Good Post.

I agree with your post, Vance. I truly believe Clemson has the caliber team to win every game this year. I am thinking we are getting back to the Danny Ford days, when every year we had a shot. I am not going to blast USC in anyway with my post tonight. I am too concerned with the Tigers, what with Ray Ray and now Antonio Clay's sister being killed today. I just read that the NCAA is looking into a waiver for him and his brother, but nothing can be done for the death of a relative. It has been a tough year for this team, with the jet ski accident earlier this summer as well. Hopefully, these guys can pull through the adversity and play very well. I don't care if they lose every game, as long as they play hard. This team is going to be remembered for a long time this year, and the first game hasn't even been played. Anyway, the football season starts tomorrow!

Yes, Tommy uses his mouth to laugh at you every November!

Ryan, I am glad to hear some new Gamecock banter. But, I didn't bring up Blake Mitchell, it was brought up about him being all SEC. What I said is perfectly logical. He hasn't proven himself yet.

And Will Proctor, to screw up he will just about have to try and mess up on purpose. Rob Spence knows quite a bit more about him than any of us. He is confident in his abilities, therefore so am I. I say this because he wanted to start him in a couple of major games last year and got overridden by Tommy. I agree with Tommy's decision to start Whitehurst anyway, simply because Whitehurst had earned the right to start after all he done for the Tigers. Will Proctor will be a plus for the Tigers this year much to everyones dismay. Why? He is a dual threat quarterback and that is what Spence needs. Thats not to discredit Whitehurst either, but he was a Pro-Style QB. This cannot be argued no matter how hard you try. Also, Clemson has the best offensive line and running backs in the ACC if not in the Nation. For sure in the top five teams in the Nation, this alone is a recipe for success.

Its not my fault I have the Sack to say my team has a legitimate shot a the National title, like it or not. If you think that is not possible, well you have Garnet goggles on. All it would take is for everybody to perform up to their potential. Thats a hard feat for any team, but the Tigers are as talented and have as much potential as ANY TEAM IN THE NATION!

There are a few things for you to accept:

1. Clemson has finally turned their program around.
2. Blake Mitchell is not a sure bet.
3. Gary Gray is going to Notre Dame.

The worm scratcher, or the beautiful hunter?

Clemson players dropping like flies

Gaddis may be suspended..

Redshirt freshman Chris Chancellor replaced junior C.J. Gaddis as the first-team field cornerback during Tuesday evening’s practice, and the move could stick through Saturday’s game.

Gaddis said he was held out of practice, saying he was not sure when he will be allowed to participate again or whether he will even play Saturday.

He declined to elaborate further or confirm whether he had been suspended.

Chancellor (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) said the job is Gaddis’ upon return but added he would not be surprised if he started against FAU.

Sixth Annual Herbie Awards.

Kirk Herbstreit (the only respectable ESPN analyst, in my opinion) has given out his awards this year, and you may be surprised. Look at some of the names in his coaching awards:


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview06/news/story?id=2557331

While we are talking about QB's...

Lets talk about Willy Proctor. How proven is he? I think that is question that tater fans need to ask themselves and quit worrying about our qb. Proctor has one start under his belt and that come against Puke. So to say that he will lead you to the promise land is a bit absurd also. Yes i realize that clemson has a good runnig game, but part of that come from Mr. Whitehype being able to keep teams honest with his ability to throw the ball. If Proctor has trouble throwing the ball, you can bet your bottom dollar that teams will start to stack the box and force Proctor to beat them throwing it. Can he do it? I dont know and neither do any of ya'll. So before you taters go crowing yourselves national champs, which is a complete joke, you need to take a long look at your offense. Charlie is gone guys.

As for Mitchell, he did have struggles at the end of last season, but i think that comes from the fact that he became too dependent upon Sydney. Any time he got in trouble that was the first guy he looked to. Now that he has had another season with the offense, as have the recievers, I think you can look for better timing and better decision making. I think you can also look for better route running by the recievers for carolina, and for blake to have more confidence in the other guys, such as, Kenny, A healthy Syvelle(whom we didnt have at the end of last season FYI), and emergence from some of the younger guys ,who havent played a game yet, but have been in the system for over a year now. It will definitely be something to keep an eye on this year.

Spurrier is still good with his mouth.

Tommy uses his mouth in other purposes!

So does Charlie Whitehurst!

All SEC?

I disagree with that. He will finish 3rd, behind Brandon Cox and Chris Leak. I think you guys will win at least 7 games, but I don't think Mitchell will have huge numbers. I think the offensive line will struggle early on. I don't foresee anymore TD passes than last year, but he will probably throw 2 or 3 less picks...unless the running game goes to shit.

Whitehurst in 2004 for example.

He caught alot of heat in 2004 for performing poorly.

However, if you watched most of the games, most of that was due to mistakes around him. Running for his life, balls bouncing off recievers hands and chests and into a defenders hands, little or no running game. Then of course his confidence got down and he made some mistakes. Just like any other quarterback, to be successfull, you need an O-line and a running threat.

Yes, as I have said before, Spurrier is still good with his mouth.

He knows that when you have a really bad quarterback, you need to try and boost their confidence some kind of way. You never hear head coaches say too much bad about quarterback, its kind of an unwritten rule.

I know you love him Blake, but laying all jokes aside, if he continues on the path he began at the end of last season, I don't see him as being your starting QB by the end of the season. I mean, Spurrier likes Smelley, why wait if Mitchell doesn't get the job done. He certainly did not at the end of the season. Who knows? If he does perform in a successfull Spurrier offense of predominately passes? Its possible. Lets don't jump the gun, their are alot and I mean alot of questions for your offense. Starting with the O-line, even if he does perform, he can't very well be successfull running for his life or without a running game (O-line must make that happen too).

Spurrier is pumping up Blake... Big time

Steve Spurrier's weekly call in show was tonight. Spurrier made a HUGE statement tonight!

It all started when a caller asked a question to the point of bowl predictions. Something like, "coach in the past with your highly touted Florida teams, you predicted what you thought would be true for your present team." Then the question, "how do you think Carolina will fare this year?"

Spurrier then stated something to the gist of, "back then I said, we should do this and do that, and luckily it came true. "

After that, Spurrier said something, out of no where, that made my confidence in the Carolina offense sky rocket!

Spurrier's words were, "you want a prediction? I'll give you a prediction that none of you have heard before."....

You ready??

" Blake Mitchell will be a All-SEC QB!" "How about that for a prediction." Blake has thrown the ball beautifully this off season." "ALL SEC QB"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Vance..

Where did Brent find that picture of Tootie? .. LMAO!

Garcia jumps from 88th to 49th in the nation..

Steven Garcia was ranked 88th best player in the nation regardless of position by Rivals.com. In the latest edition of the Rivals.com Top 100, Garcia is ranked 49th best player and 3rd best dual-threat QB behind only Clemson commited Willy Korn and VT commited Tyrod Taylor. He was ranked 6th best dual-threat QB before the new edition.

He must have really impressed at the Elite 11 camp and early in this season to make that big of a jump. I mean he high stepped past 39 prospects! I am anxious to see him in a Gamecock jersey, slinging the pig skin for Steve Spurrier!!

I want to be him.

Predictions....

Clemson 48-3 over FAU, Mississippi State 17 South Carolina 13. You're right, Ryan you and your Cocks are like stray dogs...hanging around the holidays waiting for scraps, begging for a piece of the bowl picture. Clemson will play for the ACC title this year. And I almost forgot Cocks, Clemson measures their success by wins and losses not by what the other team does. Carolina relies on Clemson to lose more than they do to call it a good season. But doggone it, we still beat the Coots every darn year.

My Prediction..

Carolina 31-13... Thats my only prediction.. thus far.

None shall survive huh????

...Except for maybe WEAK FOREST!

Ole Willy P must have forgot about these guys... Uh OH!

PS. Nice pic. Isn't that the woman that starred in the HBO show "Sex in the city"?

OK, Preditions Everyone, Brent how about you get some sack and go out on limb with the Tiger, you too Smelley Cock Fans!

Finally, some new blood, lets hear it, don't be scared Ryan what are the Cocks gonna do? What about you Blake.

P.S. Let that be a lesson to you, don't be doubting my photographic like memory. I think he meant your other recievers are not very good. LOL

My Prediction: Clemson VS Notre Dame for the National Championship this year!

Oh and the Tigers win it of course. Gamecocks, not so bright, a losing record. Spurrier one step closer to permanent retirement!

Welcome aboard Ryan, but did you reall have to post that picture of Brent holding you up in a Clemson cheerleading outfit. I mean I have always known you were a closet Clemson fan but good god.

Vance, I concede my argument to you.. you were right somewhat..

You was right.. Spurrier's exact quote at the golf outing presser, on July 31st 2006 (before Fall practice began) was "Our WR coach, Steve Jr., sometimes known as Sidney's coach." Thing about it is, that comment wasn't down playing our other WR's at all, like you tried to make it out to be. It was just stating the obvious. . . how good Sidney is.

Man, now I know why you didn't want to bring this presser up on the webpage. I can't believe I didn't bring it up myself. This was the PC that Spurrier stated:

"I really think I've got one of the best coaching staffs I've ever had in 16 years."

Anyway, here's the presser in a nutshell below, and I attached a link of the audio for your listening pleasure (just scroll down to July 31).. I also posted above a nice pic of Kenny McKinley making a nice reception... Enjoy!



South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier addressed the media as part of his annual golf outing Monday in Columbia. Here are some of his thoughts on the upcoming season:

Opening Statement"
I really think I've got one of the best coaching staffs I've ever had in 16 years, I'm serious. We've got some new guys who have helped us, plus I think our guys are going to coach better this year. I think we have learned a little bit more about what we are trying to do and we are going to coach better than last year."

"I know I had to yell at our guys a little bit about offseason workouts. We had five to seven players that are not as committed as well as we should, but one group I want to brag on a little bit is the offensive line, and I've said several times already this year I think the offensive line will play better than the group last year. They've worked harder in the offseason. They've been close to 100 percent from what our strength coach tells us, and as a group, they've probably been the best on the team."

"James Thompson is ready to become a ballplayer now. Chris White is in the best shape he's ever been in, Thomas Coleman has really improved his strength and was able to make all the runs the other day. Gurminder Thind is a guy who's worked extremely hard. He works on his own. I saw some guys in the weight room the other day working out on their own, which is very unusual around here. I'm sure they do it on their own some, but we don't see them very often. They do go out and throw the ball around and cover each other, the quarterbacks, receivers and DBs from what I hear, so they've done that. Anyway, it's good to see some guys doing a little extra on their own, which Gurminder was doing the other day."

"We are approaching the year again with some cautious optimism. I've said before if we win more than we lose that will be a good year. I don't think we need to put a lot of pressure on our guys that they're supposed to win so many right now. We're still building this thing, but we could have a pretty good team. I don't know what's going to happen. I just know looking back at a lot of teams I've been able to coach, we've been able to win a lot of games with not maybe a dominant defense, but a good defense. I think our defense will play better this year too. I think we'll be much better organized. Our players will be more knowledgeable about what they're trying to do, and I think those sophomores and freshmen maybe will really represent us as a group that plays with a lot of effort, that plays with as much effort as we can, so I'm looking forward to seeing what our defense does this year too."

"Obviously, we feel good that we won seven games last year. We had a chance to win one or two more and had a chance to lose two or three other more. When you play a whole bunch of close ones and you win more than you lose, sometimes you count your blessings. Some of those teams lose all the close ones, then you can really have a bad year, so hopefully we'll again win our share of the close games and go from there."

"If we are going to have a big year this year, obviously our quarterback Blake Mitchell will have to play extremely well. I think our running backs Cory Boyd and Mike Davis are two really good ones. Bobby Wallace may jump in there and make some long runs this year, who knows."

"Our receiving corps, with Sidney Rice and Kenny McKinley; Mike West is a fast player over there just learning how to play receiver. Maybe he can make some plays. The freshman Moe Brown is one of the fastest kids on the team, so he'll get a good chance out there also."

"Defensively, I don't know who to talk about right now. We'll have to wait and see who the star players are going to be over there. We think a lot of them have got a chance to play well."

"Marvin Sapp hopefully is going to be our leading tackler, hopefully one of our safeties won't do it this year, although one freshman you might want to keep an eye on is Emanuel Cook. I think right now we're putting him where Ko Simpson played. From what I hear, Emanuel runs extremely well and is one of the strongest freshmen reporting, so he's physically ready to play as a freshman. Other than that, Fred Bennett is about the lone returning starter, though I'm sure we had a few others start off and on."

"We're excited about Marque Hall. Marque has gained about 25 good pounds and he's ready to step in there and play defensive tackle and hopefully make a bunch of plays in there. Stanley Doughty is always a wait-and-see type guy, but hopefully he's lost a little weight and can play to his potential, because he could be a good player in there for us if his weight is right and his mind is right, so hopefully he's going to do that."

"In our kicking game, Ryan Succop of course is our kickoff man. He's one of the best in the country. I don't know who the extra point/field goal is going to be. We're still having some tryouts. Coach Chatham and us are going to have tryouts here quickly and try and settle on who we think our best kicker is. Ryan Succop could be our punter."

http://uscsports.cstv.com/multimedia/06-scar-footbl-multimedia.html

Thats right, I'm finally on board!!!

Well, you thought you could keep me away and bash me behind the computer screen, but ole Rich is like that stray dog that you fed over the holidays. You cant beat him away with a stick. All you can do is pray that he gets run over by a car.

Hello boys. I know you guys missed me, so I figured I would drop in and give my two cents worth. As we all know, the best time of year is finally starting to roll around and it seems I made my apperance not a moment to soon. Seems we already have some taters that have crowned their boys ACC( All Cupcake Conference) champs. Well its a long season fellows, so we will see how it all plays out!!

Thoughts on Spurrier's PC, Clemson's Depth Chart

I listened to Spurrier's press conference today, and I thought he sounded pretty confident in his team. They are taking a wait and see approach to the questions concerning the team, most notably on defense. He sounded pretty confident in the first and second year guy's on the O-line and defense, but he also conceded that his Cocks are not ready to challenge for the SEC title yet.
The depth chart had a few changes, that were pretty expected. CJ Spiller will be co-second team with Reggie Merriweather, Davis of course 1st string. Aaron Kelly and Rendrick Taylor must be tied in practice because they're co-starters at the WR-X position. I would like to see them on the field at the same time myself. Tyler Grisham will start in 3 back sets in the WR-Z (confusing letter assignments). He is the typical Ricky Proehl possession, tough, white boy receiver that we really need. And of course Spiller and Jacoby Ford will be handling kickoff and punt returns to add explosiveness in this area. I know this weeekend will be a blowout, but I am anxious to see how this team gels and see what Spence has in store for this year's offense. I am anxious to see how our secondary plays their assignments as well. The full depth chart is on thetigernet.com and tigerillustrated.com.

Another great Cock fan, just like this guy!

RICH IS HERE!

Rich has joined the team of sportaholics. I had to call for backup.. lol. I hope he will post something every once in a while.

Anyway, welcome Rich..

Ernesto Weakens.

According to the Weather Channel, the storm has been downgraded to a tropical storm, and will probably get weaker as it crosses over Haiti. There is a small window for it to strengthen again, but it looks like it will probably be very small by the time it gets to the US coast. It probably won't even be raining.

Man, I hope you're right Brent.

The thing is, what about the heavy rain that will come before the big part of the storm comes? I don't want Carolina to play in the rain. It would kill our passing game. But I guess it works both ways, because it would slow Miss St.'s running game. However, I would much rather play a nice dry game.

I got another pick. This is from the Weather Channel. It looks a little better for the Carolina/Miss St. game, but Clemson may be playing in the mud Saturday! Sounds like fun!

No Worries

Blake, Starkville is located in the northern half of Mississippi, away from the gulf. I think the game will be played as planned

Put the damn keys away! LMFAO!!!!!!!!

I got this article from a Michigan webpage that is hosted by some college guys. It's actually a pretty funny page, though I could care less about Michigan. Ryan Richey would love this one! Anyway, I thought this article was worthy of posting. Enjoy! I know I did. My stomach still hurts from laughing at this quote:

"Hands raised, keys out, mouths...shut! Wow. How intimidating. Must be so hard to audible when the car key clangs against the house key like that."

I once met an Auburn fan at a sports bar where I had gone to watch the Michigan game not long after moving out west. Talking college football, he mentioned that he always wanted to go to a game in Ann Arbor saying, "Must be crazy there, 100,000 fans in the stadium going nuts each weekend.

"When I told him that actually, during big -- or "key" -- plays, Michigan fans whip out their key chains and "jangle" them, he thought I was joking. When I told him I wasn't, first he laughed, then he called one of his fellow SEC buddies over and said, "Tell him what you just told me."After explaining Michigan's key play "tradition" once more, the other Auburn alum asked, "Does it ever get loud there?"

"Truth is," I said, "not really." I told him that about the only time you hear a Michigan fan in the alumni section scream is when he yells "Down in front!" at one of the few truly vocal Wolverine supporters in Michigan Stadium (I think I even said that chant should replace the more famous "Let's Go Blue!" cheer as it's probably uttered more during games).

The Tiger/War Eagle/Make Up Your Mind fans were shocked. And I almost felt embarrassed. Like I had just revealed some awkward family secret. But it's time to face reality:

Michigan fans are some of the worst fans in the country.

There, I said it. And I feel better having gotten it off my chest as this post/column/rant/soon-to-be-diatribe has been building in me since I first traveled to watch Michigan play on the road when I was 14 years old and saw for myself what a true home field advantage really is. Or more to the point, I HEARD what good fans "sound" like. And they don't sound like The Big (Quiet) House which is quite possibly the lamest home field advantage in all of college football.

Am I wrong? Was I exaggerating to the Tiger/War Eagle/Make Up Your Mind fans above? Take a look at the picture: Hands raised, keys out, mouths...shut! Wow. How intimidating. Must be so hard to audible when the car key clangs against the house key like that. Or maybe the reflection is supposed to blind the QB.

And the most pathetic part? If you're familiar with Michigan Stadium then you know that this picture was taken IN THE STUDENT SECTION!

Sweet Mother of Ufer! How sad. And that's the "rowdy" section of Michigan Stadium.

Unfortunately, those that attend Michigan games seem to confuse merely showing up at the games with being great fans. But I don't give a rat's cornhole that we've had over 100,000 at every home game since 1975. Playing at home should provide the home team with an advantage. And in football, the way to do that is to be LOUD! To keep the other team from being able to change plays at the line. To keep them from getting in a rhythm. To keep them from hearing the snap count. And not just for a handful of plays one or two games a year!

Now before someone out there even says it, before Mr. Down In Front even opens his mouth to utter The Big Excuse for The Big (Quiet) House, shut your pie hole and listen:IT'S NOT THE SHAPE OF THE DAMN STADIUM!

We've all heard that crap, right? "But the open bowl doesn't trap the sound."

Bullsh*t! I am so sick and tired of hearing that excuse.

Look at the picture again! It's not the shape of the stadium. It's the shape of the mouths of the fans in the stands: CLOSED!

I've traveled to away games at places like Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa and Oregon (half the size, twice the noise) -- as well as numerous bowl games -- and Michigan fans are by far the quietest fans around. Period.

Sure, we throw great tailgates. We buy lots of maize and blue paraphernalia. We pack the stadium each Saturday. But we don't give our team a home field advantage worth a damn!

So folks have to stop "blaming" the shape of the stadium. The problem is the fans. If you put 100,000 people on a flat, open field and they're all screaming, guess what? It's going to be loud -- that is if everyone opens their mouths and not their pockets and purses to pull out their &^%$ keys!

Bottom line, we need to turn The Big House into the most intimidating home field advantage in all of college football. A place that, due to the constant noise level, is the most difficult place to play for an opposing team -- from the first snap until the final gun. A place so thunderous that the Michigan student section keeps track of false start penalties and delay of game infractions caused by noise, like baseball fans who mark off strike outs using "K" signs hanging over the outfield wall.

So next time you see a guy take out his keys before a crucial play, tell him to put the damn keys away and GET LOUD.

Next time someone behind you yells "Down in front!" during the opponent's drive toward our endzone, tell him to turn that energy toward the field to help his team.

Next time a cheerleader holds up a "Key Play" sign on the field, throw her a Sharpie and tell her to write "MAKE NOISE!"And most of all, you -- you reading this column/post/rant -- MAKE SOME NOISE next time you're in A2 for a game.

You know, I may not bring about world peace. Or cure a deadly disease. But if I can somehow spur Michigan fans to make The Big House into the biggest home field advantage in America, if I can help turn Michigan Stadium into the most intimidating place to play in college football, I will have accomplished a feat some say is tougher to achieve than the first two.

If you disagree with this column, post away. But for the love of Schembechler, if you agree with this in any way, shape or form, please pass this on to five or six Michigan fans. I figure if chain emails about Bill Gates giving away money can circle the globe every three months, we can reach 100,000 season ticket holders no sweat. Help turn The Big House into The Loud(est) House.

The worse thing for all Gamecock fans could be about to happen..

No, I'm not talking about Gary Gray committing to Notre Dame. I'm talking about something much worse.

The kickoff of the season opener at Miss. St. being postponed due to hurricane Ernesto.

That would really suck, and it's quite possible. Check the picture of the projected storm path.

I realize that it's saying that it won't hit till Friday. But, what about the weather that will spread before, and what if this little picture is wrong and the storm hits a day before expected!

I couldn't imagine having to wait an hour later for kickoff. Much less, DAYS!!!

Also, Vance you may want to leave on Thursday or before after all.

Guess Ryan is wrong after all.

The Latest: Gray says Notre Dame leads — 8/26/2006
Five-star cornerback Gary Gray from Columbia (S.C.) Richland Northeast is leaning toward heading out-of-state to play his college football, the former South Carolina commit told ESPN on Saturday.

link:
http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=41417&Sport=1

You knew that I meant the whole SEC.. Not just one team

You couldn't find an article bashing the whole SEC, so you had to pull this out... LOL. That's OK though. I left you with a little something special too. Let me know if you need a link.

Prepare yourself. . . you could feel pretty embarrassed after viewing the following.

Wake Forest 31, Clemson 27

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- Cory Randolph threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Marion with 33 seconds left and Wake Forest rallied to hand Clemson another heartbreaking loss, 31-27 Saturday night.

The comeback wasn't sealed until the final play, when Tigers wide receiver Curt Baham was stopped at the 3-yard line after a 27-yard gain just as time expired. The referees huddled briefly before agreeing that it was over, setting off a raucous celebration by the Demon Deacons (2-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

They drove 66 yards in slightly less than 2 minutes for the winning score after Clemson coach Tommy Bowden called for a fake field goal instead of letting Jad Dean attempt a 44-yarder that would have put the Tigers up by six. The poorly executed play was stopped easily, and Wake Forest took over on its 34.

Randolph, who replaced Ben Mauk at quarterback this week as part of a shake-up by coach Jim Grobe, was 5-for-6 on the final drive and finished 20-for-25 for 222 yards. He threw for a total of three TDs.

The loss was the third in a row for Clemson (2-3, 1-3), but at least this one didn't go into overtime. After winning their opening two games by a total of five points, the Tigers lost in triple overtime to Miami and in one extra period to Boston College.

Charlie Whitehurst bounced back from a rough start to go 28-for-42 for 304 yards for the Tigers, and James Davis ran for his first two touchdowns of the season. They rallied from a 21-7 deficit to take a a 27-21 lead on Dean's 47-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

Those were their final points.

Wake Forest got within three points on Sam Swank's kick from 33 yards out, but Clemson's Nick Watkins appeared to seal it by intercepting a pass from Randolph with about 3 minutes left. That's when it got really interesting.

Two runs netted the Tigers only 3 yards, and Whitehurst's pass on third down was incomplete. Dean trotted out for a field goal that would have made it 30-24 and forced the Deacons to look for seven points. Instead, holder Cole Chason, who doubles as the punter, took the snap and ran the option with Dean to the left.

No one was fooled, and Wake Forest had another shot. It paid off, thanks to Randolph.

He completed his first eight passes -- including two that went for scores -- and added a 4-yard TD run of his own as the Deacons build their lead. They were helped by Whitehurst, who threw a pick on his first pass and another two possessions later.

Wake Forest also blocked a punt in an inspired effort following three losses in its first four games.

Ok here Goes! Still want the link?

Smith rallies Mizzou past S. Carolina in Independence Bowl


SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- As Brad Smith goes, so goes Missouri.
South Carolina knew that and the game plan of keeping Smith in check worked great -- for a half, anyway.

Then, the Missouri quarterback broke loose, as he has done so often in his career, rushing for three touchdowns -- including a 1-yarder in the final minutes -- and passing for another to rally the Tigers for a 38-31 victory over the Gamecocks in the Independence Bowl on Friday.
"It wasn't anything magical," Smith said. "We just played within our system."
Smith, who rushed for 1,151 yards and passed for 2,022 this season, accounted for 431 yards of Missouri's 504 yards as the Tigers staged their biggest comeback victory of the year.
Missouri (7-5) trailed 21-0 after the first quarter as Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks dominated the first half. South Carolina (7-5) outgained Missouri 312 yards to 174 in the first half and held the football almost 11 minutes longer (20:02-9:58).

"We knew he was an excellent quarterback," Spurrier said. "We had him hemmed in in the first half, but we weren't good enough to do it the whole game."

The Tigers didn't convert a third-down until the final 58 seconds of the half.
Smith completed 21 of 37 passes for 282 yards, with one touchdown and an interception. He passed for 200 or more yards for the 18th time. He also ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.

"I was trying to make too much," Smith said. "At the end of the second quarter I was able to make something happen and get my timing down."
The Gamecocks needed less than 3 minutes to go 80 yards for their first score. Blake Mitchell's 23-yard pass to Sidney Rice put Carolina up 7-0. Rice finished with 12 receptions for 191 yards.
Tony Temple fumbled on Missouri's first play and South Carolina's Ricardo Hurley scooped up the ball. Four plays later Mike Davis, who ran for 125 yards on 18 carries, scored on a 5-yard run for a 14-0 lead.

The Gamecocks' third scoring drive covered 69 yards in 1:59. This time Mitchell, who completed 20 of 38 passes for 266 yards, hit Carson Askins with a 20-yard scoring pass to make it 21-0. Mitchell passed for two touchdowns, and was intercepted three times.

"Twenty-one-nothing is no safe lead for us," Spurrier said.

Marcus King gave Missouri its first points, grabbing Mitchell's pass at the goal line and returning it 99 yards to make it 21-7 in the second quarter.
After Davis' 2-yard TD run gave the Gamecocks a 28-7 lead, Missouri staged its first long drive of the game. The Tigers went 77 yards and Smith hit Chase Coffman with a 5-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-14 at halftime. Coffman finished with eight catches for 99 yards.
On their first drive of the third quarter, Missouri faked a field goal at the Carolina 14. Martin Rucker ran to the 1-yard line, but the Tigers couldn't push it in and Adam Crossett's 22-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

Smith pulled Missouri to 28-21 with a 31-yard run with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
Another apparent Missouri touchdown was nullified by a 15-yard tripping penalty. Smith finally got the score on a 4-yard run that tied the score at 28 early in the fourth quarter.
Crossett kicked a 50-yard field goal to put the Tigers up 31-28, but Josh Brown countered with a 30 yarder that tied it at 31-all.

Then, with 2:13 remaining, Smith sealed the Missouri win with a 1-yard TD run.
"It shows us no matter where we are or who we play, we can stay with them," Missouri safety David Overstreet said. "We spotted them 21 points. To go out and get the win is great for everyone's confidence."

You can find articles bashing the SEC?

If you can I would love to see them. Problem is, it will be very hard to find one. No one is stupid enough to attempt to bash the SEC. It's just a silly notion. If you can find one, I would love for you to copy and paste it here. Good luck, and don't forget to add a link!

As far as me giving UGA credit for coming back against WV. . . Credit?? Yea, thats what I said. WV was up 21-0 after the first quarter. Then UGA scored 21 points in the 2nd quarter to WV's 10 points. In the second half UGA scored 14 to WV's 7. The final score was 35-38 WV. So yes, that was a good comeback by UGA, and I give them credit for it. Do you need the definition of "comeback"?

The ACC had only one embarrassing bowl loss? Did you forget about GT's beating they took against Utah?? 38-10. . . A MAC conference team.. LOL. Now that is embarrassing!

Don't Forget! Byrnes VS Glades Central Today!

I loved the High School Scores! That was a great idea!

But Alas, we must address some issues. First off, if you didn't agree with the article, which nobody much would, then why would you post it? I'm quite sure I could find many many SEC bashing articles on the internet and paste them up for you.

There are more and more people with any kind of college football intellect that would say the ACC is no longer in second place or getting real close. The fact that the argument can be made says something.

You give UGA credit for coming back like they did? Credit? They did not come back, they had an embarrassing loss and they deserve no credit. Especially considering they did it with alot of players both our teams would like to have.

Hey don't be bringing up Lou Holtz's accomplishments. You guys have thrown him under the bus. I know he gave the undeserving Gamecock fans their best football to date. If you need to remind somebody of that remind your own back stabbing fans of that.

Duke and Wake Forest, it always comes up. Just don't forget you can end both those seasons with the statement and then you guys whipped our ass again.

Finally, the only thing that you could bring up bad about the ACC was the whipping that they got from LSU. I agree it was embarrassing. So embarrassing coaches got fired afterwards. It is important to note that if Miami had won the National Championship last year they would still be a Big East team, they had an embarrassing loss so they are ACC through and through. But regardless, we did have one embarrassing loss, you had quite a bit more than one. Don't forget, the Future of the Tigers today!

Blake's High School Football Scoreboard

I'm gonna try to give you this feature every Friday night.

Crescent-34 Calhoun Falls-14

Abbeville-28 Niney Six-15

Greenwood-21 Emerald-0

Seneca-21 Wareshoals-20

T.L Hannah-30 Westside-14

Richland NE-28 Lexington-0

Christ Church-30 Dixie-6

Gaffney-21 Rock Hill-18

Pickens-42 Wallhalla-13

Aiken-31 Dorman-16

Woodruff-29 Saluda-6

Carolina's Capital Fundraising Campaign underway..

In the first Spurrier call in show of 2006 on Thursday night, Spurrier stated that the program had received a large gift of 1 million dollars from a donor.

Spurrier also said that he had a donation on the way himself. "Maybe it will help the fans and doubters realize that I'm serious about being around for 10 years or more." Spurrier stated.

The goal for the campaign is $75-100 million. Expected time of reaching the goal is 7-8 years.

LOL.. Damn, y'all act like I was the one that wrote it..

I don't agree with it either. There is no doubt in my mind that the ACC is the 2nd best conference. ESPN is usually wrong, and this little article proves it even further.

BUT, you guys are usually wrong too, and I'm gonna prove it even further.

First of all, West Virginia had a good team last year. Georgia must've not have thought so coming into the game. WV got the big lead and by the time UGA realized that they had a battle on their hands it was to late. I give UGA credit for coming back like they did though.

Carolina loses their bowl game every year? The last 2 times we played in bowl games before the Mizzou game we beat Ohio St.'s ass twice back to back. Then the next year Ohio St. went on to win the national championship. So, I'm not quite sure where that came from? Fantasy world maybe?

As far as Carolina having such an awful team, and we still beat Tenn. I wouldn't be talking about past upsets to much. With Clemson beating Miami and then the following week losing to Duke in 2004... Then losing to Wake Forest last year.. LOL.

Also guys don't forget about Miami's tail whipping by LSU in their bowl game. What was it 43-3? Tenn. beat LSU last year.

Bottom line, the ACC is no doubt on the rise. However, they are far away from being as good as the SEC. ACC premiere conference and SEC a has been??... LMAO... pipe dream. You're gonna need 5 more Miamis, VTs, and BCs to get to that level... Keep dreaming.

Old Maisel and Schalabach, LOL

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No Love for the ACC?

Florida State was awful last year, yet Penn state took like a hundred overtimes to beat them. The Big 10 champs. Georgia got outplayed by a West Virginia team and they won the SEC! The Trojans "were" the best team in football, but it is very obvious they were the only team in the PAC-10 that could compete with the premiere teams in the country. Wisconsin, a mediocre Wisconsin, beat a great Auburn team. I could go on and on, but the fact of the matter is, we can't make an assessment on who the best conference is until the end of the year, and even then it gets all crazy with different teams on different levels of their conference beat each other. I've already given my opinion on ESPN's crappy reporters and analysts. I would rather take advice from a talking terd. On a side note, I do like Stewart Mandel's blog and mailbag on cnnsi.com I do think the southeast has the best defense on the whole, but thats just an opinion. We could go on and on about this subject, but I would rather do it while watching football, so Vance have your ass down here this weekend to watch Sly Croom beat Ol' Ball Sack and the Tigers give BC and FSU a taste of what's in store for them!

Is the Big Ten or SEC the best conference?

By Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com

ACC not getting much love...


Which conference is the best? We asked our experts -- Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach -- to rank them all, and here are their lists. Agree? Disagree?


Ranking The Conferences

Ivan's Rankings

1. Big Ten. I love the number of great quarterbacks in the league this year, and Ted Ginn Jr. proves that the guys who make everyone miss aren't limited to the Sun Belt states (or the Sun Belt Conference).

2. SEC. The perennial East Division powers have lost a step, although it's nothing permanent. The West will be as tough as it has been in the past five years. Even the Mississippi schools look better.

3. Big 12. The South continues to flex its muscles, and the North, with Nebraska leading the way, actually might be good enough to hit back. There's no question about what Gary Barnett and Bill Snyder accomplished, but Colorado and Kansas State are better off now than a season ago.

4. ACC. The leader among conferences in mystery teams. Can Miami rediscover its offense? Can Florida State rediscover an offensive line? Can Clemson get over the eight-win hump? Can Maryland break out of a two-year slump? Will anyone ever give Boston College any credit?

5. Pac-10. The rest of the teams might be gaining on USC, which has won 23 straight conference games and hasn't lost one in regulation since 2001. Every team except Stanford has a lot of upside this season. The move to a full round-robin this season will be watched closely.

6. Big East. Lay off, all right? West Virginia and Louisville could compete in any conference. Rutgers, Pittsburgh and UConn are close. The conference needs once-traditional powers such as Pittsburgh and Syracuse to rebuild. The Orange are a couple of years away.

7. Mountain West. The expansion of the BCS this season could be the springboard for this league, which has been building momentum for a couple of years. TCU has been a great addition to the league. Utah and BYU are both strong this season, and the addition of Chuck Long as head coach at San Diego State brings a bright mind and big name to the league.

8. Conference USA. The first team to field a defense wins. Seniors Kevin Kolb of Houston and Jordan Palmer of UTEP lead exciting offenses. Last year's division champions, UCF and Tulsa, might be improved. George O'Leary's rebuilding job in Orlando is the best thing to happen to this league in a while.

9. Western Athletic. A transition year for the league, what with Chris Peterson taking over for
Dan Hawkins at perennial power Boise State. Hawaii might challenge the Broncos and Fresno State at the top, but the Warriors must travel to the mainland to play both teams, as well as Alabama. Dennis Erickson's return to Idaho can be only good news.

10. Mid-American. The league has some good teams but none that appears as if it will make a dent in the national conscience and, more important, the Top 25. Northern Illinois, after several years of threatening, could break through and win it all. The East is anybody's guess. Defending champion Akron won't sneak up on anyone the way it did last year.

11. Sun Belt. America's Road Warriors are busier than ever this season, the first in which the 12th game has been revived. Unfortunately, the crazy road games taken for money will have an impact on the quality of conference play. The team that keeps the most players healthy wins.



Mark's Rankings

1. SEC. Four legitimate BCS contenders: Auburn, Florida, Georgia and LSU. A handful of the country's best coaches: South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, Georgia's Mark Richt, Florida's Urban Meyer and Auburn's Tommy Tuberville. College football's most passionate fans (check my e-mails) and best game-day settings.

2. Pac-10. USC has played for the national title three straight seasons, winning twice, and is going for its fifth consecutive league title, a streak no team has achieved. The Trojans finally could get resistance from Arizona State, Oregon and California. Washington State and Oregon State could be surprises.

3. Big Ten. Ohio State seems to be an overwhelming choice to win the league, but Michigan could be a surprise if quarterback Chad Henne and tailback Mike Hart stay healthy and its defense improves. Penn State looks likely to take a small step back, but linebacker Paul Posluszny won't let the team fall too far. Don't forget about Iowa, which plays the Buckeyes in Iowa City.

4. ACC. Figures to be another three-team race between Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech for the conference championship. Georgia Tech, with receiver Calvin Johnson, could be a major sleeper. Boston College tries to move up in its second season in the league, and Maryland, NC State and North Carolina try to step out of mediocrity.

5. Big 12. Defending national champion Texas could be right back in the BCS title mix if it beats Ohio State in Austin on Sept. 9. Oklahoma won't fall off the map without quarterback Rhett Bomar, and Texas Tech simply will reload its offense. Is this the season Nebraska and Texas A&M finally rekindle their winning ways?

6. Big East. Louisville or West Virginia, which each have Heisman Trophy candidates playing at quarterback and tailback, could wind up in the BCS title game if the chips fall right. Pittsburgh, Rutgers and South Florida could get to bowl games as Syracuse tries to win more than one game.

7. Mountain West. TCU appears to be the team outside the six power conferences most likely to be a BCS buster. But the Horned Frogs will have to beat Utah and improving BYU to remain in the mix for one of college football's top five bowl games.

8. Conference USA. The league has one of college football's hottest young coaches, Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe, and two coaches who took advantage of second chances: Central Florida's George O'Leary and UTEP's Mike Price. Story lines abound with Tulane returning to its New Orleans campus after Hurricane Katrina and Marshall having a movie made about the 1970 plane crash that killed most of its football team.

9. Western Athletic. Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada could produce upsets of opponents from bigger conferences. It won't take long for former NFL coach Dennis Erickson to have Idaho winning again.

10. Mid-American. The days of Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio) and Northern Illinois pulling off major upsets seem to be long-forgotten. Unless, of course, the Huskies and tailback Garrett Wolfe can win at either Ohio State or Iowa. Now, that would be an upset.

11. Sun Belt. The league's teams seem to just keep getting worse. Sun Belt teams are 1-5 in bowl games since the league joined Division I-A.

Korn and Garcia.

Its well known Korn and Garcia became friends. Korn is reguarly encouraging Garcia to go to the Gamecocks. He says it would be good for both schools to have a rilvary between two good QB's. He actually told Garcia he needed to go to USC because it would be aot of fun beating him every year. I will look for the article, it either came from Tigerillustrated or Cutigers.

The Panthers are playing Miame right now! Starters are expected to play into the third quarter!

Dye denied again

Published August 24, 2006

Xavier Dye's final appeal to the South Carolina High School League for his athletic eligibility at Byrnes High School was denied Wednesday afternoon by a unanimous vote, just three days before the Rebels host Glades Central (Fla.) on ESPN.

Dye, the wide receiver who played at Greenwood last season, enrolled at Byrnes over the summer and hoped to play for the four-time state champions. Dye, who's verbally committed to Clemson, has practiced with the Rebels since enrolling there and can continue to do so.

The 14-0 vote by the SCHSL's executive committee Wednesday ends the appeal process with the league. Dye's eligibility was denied the first time by Roger Hazel, who handles transfers for the league, and a hardship appeal was denied by Jerome Singleton, the league's executive director.

"I just wish Xavier the best. He's a fine young man, and it's been frustrating dealing with this," head coach Bobby Bentley said.

Bentley refused to comment further on the appeal that was held during a meeting in Columbia on Wednesday afternoon.

Dye and his family, along with Bentley, were on hand to try and talk the committee into overruling Singleton's denial. Officials from the SCHSL and Greenwood football coach Shell Dula spoke in favor of Singleton's decision.

The next option for Dye's family is to take the matter to court, and they have already met with Chuck Allen, a lawyer from Anderson.

Dye is the second prominent football player in the county to have athletic eligibility denied in the last year.

Last season, Dorman's Nick Melton -- who was transferring from Gaffney -- was denied eligibility but allowed to play midway through the season after the case went through the court system.

Dye is the No. 11-ranked player in the state by Rivals.com, a well-known recruiting service.

Last year, he caught 37 passes for 614 yards and four touchdowns at Greenwood.

Beginning of a friendly rivalry?

Many people know that Spurrier will sign a QB in every recruiting class.

Well this year, Steven Garcia is him.

The highly touted Garcia is ranked as a 4 star and the 5th best dual-threat QB in the nation by Rivals.

Carolina has been high on him for a while now, and Garcia's feelings are mutual for Carolina. He has had them as his #1 team since the spring game, when he stated "It was the most fun I've had in my life."

Many believe the reason he hasn't already committed is because ESPN is following his recruitment with a little documentary like they did with Tim Tebow last year. It's great because he will give Carolina some publicity upon his commitment. I really believe when he commits a few other big Florida prospects will follow him.

Anyway, what a lot of people don't know is that he made a good friend at the elite 11 camp. A guy by the name of Willy Korn.

From what I had heard about the camp, Steven and Willy were the life of the party. Where they went, the other guys followed. Whether it be hanging out on the beach, playing video games, or watching Garcia's favorite movie (Braveheart), thats where the other guys flocked to.

I think it's cool they have became close. Hopefully it will bring the Carolina/Clemson rivalry a little more publicity. To see just how close the 2 have become, read the article below. It contains quite a big tidbit.

USC Still Frontrunner For Garcia
August 23, 2006

QB Stephen Garcia (6-3 215) of Tampa said Wednesday night USC is still out front for him in a tight battle with Florida. "I'm comfortable with them and the town," Garcia said of the Gamecocks. He is also giving Ole Miss and Oklahoma consideration at this point. Garcia said he probably will come to Columbia for the Georgia game, and he plans to watch the Gamecocks play at Florida and at Clemson. For the Clemson game, Garcia said he will be staying with Clemson quarterback commitment Willy Korn. Garcia said he has not decided when he will make a decision on a school but it could come during his season. He opened the campaign last Friday night by completing 13 of 18 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushing for 36 yards in a 38-20 victory.

Yertle.....

Former Clemson players sighted..

Homer Jordan and Perry Tuttle at their home in Pickens County.

By the way, you can thank ole Taneyhill for the best player on Clemsons sqaud in Gaines Adams.

Former USC QB Finally Spotted?

These photos were recently uncovered and many speculate that it may be former gamecock Steve "Mullet Man" Taneyhill. Also can you find Steve Spurrier and Brian Mccann of the Atlanta Braves in the crowd?

Clemson's Recievers: Diverse and Dedicated.

There is trememdous hype in Death Valley this year for clemson to do well. Most of the hype surrounds the very talented and very deep running back pool that clemson has here. I think the recievers will end up making as many big plays as they will this year. Chansi Stuckey is the veteran senior and has big play capability and is proficient in all areas. He will make a good NFL reciever. Tyler Grisham is a very dependable wideout with glue on his hands and is a near-perfect route runner. Proctor really trusts Grisham to catch the ball every time. Aaron Kelly is the guy that will make those leaping catches downfield at 6'5" and has deceptive speed. Though not as talented, he is a little reminiscient of Randy Moss. Rendrick Taylor may be the most gifted of them all. He is built like a linebacker, with 4.4 speed. He can take it the distance from anywhere on the field and I expect him to be one of the biggest playmakers this year. Jacoby Ford has been called "The fastest human being I have ever seen." by David Blackwell. He will mainly be in the return game, but expect him to catch more than a couple big passes this year. This group is very determined to make plays and with each having a different strenth, teams will have trouble matching up to them with all of them or even just 2 or 3 on the field. I wouldn't trade this group for anyone else's recievers and I truly believe this is the best group in the ACC.

Old Danny says say "No" to crack.

I hear it all the time, Korn is only good because of the team around him, all kinds of nonsense. All eight TD's were by Korn, even though he saw very limited play time in the second half. What does translate into a good college QB? I think it would be Korn.

Blakeroo, I just can't see how the Muse case backs you up at all. I actually think backs up my point. Bowden would agree with you, Muse was not a class act, thats whay he doesn't play football for the Clemson Tigers, he was no doubt a good athelete. You just can't keep players with disciplinary issues around because they are good atheletes. For example, letting them off sky free or supending them for a year and letting them come back because they are good atheletes. Only an evil team would do this.

Willie is the man!!

High school success doesn't translate to success in college, but I have little doubt of Willie Korn being a hit when he gets to Clemson. I think he is the starter as soon as he walks on campus in January. Ryan Richey made the comment that the Byrnes system is set up for someone to have success. I will disagree, because you don't get ranked the 3rd best PLAYER (4th, respectively by scouts.com) in the entire country regardless of position by someone's system. Thats like saying one of us would be ranked that high just because of that system. This kid is the real deal and he can throw it in the pocket, srambling, and he just might take off down the field for a large gain. Look out South Carolina, Korn wants to be beside Whitehurst with a 4-0 record against the "dirty" birds. Smelley ain't bad either.

And a child shall lead them..

No but seriously, Jebediah Korn is a awesome highschool QB. However, he has not proven he is a great college QB just yet.

Also, Clemson isn't a class act team. If it was, Paul Muse would have completed his necessary goals to get back on the field. Instead, he let his pride get in the way.

Not bashing on Clemson by saying that, because every team has bad apples. Just stating that Clemson is no exception.

Ray Ray is a class act person. If Clemson had a team of full of kids like that... It would be a class act team.

ANYWAY:::

It's now into single digits!! 9 days left!!!!

That's the kind of players we have at Clemson.

The team is a class act. Its kind of like good v/s evil in November and good almost always wins. What do you think about Korn with eight TD's not even playing the whole game?