NCAA Football FanHouse

Pay $49.95 to Listen In on Steve Spurrier During a Game... of Golf

Ryan Ferguson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:10:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

South Carolina head coach Spurrier launched a pay-for-subscription website last year, but it didn't go far. The website, which charged $99.95 per year, featured 'inside information' directly from the OBC himself but slipped under the waves when site operator Champion Technologies went out of business in February.

Undeterred, the OBC is going to try again. This time the price will be more accommodating to the average fan -- $49.95 per year or $4.95 per month -- and will feature more inside looks at Gamecock football.

The site will feature a staple of last year's site: the 'Ask HBC' section, where fans type their questions and get them answered by Spurrier. The video playbook also returns as Spurrier and his assistants break down key plays from the most-recent game to give fans an inside look.

Hey, that's really cool. Watching the master himself break down football plays? I'd be all over that. And...

Planned features include having Spurrier miked up while playing a round of golf plus construction updates on the expansion of the team's training room at Williams-Brice Stadium. Scott said a member of the training staff will talk about what the improvements will mean for USC's athletes.

Golf's great. So are construction updates... but shouldn't that stuff run on Lincoln Financial? Anyway, check it out for yourself at SpurrierHBC.com. And tell 'em FanHouse sent you.

Pay $49.95 to Listen In on Steve Spurrier During a Game... of Golf originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recruiting Is Just Another Word For Bending The Rules

John Radcliff — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: Oregon Football, West Virginia Football, NCAA FB Recruiting, South Carolina Football

If you think you know every ~~dirty~~ creative trick schools use to recruit athletes, you may be right. But I'm willing to guess that you don't. I think I learned at an early age about the sneaky ways of recruiting from reading "That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It", by Alex Hawkins.

When Hawkins, then a South Charleston high school senior, was being sought after by football and basketball college coaches, he chose football because it paid more money. "I was offered a farm to sign with the University of Kentucky but I was offered $1,500 a semester, a complete men's wardrobe and a new automobile to play football for coach Rex Enright at South Carolina.

Depending on how you look at it, those days are sadly over. Too bad I couldn't find the bit about the men West Virginia paid to make sure no other coaches talked to Hawkins. Because the South Carolina coaches had to sneak in the back door to make that offer. Undoubtedly, WVU's men were looking for new jobs that fall.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Recruiting always has been and always will be about getting access to the player, and what you can sell them in that time. Despite the NCAA's best efforts to control the contact coaches have with recruits, it seems there's always a loophole.

So when Oregon coaches identified their top 20 prospects for the class of 2005, Gilmore and his staff designed custom comic books starring each recruit as the hero who leads the Ducks to a national title. Because NCAA rules at the time only allowed programs to send letter-sized, black-and-white pages to recruits, Gilmore sent each prospect one page a week. After a few months, the recruit had the full comic book.

The practice of sending a recruit a comic book about themselves was nixed when the NCAA passed a rule that only material that was created by a coach could be sent to recruits. I would not be at all surprised to learn that Oregon offered a spot on the coaching staff to Stan Lee.

The more recent ban on text messages and the dead period on spring recruiting have just forced coaches to be more creative. Like Nick Saban's video conferencing, or Ron Zook speaking at high school coaching clinics, the NCAA is just making it's coaches better cheaters. As much as you want to think your coach isn't involved in any shady dealing or rule bending, I'd be willing to bet that they are. Good coaches are hell bent on being the best, and that attitude doesn't do a 180 when they walk off the field. It's a way of life. As for me, I'm still waiting on Bill Stewart to give me a call to write a song for a recruit, or one for why they shouldn't go to Ohio State.

Recruiting Is Just Another Word For Bending The Rules originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SC's Kenrick Ellis Weeded Out

Brian Cook — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:33:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Police Blotter

Get it? GET IT?

A major blow, figuratively and literally, for Spurrier and Co:

South Carolina backup defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis has been dismissed from the team for violating university policy, Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday following the first day of the SEC spring meetings.
Spurrier would not divulge the reason for Ellis' dismissal, although a source said Ellis had failed multiple drug tests.

"Kenrick's gone," Spurrier said. "He's finished."

Ellis was already suspended for the first three games of the 2008 season for the good old "undisclosed violation of team rules against getting blunted like whoah"; he must have continued the blunting-like-whoah party.

Ellis was a four-star recruit back in the day and played in all of South Carolina's games last year, starting one, as a redshirt freshman. Losing him is not devastating, but it ain't good either.

(Via The Wizard of Odds.)

SC's Kenrick Ellis Weeded Out originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 28 May 2008 12:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamecock Fans Wringing Hands After Lousy Spring Scrimmage

Ryan Ferguson — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:42:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

Usually spring is the season of unbridled (and in many cases, unrealistic) optimism for college football fans. Not so in Columbia, South Carolina.

An unspectacular recruiting season combined with disarray at the quarterback position (redshirt frosh Stephen Garcia was cited for underage drinking last month, his fourth offense in his short tenure at South Carolina) set the stage for the Gamecocks' spring scrimmage. After Spurrier's last spring game put fans to sleep (it was a low-scoring, 14-7 affair) the Ol' Ball Coach enacted new rules for '08: no pass rushing, no blitzing, and the defense was forced to play one of three base coverages.

Sounds like a recipe for an offensive extravaganza, right? Nope: QBs Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined for 8 interceptions versus the declawed 'Cock defense.

Add to this the fact that Spurrier has designated his son, Steve Spurrier Jr., as the new playcaller. And, yes, Junior was calling the plays. For both offenses.

Does Spurrier have one foot out the door already at South Carolina? If Spurrier fails to produce a competitive team in this, his fourth year in Columbia, you've just gotta wonder. The OBC is grooming his son for the head coaching job, hasn't been lighting it up on the recruiting trail, and has already been in public scrapes with the university over admissions issues. Gamecock fans are nervous about what ROI might come from their pricey head coach in his remaining time in the Palmetto State, and rightfully so.

Gamecock Fans Wringing Hands After Lousy Spring Scrimmage originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Spurrier Is Turning Into Joe Paterno

Brian Cook — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:39:00 EST

Filed under: South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

Getting old is sad. Just ask fans of Florida State or Penn State or Queen Elizabeth. It's even sadder when the old monarch starts installing his nitwit son in places of importance and the nitwit son calls nothing but hopeful downfield jump balls or starts a war in the Falklands or something. Once the old guy starts the nepotism train, it's all over.

South Carolina fans, this is your cue to panic:

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he will turn some of the play calling duties over to Steve Spurrier, Jr., but that he will still be the offensive coordinator.

Say it ain't so, Steve! What's next, road rage? Coke-bottle glasses? An unquenchable thirst for the brains of the living?

It's all downhill from here, except for that one year when you're inexplicably good and get to play an ACC team in the Orange Bowl. Which, if you're South Carolina, probably sounds pretty good.

Steve Spurrier Is Turning Into Joe Paterno originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina QB Loves Him Some Alcohol

Adam Jacobi — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Police Blotter, The Word

The latest news out of South Carolina is that quarterback Stephen Garcia is once again in trouble with The Man, this time for... get out your College Stupidity 8-Balls, readers... Underage Drinking! (hint: it's always underage drinking). As the AP reports, Garcia was one of three football players arrested for underage drinking near a campus dormitory ("Yes, the dorms! They'll never look for alcohol here!")

Worse, Garcia's older brother Jerry* was cited for providing beer for a minor, because if there's one thing holding society back, it's 20-year-olds with beer. Hard liquor we can totally understand, mind you; there's nothing worse than some idiot sophomore reeking of Curve for Men and Captain Morgan as he apologizes for knocking your drink over. But giving beer to underage college students should be fine. They just get happy and play video games. And vomit.

This is Garcia's third run-in with the law; he was arrested once for drunkenness about a year ago, then a month later was charged with keying a professor's car. Garcia, as you can probably imagine, was indefinitely suspended by The Ol' Ball-Coach; it lasted about a month. Spurrier is expected to announce the quarterback's fate with the team soon; it's hard to imagine he'll get dismissed for a victimless crime of impatience, but it's always a fool's endeavor to pretend to know what goes on in TOBC's mind. Sort of like Jesus, but with a visor.

We officially endorse a punishment of two weeks' suspension, heavy amounts of stairs in the morning, and a hand-written apology to Garcia's brother for ratting him out on giving the players beer. The answer is always, always the following: "We found it over there." Then you point somewhere. Must we teach you everything?

*not his brother's real first name

South Carolina QB Loves Him Some Alcohol originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rash of Moped Accidents at South Carolina

Brian Grummell — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:26:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, South Carolina Football

Few things gray the hairs of a five-day-a-week coach (Steve Spurrier's gotta hit the links, natch) like players getting into moped-related accidents.

[South Carolina] Backup tight end Nick Prochak was hospitalized with a broken leg after being struck by a car Jan. 18 on Blossom Street; reserve fullback Clark Gaston avoided serious injury when he collided with a car backing out of a driveway on South Marion Street on Wednesday afternoon.

Neither player was wearing a helmet, which are required for drivers under 21 in South Carolina.

Those tribulations set in motion a team meeting where said coach wagged his finger incessantly or something. The star quarterback-in-waiting got the message, maybe.

Freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia, one of about 30 players with scooters, said Spurrier addressed the issue during a team meeting.

"He just said, 'Be careful and wear a helmet,' " Garcia said.

Also: beat Clemson.
%Gallery-6077%

Rash of Moped Accidents at South Carolina originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Spurrier, Philanthropist

Andy Katzer — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:49:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee Football, SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching, Mississippi State Football

The whole football coaching thing is working out pretty well for Steve Spurrier, but if he ever needs a career change, the OBC may want to look into being a high school counselor or motivational speaker. The recent hiring of David Cutcliffe at Duke was tangentially tied to Spurrier, who supposedly advised Duke on their coaching hire when he met with officials there a few weeks ago. Spurrier also offered some words of encouragement to Coach Cut: "If anyone can [turn Duke's program around], you can." Hey, you can't spell "Chicken Soup for the Revitalized Coordinator's Soul" without S-P-U-R-R-I-E-R.

When he's not getting people new jobs, the OBC is getting them more money. Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster got a nice raise after being offered the same post at South Carolina, and Sylvester Croom is looking for more cash to spread around his coaching staff at Mississippi State now that Ellis Johnson is said to be the leading candidate for the post. Spurrier is reportedly going to give his new defensive coordinator much more than the $195,000 Tyrone Nix made doing the job last year. Nix himself got about a $100,000 raise for leaving Spurrier's staff and joining Houston Nutt at Ole Miss. For the record, Gamecock fans weren't too upset about Nix's departure, more evidence of how Spurrier's keeping everybody happy these days.

Steve Spurrier, Philanthropist originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keeping 'The Man' Busy: The Earls of Sandwich

Adam Jacobi — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:28:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, Iowa Football, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Police Blotter

Here's why athletic directors are frowning this morning...

Jimmy John's would like to thank these two young men for the kind of advertising money just can't buy: Ah, early, hazy morning. To a college student in the throes of consumption, the 2 a.m. world is devoid of limits; think zombo.com realized. The world, once cruel and complex, is transformed into a simple melange of urinals, instruments of passion, food, and weapons. Often, even those definitions blur; who among us hasn't spent drunken minutes engaged in the all-important "do I pee on, make out with, eat, or wield this" debate with ourselves? Unfortunately, it looks as if a Florida football player and his former teammate have chosen... poorly.

In what definitely looks like the runaway arrest of the year, Florida DE Jermaine Cunningham and former LB Jon Demps were arrested while fleeing a Gainesville Jimmy John's. The crime? First-degree battery with a sandwich. Okay, the name of the crime is just "first-degree battery," but it was perpetrated with empty cups and a sandwich, and the entire issue was whether one of the young men would pay a dollar for a bag of chips. If that were any more incredible, they'd have to find room on Mount Rushmore for it.

Best yet, in the surest sign yet that greatness begets greatness, we have this sublime line from the Tampa Tribune's Andy Staples:

The report did not specify exactly what kind of sandwich struck the victim.

Andy Staples, answering questions that the rest of us are too afraid to ask. A Pulitzer awaits.

The stink over the pink: This may shock you, but the University of Iowa is getting banged up once again over the pink visitors' locker room at Kinnick Stadium. It's been about two years, one month after the initial protest, but now associate professor of law Jill Gaulding is fingering the UI in a Title IX complaint:

After protesting the pink locker room at a Hawkeye home game in November, Jill Gaulding plans to file a complaint under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions, now that a new Iowa presidential administration is in place.

As a product of the University of Iowa, this author is dismayed to see the carpet pulled fromunda the UI's carpet. The complaint hasn't actually been filed, but regardless of the outcome, there will be an unmistakable taint between the athletic department and the administration.

Iowa alumni and students probably should be outraged if she does file the lawsuit as planned. They shouldn't be furious that such "discrimination" exists at Iowa, mind you; rather, their outrage is properly directed at the fact that such a major university could find someone so oblivious of appropriate application of discrimination lawsuits, and then hire that person to teach law there. Heads should roll.

I already tried that, dude; there's no Pez: The "polka-dot necktie" is a perennial give-up gift you give to the stepfather you never really loved. The "piano key necktie" is a brutal, cruel gift to give someone who thinks he's octaves funnier than he really is." The "Colombian Necktie," however, is a gift that... well, it's not a gift. Not unless you're a rookie mafioso looking to send a message to a rival clan, and I happen to know that on Fanhouse, mafioso readership is down 90%. We blame the FBI.

No college football player can attest to the un-gift quality of the Colombian Necktie quite like Jordin Lindsey, a South Carolina defensive end who spent last Saturday night in surgery after an unknown assailant slashed his neck open. Lindsey expects to make a full recovery, which pretty much guarantees that he's exempt from personal fouls for making that hand gesture (opponents, on the other hand, are just as likely to be charged double).

In light of recent news, of course, it's nice to be able to make jokes about an athlete whose life was clearly put in danger. But as mentioned before, Lindsey will be fine, so it's fine to mention that as a member of the NCAA, South Carolina's lawyers will be seeking the harshest penalty possible for a throat slash:

Unsportsmanlike conduct, 15 yards from the end of the play, first down.

Keeping 'The Man' Busy: The Earls of Sandwich originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina Snubbed: Spurrier Misses Bowl for First Time in 19 Years

Ryan Ferguson — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:07:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

When you go into the postseason 6-6 and are one of 10 (!) bowl-eligible SEC teams, you know you're far from a lock to make a bowl game.

The PetroSun Independence Bowl strongly considered the Gamecocks, but ultimately chose the 6-6 Crimson Tide of Alabama instead, citing the university's geographical proximity to Indepence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Tide will face Big 12 representative Colorado in that game.

For the Gamecocks, it's over. What a weird ride; Starting the season 6-1 and at their apex, holding a Top 10 ranking; then finishing with a 5-game slide, going 3-5 in the SEC and missing a bowl game altogether. Head coach Steve Spurrier's stated goal of winning the SEC in the preseason probably shouldn't have been on the board in 2007.

From GamecockCentral.com:

"We're a little disappointed we didn't get to a bowl game, but we understand we have no one to blame but ourselves," Spurrier said. "We had five games to win No. 7 and we didn't get it done. We had our chances. The guys played pretty well much of the time, and we coached fairly well a lot of the time. But we didn't play well or coach well a lot of times too."

Agreed, Steve. Agreed.

Say goodbye to seniors Blake Mitchell, Cory Boyd and Jasper Brinkley. Could Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix be far behind?

South Carolina Snubbed: Spurrier Misses Bowl for First Time in 19 Years originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ol' Ballcoach Helps Duke Find New Ballcoach

Ian Cohen — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, SEC, BCS, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching, Duke Football

You've seen it a million times if you've seen it once. Some dorky-ass, no game-havin' simp befriends a smoking hot girl in a relationship and spends hours upon hours chatting on the phone (more likely IM) about their girl problems. And all the time, he doesn't have the balls to man up and just admit that he wants to do her. Instead, he pines "why can't I meet more girls like you?" and the girl is none the wiser because she's never seen Chris Rock's "Bring The Pain" and really thinks platonic relationships can exist like that.

It would pretty difficult to see Duke AD's Joe Alleva's meeting with Steve Spurrier in a different light...if not for the fact that The Ol' Ballcoach was the one to initiate it. For all of you smart dumb cats, Spurrier wasn't the last coach to lead the Blue Devils to a bowl game, just the last coach to have them be good over a span of time that was longer than a week or two. And in the preseason coaches poll, he always dedicates a #25 vote for Duke, so it's obvious he still has some feelings for the place.

Of course, he's "cast his lot" with South Carolina (very encouraging endorsement, btw), so we likely won't get the movie script ending Alleva desires just yet, but as those 6-6 seasons keep piling up in Columbia, who knows?

Ol' Ballcoach Helps Duke Find New Ballcoach originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Carolina Fans Not So Fond of DC Tyrone Nix

Ryan Ferguson — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:35:00 EST

Filed under: SEC, NCAA FB Fans, NCAA FB Gossip, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

South Carolina's embattled Defensive Coordinator, Tyrone Nix (not shown at right) started the season with one of the SEC's best defenses.

But as they say, you're remembered for how you finish, not how you start: Nix ended up with the nation's 58th ranked defense (ranked 9th in the SEC) and 108th in rushing defense, allowing an average of 209 yards per game on the ground.

Hot? Not so much.

Garnet and Black Attack has been keeping track of Nix's status with the 'Cocks via their Tyrone Nix Firing Watch.

Although the meter started at 80% probability of Nix's firing, the latest update suggests that Nix might actually leave on his own accord to take over the vacant head coaching job at Southern Miss.

... the firing of Jeff Bower at Southern Miss, Nix's alma mater, might open up an opportunity for everyone to save face. The Eagles' former linebacker is set to meet with the school -- at an "undisclosed location," so the get-together might include Dick Cheney -- about their vacancy.

In any case, I still believe Nix is all but gone at the end of the year. But he might get out without being fired.

The Cool Chicken, meanwhile, doesn't care if Tyrone goes away angry, just that he goes away:

While I would hate to see Spurrier Jr. head to another school, I would love to see Nix head out of town. I think that would be a fantastic deciscion [sic]. Maybe not for Nix but most definitely for the Gamecock nation.

Stay tuned to FanHouse for updates.

South Carolina Fans Not So Fond of DC Tyrone Nix originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ACC/SEC Challenge Of November 24, 2007 (And The Winner Is...)

Ian Cohen — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 21:07:00 EST

Filed under: Clemson Football, ACC, SEC, BCS, South Carolina Football, Vanderbilt Football, Wake Forest Football

The ACC gets called a lot of things as far as being a football conference, but "executioner" is most certainly not one of the most oft-used appellations. But as of this past Saturday, that's where they stood as two of its teams stood in the way of their SEC equivalents' dreams. South Carolina had fallen off with a velocity that suggests that maybe the earth is flat after all and was looking to salvage a disappointing season with a scalp against a bitter rival. And as far as Vanderbilt goes, they stood on the precipice of having their bowl bid equation fail once again. You know the math: a couple of OOC gimmes, some wins against the Mississippi schools, and odd upset here and there, voila- 6 wins and a possible postseason berth for the first time in over two decades.

Perhaps it was a minor slap on the wrist for the SEC advocates' incessant superiority complex, but Clemson and Wake Forest managed to get the job done, bolstering their bowl profiles and all but relegating USC and Vandy to December couch potatoes. Clemson, on the strength of Mark Buchholz's game-winning field goal, bested the Gamecocks by the score of 23-20 and Wake had a subtly dominating performance against the Commodores that resulted in a 31-14 victory. South Carolina, now possessing a victory that likely robs UGA of a shot of a national championship has lost five in a row and stands in grave danger of missing the bowl season altogether. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt has performed in a manner that suggests that they could likely sniff at breaking their 23-year itch in 2008, but against possible Nebraska coaching candidate Jim Grobe, they appeared overmatched.

While the Tigers appear headed to either a Gator Bowl or Chick Fil-A Bowl appearance, Wake is a primo candidate for the Meineke Car Care Bowl...which has to constitute the most overlooked 8-4 season from a school with less than 4,000 enrolled undergrads.

The ACC/SEC Challenge Of November 24, 2007 (And The Winner Is...) originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 21:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spurrier's Gamecocks Fall Just Short Against Clemson

Ryan Ferguson — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:02:00 EST

Filed under: Clemson Football, ACC, SEC, South Carolina Football

Well, it happened. Steve Spurrier has now lost 5 straight games, which is the first time that's happened since his days at Duke in the late eighties.

The Gamecocks found themselves staring down a 10-point deficit coming into the 3rd quarter, but scored 14 points to Clemson's 3 to take a 1-point lead.

It wasn't enough. Clemson's final drive downfield even left time for their quarterback, Cullen Harper, to take a snap and run it to the center of the field for Mark Buchholz's 35-yard field goal attempt.

The kick sailed true. Final: 23-21. Topic for conversation among Gamecock fans: why didn't Spurrier freeze the kicker with his two remaining timeouts?

Talk about a split personality for these Gamecocks. Starting the season 6-1, their defense kept them alive. In their five straight losses to end their '07 tilt, the Carolina offense started to fire a little more regularly, scoring enough to win ball games, but the defense wilted away and became a non-factor, allowing their opponents to rack up massive rushing and passing yardage.

South Carolina finishes their regular season at 6-6, and must now wait to find out if they receive a bowl invitation.

Spurrier's Gamecocks Fall Just Short Against Clemson originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 24 Nov 2007 23:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamecocks Really Need to Beat Clemson

Andy Katzer — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:50:00 EST

Filed under: Clemson Football, ACC, SEC, South Carolina Football

Back during the summer at SEC Media Days, Steve Spurrier said his team was ready to challenge for the conference championship. Spurrier badly misjudged his team.

Here, a week before the SEC's title game in Atlanta, not only is South Carolina completely out of the East division title hunt, they're in danger of not even going to a bowl game. At 6-5 the Gamecocks are bowl eligible, but that just makes them one of 10 teams in the league with the qualifying number of wins (11 if Vandy can beat Wake Forest Saturday). The State's Ron Morris has figured out all the teams that need to win and lose to virtually guarantee a 6-6 Carolina team a bowl game (including pulling for 11 upsets and just five favored teams), but it really comes down to this: for Spurrier to avoid missing a bowl game for the first time since 1990 (when Florida was on probation) and his first non-winning season since a 5-6 year at Duke in 1987, South Carolina must beat Clemson.

So how do the Gamecocks pull this one off? It starts with Blake Mitchell, who needs to play like it's his last game in a Carolina uniform (as it well might be). Mitchell's overall average and accuracy have been pretty good even through SC's four-game losing streak, especially the last three games (at least 290 yards and around 60% in each game with a 2-1 TD-INT ratio).

But while Mitchell has played better of late than he did the early in the year, the defense has done a 180 in the other direction. Carolina's D had not given up 400 yards of offense in a game until a few weeks ago against Arkansas. Now, in their last two games, the 'Cocks have allowed 1187 total yards, more than a quarter of all their yards allowed this season (in just two games!). For Carolina to have a chance this weekend, somebody on that defense has got to stop the bleeding.

Gamecocks Really Need to Beat Clemson originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Can Clemson Shake Off Their Funk?

Bill Maloney — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:57:00 EST

Filed under: Clemson Football, ACC, BCS, South Carolina Football

Clemson didn't finish the job last Saturday against Boston College. The loss kept them out of the ACC Championship game and extended the Tigers conference title drought another year. Needless to say the players took it hard. It took star running back James Davis two days just to leave his house, talk to his team or even watch SportsCenter.

Saturday provides a partial remedy for the BC hangover -- a rivalry game against South Carolina. There is a lot at stake, too. If the Tigers win they will probably land in an attractive bowl (either the ~~Peach~~ Chick-fil-A or Gator). Losing to the Gamecocks would create a whole different set of issues. Gator and Chick-fil-A would be gone...and so might Tommy Bowden. Tommy Bowden seemed to have removed himself from the Hot Seat with the Tigers 8-2 start. But the setback against the Eagles warmed things up a bit. Another loss would make this a true TB meltdown. Throw in the a few well-timed Steve Spurrier quips after a potential loss and you could envision the Hot Seat ablaze. Any good will Bowden has earned over the years would be gone.

Tommy Bowden would be the fall guy but it might not be his fault. The guys at Danny Ford is God have a new theory for Clemson's annual teases and trip ups. If there is a Clemson curse perhaps they can bring back Ford to fix their problems -- football or supernatural.

Can Clemson Shake Off Their Funk? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Herschel Walker to Spurrier: 'How Much Guts Do You Have?'

Andy Katzer — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:40:00 EST

Filed under: Georgia Football, SEC, South Carolina Football, General CFB Insanity, NCAA FB Coaching

A couple of weeks ago, after Georgia's much-critiqued mass celebration penalty against Florida, Steve Spurrier made the comment that he wouldn't have let such a celebration happen against his team without retribution:

"I think if (Florida coach) Urban Meyer had known they were going to do it, send out one of his third team guys and get in a wrestling match with the guys, get a fight started, so all those guys on the field leave the bench in a fight... I think that's what we'd do. If the other team ever does that, get one of your down the line guys that's not going to play to get out there and start wrestling with the guys. Now you've got a fight and they're all out the next week."

Spurrier's words were mixed in with all the other rhetoric about Mark Richt and his new, "evil" persona. Everybody had an opinion: Richt was wrong, Richt was right, Richt was irresponsible, Richt did what he had to do. In the end, the celebration happened, everybody had their say (including the OBC), and the whole situation faded into the past.

Almost. In Wednesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia legend Herschel Walker voiced his displeasure with Spurrier's get 'em suspended strategy:

"That's totally insulting for a coach of his stature to say something so stupid," said Walker, getting angrier by the syllable. "So my question I say to him is, if he's got that much guts, why don't he step in a ring against me? You don't say something that silly, because you're going to get somebody hurt. Georgia was punished, because that's a penalty. They didn't go out to hurt anyone. [Spurrier] talks about hurting somebody. How much guts do you have? Step in a ring with me, and then we'll see."

Emphasis mine, because that's just awesome.

The thought of Walker and Spurrier squaring off in a ring -- Walker didn't specify what kind of ring: boxing? octagon? steel-cage Texas death match? -- is phenomenal. Walker (pictured above chatting up one of the Bush twins, just because it's as non sequitur as him going fisticuffs with Spurrier) apparently does not agree with my own interpretation of Spurrier's comments, which is more of a deconstruction of the situation than an actual threat.

I believe Spurrier was voicing the worst-case scenario in an effort to cut down on the likelihood of any copycat behavior, letting folks know that just because nothing bad happened that time, it doesn't mean the same situation couldn't turn ugly in the future. But that's just my opinion, and as I said, one the Mr. Walker doesn't take. And because I don't want to get in a ring with him, I'll drop it right there. %Gallery-6077%

Herschel Walker to Spurrier: 'How Much Guts Do You Have?' originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did Urban Meyer Run Up the Score Against Spurrier?

Ryan Ferguson — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, SEC, South Carolina Football

No, but that will inevitably be the conclusion of some Gamecock fans. Here you see Tim Tebow, as viewed from a fan in the endzone, lofting a 21-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell with 1:45 remaining in the game. Florida had a 13-point lead at the time.

The touchdown killed whatever slim hopes South Carolina still had of stopping the Gators on their final drive, scoring quickly, then recovering an onside kick and scoring again to win.

Speaking as a Florida fan, I was very nervous on that down. Florida had rushed twice for only 5 yards, and Spurrier had called his first timeout of the half after a 3-yard rush by RB Kestahn Moore. With 1:45 remaining, the 'Cocks were in a position to force a field goal attempt if the Gators didn't covert on 3rd-and-5. Florida's kicker, Joey Ijjas, had missed a PAT earlier in the evening, so a 38-yard field goal was far from a gimme. Clearly, that was Spurrier's design; he was still trying to win the ball game.

The Ol' Ball Coach may not be having a season for the ages, and some of the luster of his previous accomplishments is finally wearing off in Columbia, but he's still Steve Spurrier. You don't want to give him the ball with a less than 2-TD lead and nearly two minutes to play.

In the video you'll notice that South Carolina is rushing six, keeping #32 Marcus Davis in as a QB spy, and dropping four back into coverage, selling out to stop the run. In the defensive backfield, safety Emmanuel Cook is a non-factor, at least 7 yards away from Andre Caldwell when the Gators WR makes his TD grab.

If you've watched Florida's offense at all this year, you'll recognize this is a standard play for the Gators. When the defense takes away the run, Tebow lobs it to a wide open receiver. In this case, it was a play which sealed the Gators' victory and was safe from the perspective that Tebow's health wasn't at risk.

Running up the score? Nope. A personal jab by Meyer to Spurrier? Nope. A team putting a game away by running their offense to perfection? Yep.

Did Urban Meyer Run Up the Score Against Spurrier? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Florida Rolls Through, Over, and Above South Carolina; Spurrier Starts Feeling the Heat

Ryan Ferguson — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:51:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, SEC, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

The most important stat in Florida's 51-31 romp over South Carolina is a single number: 1.

That's the number of times the Gamecocks forced the Gators to punt.

That lone punt came late in the 4th quarter with the game already decided. All of the other stops came at the hands of the Gators themselves in the form of turnovers.

Of the Gators' 537 yards, Florida QB Tim Tebow personally accounted for 424 total yards -- 304 passing and 120 rushing, as well as an astonishing 7 total touchdowns. And he did it with his best playmaker, Percy Harvin, sitting at home in Gainesville nursing a severe sinus infection.

In their last two games, the Gamecocks' maligned defense has now given up nearly 1200 total yards of offense to their opponents.

Not that the Gamecocks' offense was outstanding, either. The Cocks only rushed for 68 yards and appeared to give up the run before the end of the first half.

The Gators were 12-16 on 3rd down, while the Gator defense held South Carolina to 2-12 on their conversion attempts.

Fans of the 'Cocks are pissed. For the first time ever at South Carolina, legendary head coach Steve Spurrier and his coaching staff are starting to feel just a tinge of heat. (Perhaps my earlier thoughts on Spurrier weren't too far off the mark?) In a post titled "The Worst Season Ever", the Cool Chicken writes:

I will always support the players. Always. The coaches are a different animal. If Coach Spurrier does not fire [defensive coordinator] Coach Nix, this season will fall squarely on his shoulders and even though he is a great coach, it might be time for us to look somewhere else. You heard me.

From Gamecock Central's message boards, bcgamecock writes:

I thought Holtz could change the losing culture and he made some positive steps but not as big as I thought he would. Then I just knew Spurrier could change it. I've even been on here preaching to the nay-sayers the past few weeks. I'm not so sure now. ... I really don't think he can make us into a team that can contend year in and year out for the SEC. We might contend early in the year, we might even 'mathematically' be in the running late in a season or two, but I think that's as good as it's ever gonna be here. I hope I'm wrong.

stopmybugs writes:

Should he stay or should he go? I think he stays my wife says he needs to go

granitegamecock responds:

If history teaches anything, it really does not matter who coaches here, it has not improved by any discernable measure when you look at the "average" win loss ratios of the last 10-15 years or heck even more. Sure there have been ups and downs, but we always return to mediocre. So, SOS may as well stay. He can either tarnish his legacy like Holtz, or he can do something about. Heaven only knows which it will be.

So there you have it. While Spurrier is not yet on the hotseat, the heat has officially been switched on.

Florida Rolls Through, Over, and Above South Carolina; Spurrier Starts Feeling the Heat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 11 Nov 2007 06:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Urban Meyer Should Study Risk Management

Ryan Ferguson — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:11:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Football, SEC, South Carolina Football

With 6 minutes left in the game, Florida's currently blowing South Carolina out by a score of 44-24. But guess who's still in the game? Florida's "franchise quarterback," Tim Tebow, with 5 total TDs and nearly 400 yards of total offense, is still launching bombs (OK by me as a Gator fan) and pounding the ball up the middle to keep the clock running (not OK).

Tebow has taken some punishing blows, getting the Gamecocks' best shot on a number of plays, but has been unstoppable yet again. The question is, how important is hanging 50 on Spurrier vs. keeping Tebow healthy?

It'd be a crying shame if Tebow got hurt in front of a Gators-only crowd in Williams Bryce Stadium. C'mon, Urb... pull him.

Urban Meyer Should Study Risk Management originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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