in Athens, Georgia.
And the resulting, um, problems …
Having been hypercritical of the USC program in the past, we resisted the urge to hop a train to Negativetown in the wake of last week’s disappointing 41-30 loss to SEC East rival Georgia. After all the season is two games old, and head coach Steve Spurrier’s squads have demonstrated an uncanny ability to bounce back from tough losses in recent years (well, with the exception of the Florida game last year or the 2010 Chick-Fil-A Bowl).
In other words this is not the same program that climbed to No. 6 in the nation back in 2007 only to fall apart after a loss to … Vanderbilt?
Yeah … that happened. And the Gamecocks didn’t win another game that season.
Obviously the talent level in Columbia, S.C. has risen exponentially since then – although on the defensive side of the ball this year the loss of starters Devin Taylor, DeVonte Holloman and D.J. Swearinger (all of whom are playing on Sundays) has clearly had an impact.
Meanwhile returning All-American Jadeveon Clowney – who was supposed to vanquish opposing offenses by simply looking askance at them – hasn’t impacted the game the way many expected.
All of which leads us to Williams Brice Stadium this Saturday evening … and a game against a Vanderbilt team that’s also not what it used to be. The Commodores went 9-4 last season under second-year head coach James Franklin – including a 5-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play. That’s the program’s best record since 1915.
South Carolina struggled on the road a year ago against Vandy – eking out a 17-13 victory in Nashville on a fourth quarter touchdown run from Marcus Lattimore.
Can Franklin and his staff put together a game plan to beat the No. 13/14 Gamecocks in their own house? Or is South Carolina really two touchdowns better than the new-and-improved Vanderbilt Commodores?
We’ll see …
Our founding editor’s crystal ball was deadly accurate in 2012 but through the first two weeks of the 2013 season he has badly missed a couple of big games (here and here). Let’s see if this is the week he – and the Gamecocks – get back on track.
16 comments
Not a USuC fan at all…AT ALL…but I feel confident they’ll get back on track and give Vandy a good old fashioned tea bagging
Chicken curse is alive..
Jadeveon Clowney played Defensive Tackle vs. North Carolina
J. Clown played Defensive Tackle vs. Georgia
J. Cow will play Defensive Tackle vs. Vanderbilt
The Cow will be staked out on the edge of the end zone for the remainder of the season
It’s Vandy at home. Yeah, Vandy is better than the old Vandy, but we are also better than the old Carolina. I expect to beat them by at least two scores, and I would not be surprised if we cover.
I’m pretty sure we cover, because Spurrier is pissed, and when he was pissed at Florida, he always made it a point to try to cover for the UF fans and supporters that had bet on the Gators.
TBG can easily see Sakerlina beating the pulp out of Vandy…..
….or barely eking out a win….
…or losing .
Hope this helps.
So it’s a battle between the Sociology Majors and the Engineering Majors this weekend?
Where will the engineers enter the game? Both schools are in the top 100 engineering schools nationwide but I can assure you that there won’t be a single engineering student on the field Saturday unless there are some in the band.
USC probably has a bigger one. Dirt pecker U turns out technicians and they are not very good.
Yeah, USC men have bigger ones.
I have more than a little experience working with civl and mechanical engineers from all over the country as an Army Engineer – they all have to pass the same national FE/EIT and PE testing, I can assure you that our graduates stack up quite nicely.
Close loss on the road that turned on just a few made plays (USC at UGa, and UGa at Clemson for that matter). In college football seasons, things are as never as good as they seem when they are good or as bad as they seem when they are bad. They’ll cover.
Maybe we’ll have some offensive coaches getting into fisticuffs this week.
What loss would SC have been bouncing back from in the 2010 Chic Fil A bowl? They had hammered Clemson the prior game.
I knew this guy who was 13.5;bit my lip during the ecstasy part,and had to go get tested…
The Magik Round Dice spoke to Shifty ——
South Carolina…………..45
Vanderbilt…………………26
win a championship and then we’ll talk.