Carolina/Clemson Hateweek: Wednesday - Analysis

Enough with the taunting.

Pretty good Q&A over here. It was informative for me because I haven't really followed Clemson much. I was not aware that Clemson's big weakness was O-Line.

Ok, well, maybe a little more taunting is in order.

Spurrier Interviews at SEC Media Days 2014

Here you go.



 Enjoy.

Spurrier is OG

Allow me to sum up the awesomeness of the Capital One Bowl for you in one GIF (via @BuzzFeedSports):

1. Connor Shaw takes the snap from the shotgun
2. Shaw hands off to Pharaoh Cooper on what looks like a sweep left
3. Cooper laterals it back to Bruce Ellington
4. Ellington then throws it back across the entire field to Connor Shaw, who has slipped into the endzone unnoticed until it's too late.
5. Touchdown

Spurrier is original gangsta.

Hateweek 2013 (Day 2: Talking Trash)

Carolina vs. Clemson in the Modern Era

You want it, Clemson?

Molon labe

My favorite Thanksgiving dish? Probably dinner rolls, since like Clemson they're flaky, have two "L"s, and burn like little Christmas trees when you put too much heat on 'em.

[h/t EDSBS]

Also, this would be a good time to highlight the difference between the two head coaches. Clemson's coach likes to model grandma sweatshirts in his spare time not coaching football.

Spurrier spends his spare time being awesome:

I'm not saying that Spurrier is more of a badass than Dabo. Well actually, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. If you want to see Dabo talking trash, you can see it here.

I guess we'll see what happens on Saturday. Can Clemson re-take the State Title? Prediction tomorrow.

HateWeek 2013 (Day 1: Warming up the Hate)

Welcome to HateWeek 2013, campers. Everyone take a knee and gather round. It's time to get ready for the South Carolina State Championship.

Just to recap, Clemson has lost the last four games to South Carolina. Dabo Swinney is going to need to get his team ready to play in a hostile environment this Saturday night, because Williams-Brice is going to be rocking, and the HBC and the Gamecocks have a home winning streak on the line.

This year should be a great game, since this will be the first time that both teams will be in the Top 10 going into the game. Pretty safe to assume that one team will not be in the Top 10 afterwards.

Clemson: you might want to bring your A-Game this year, or it's going to be 5 in a row.

We'll have a post each day this week leading up to the game, culminating in a prediction. Tomorrow, we'll look at some trash talk in recent history.

Over a Thousand Absentee Ballots Were Not Counted in Richland County

Government is just another name for things that we do together massive failure.

Remember the Richland County election debacle in the general election last year? It wasn't that long ago. It was the most recent election we just previously had. You know, last time.

So how did this election go? Oh, swimmingly, except for the fact that over a thousand absentee ballots weren't counted. But that's not the best part.

The best part is that the person most responsible for the 2012 fiasco, Lillian McBride, wasn't fired back then for being incompetent. She was reassigned. Guess where she was reassigned to for this election...

Wait for it....

She was in charge of counting absentee ballots. Excuse me for a moment.

This is insane, y'all. The person who screwed the pooch last time wasn't fired. She was simply transferred to an easier job. Then she managed to immediately screw the pooch on her first assignment. You would think that a normal person who makes a catastrophic mistake would be kind of on their toes the next time they get any assignment. Not Ms. McBride. Apparently, she cannot coordinate her department to complete the task of tallying an increasing sequence of positive integers.

It's not really that hard. 1, 2, 3.... Anyone seeing a pattern emerging? The numbers increase by one each time. All she has to do is count little pieces of paper. I know 6 year old children who can do this. However, Richland County government cannot seem to perform this basic task in elections.

Is this really the best we can do? How many chances should Ms. McBride be given? Where else can we transfer her? If she cannot count pieces of paper, what assignments can she handle?

The degree of sheer incompetence here is staggering.

Steve Spurrier: Shirtless Dawnbringer of the SEC

We're so lucky to have such a great coach here at South Carolina. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he's damn funny. Speaking of damn funny, Spencer Hall does great work. His latest piece on Spurrier is wonderful. I can't quote the whole thing, so just go read the whole piece, alright?

It's not hard to grasp the concept of a tonal language if you're used to listening to people like Steve Spurrier. This is what he said this week, verbatim, about several injured players after a South Carolina practice.

"We got a bunch of hurt guys that act like they’re really hurt," Spurrier said after Monday’s evening practice, the last of No. 7 South Carolina’s first two-a-day session. "Right now, they may not play."

On paper it's one thing, but the way he said it meant a whole other thing. Translated: I do not believe these very important players to our football team are truly hurt. I would like them to know there are people waiting for their jobs if they are only mildly hurt, and attempting to malinger. In addition, I feel deep disdain for them for even attempting such a ruse. All of this should be very clear to them.
Spurrier managed to say that using way, way fewer words than that, and all while not exactly saying it explicitly.

Like I said. Go read the whole thing. Two weeks from today, we kickoff the season.

Spurrier Wants SEC Title

Well, yeah. Obviously.

It's still way too early to start breaking down matchups and games, but we're closing in on that territory. A blind goat could tell you that winning the UGA game is important.

In any event, if you've been looking for something to scratch that college football itch, the link has plenty of Clowney highlights - including a certain fan favorite.

Sometimes life just isn't fair.

Steve Spurrier Fires Back at Ron Morris

Every Thursday night during football season, Steve Spurrier has a radio-call in show that gives him a forum to talk about the week’s upcoming football game, talk about how the football team is doing, and generally answer questions from fans. It’s not usually very newsworthy, as the usual comments about how the football team is doing aren’t exactly “news”.

Spurrier changed that last night.

During the show, Coach Spurrier went off on a little soliloquy about winners and losers. He specifically mentioned that there was a certain journalist in Columbia that was a “loser” and an “enemy”. Coach Spurrier never mentioned the journalist by name, but everyone knows that he was referring to Ron Morris of The State newspaper. At one point, Coach Spurrier quoted Attila the Hun. Here's what Coach Spurrier said that I want to get into:

"If Mike McGee (former USC athletics director), when he hired me, he would have said 'Steve, we're gonna give you a chance to run the football program at South Carolina, you hire your coaches, do your thing, but there's one thing you gotta put up with, the local media will try to trash you, they'll try to ruin your reputation, they'll try to portray you as a mean, evil, self-serving person.' And, I would have said, 'well you give that job to somebody else, I'll wait for the North Carolina job to open.' which was opening the next year. But, I'm glad it worked out."

"That is not part of being the head coach at any university, is to be the target of the newspaper to give a guy who obviously has an ax to grind. I'm not that mad at the guy. The guy is who he is, we all know who he is."

"But we need to make some changes and I really believe between President Pastides and the guy that runs the newspaper, that some good changes are coming forth and I encourage the people that canceled their subscriptions last year, when some of this crap started last year, to give the newspaper and our university a chance. I believe that our city is going to be better off."

Mr. Morris and Coach Spurrier have been in a feud of sorts ever since Mr. Morris wrote a column stating that Coach Spurrier “poached” Bruce Ellington from the basketball team and convinced him to play football. Coach Spurrier took exception to that characterization, and feels that he has been accused of dishonest conduct. Given the connotation of the word "poaching", I can't say that I blame him.

I thought the feud had reached the high point last season when Coach Spurrier actually refused to continue with a press conference while Mr. Morris was still in the room. Last night may have marked the beginning of the end of the feud. I'm all for having a strong, vibrant newspaper - but that's not what we have right now.

I don’t know what this all means exactly, but it sounds like the University is backing up Coach Spurrier on this issue. I know that Mr. Morris is in the business of writing controversial columns that generate page-views and circulation, but there’s a difference between writing an opinion and misstating facts that impugn someone’s character. Also, simply trolling the football program to get internet traffic isn’t exactly a great business model, and it should be beneath the dignity of our newspaper. It’s bush-league.

It’s fine for the newspaper to criticize the coach when he deserves it, give him praise when he deserves it, and offer insight into the sports program. I would welcome that. But that’s not what we have. Our local newspaper seems to perpetually criticize the football program, and doesn’t offer any great insight.

Heck, I don’t even go to The State for sports coverage anymore. It’s just not that good. In any event, there should be some sort of shake-up with either how USC Football is covered by The State. Maybe the end result could be some good journalism.

2012 Gamecock Football Prediction

This prediction took me a little longer than I thought. After much analysis, crunching numbers, reviewing opposing teams, and throwing some bones into a pot filled with Alligator blood, and smoking some peyote, I have seen a vision. Behold: Gamecock Football 2012, Permanent Press Prediction.

Gamecock Football 2012 Prediction

August 30: @Vanderbilt

The season starts on Thursday night, under the lights in Nashville. The Vanderbilt Commodores have been looking towards this first game during the entire off-season as their “coming out” party to show that they aren’t going to be the doormat of the SEC anymore. The South Carolina Gamecocks have high hopes for 2012, and it all starts with this conference game.

On the Gamecock offense, I see Lattimore getting the ball early to take the early pressure off of Shaw. If #21 and the offensive line starts to get into a rhythm early, this game is going to be over before it starts. If the Commodore defense starts to stack the box, then it will be time for Shaw to show why he’s the leader of this team. If USC is up late, guess what? More running plays.

On the Gamecock defense, they need to pick up where it left off last season. Everyone knows about the great DEs that the Gamecocks have, so my guess is that the Commodores are going to try and neutralize that with quick screens, draws, and slants. Hard running between the tackles will also be expected from Zac Stacy, who had a great year last year (1,193 yards and 14 TDs). If the Gamecock defense can keep Stacy from grinding out yards and make Jordan Rodgers try to beat them through the air, the less than stellar Commodore O-line will not be able to hold.

Ultimately, I think this game is a win. One thing that Spurrier is good at is winning the games that he is “supposed to win”. The Gamecocks have more talent than Vanderbilt and going to be the favorite going into this game. Apparently, the Commodores are going to “Blackout” this game, in an attempt to get the crowd to become a factor in the game. I predict that #21 scores the opening touchdown and the crowd doesn’t get a chance to get into the game.

South Carolina 1-0 (1-0, SEC)

September 8: East Carolina

The Gamecock’s home opener for 2012 comes against the East Carolina Pirates, who put up more than thirty points last year in Charlotte against a very good Gamecock defense. This year, the pirates have to come to WB and face a fired up crowd. I don't think they're going to get as many points as they did last year.

South Carolina 2-0 (1-0, SEC)

September 15: UAB

South Carolina’s first night game of 2012 (the new video-board is going to look AWESOME at night) will be against the UAB Blazers. This should be a final tune up before the SEC schedule starts, so look for the coaching staff to work out all the kinks. If Carolina gets a lead early, this would be a great game for the backups to get some reps while protecting the starters.

South Carolina 3-0 (1-0, SEC)

September 22: Missouri

The first conference game played in Williams-Brice in 2012 will be against the Missouri Tigers. Time to see what our new conference foes in "the other Columbia" will be able to bring. The Mizzou offense likes to go up and down the field, so this should be a great test for our defense. If the Gamecocks can keep Mizzou in check, we will know our defense is ready and loaded for bear. Mizzou will be coming of a two game stretch of UGA and Arizona State, so this may be a nice time to pounce on them. Look for QB James Franklin to be the center of attention - he's getting hype already. Hopefully, Clowney and Co. will make this a long day for him. Mizzou seems to have the playmakers, but I question their skill and size in the trenches. Look for Lattimore to have a big day, and TE Adams makes a solid contribution with a TD of his own.

South Carolina 4-0 (2-0, SEC)

September 29: @Kentucky

After a three game home-stand the Gamecocks head to Lexington, KY to take on the Wildcats. We whoop some Wildcats and come home. Every road win is a good win in the SEC, so I don't care if it's pretty or not. Get in, get a win, get home, no injuries. Get ready for Georgia next week.

South Carolina 5-0 (3-0, SEC)

October 6: Georgia

The month of October holds four games that will define the season for the Gamecocks. This date is circled on the calendar for both teams. You know the Bulldogs want to avenge the two game losing streak they have, they want to show that they are still the big brother program, and Spurrier probably wants to beat Georgia more than any other SEC team. This game is going to be a slug-fest of two heavyweights who know that everything is on the line. Can the defense get to Murray, will our O-line be able to open up some running lanes and give Shaw time to find the open man? I think this game will return to the old-fashioned, low scoring affair from several years ago. Turnovers will be the story of this game, but a field goal could likely be the difference.

South Carolina 6-0 (4-0, SEC)

October 13: @LSU

I'll be at this game in-person, as this will be my one road trip of the year. LSU will be without the Honey-Badger, but that's fine. They have a bevy of highly talented guys just waiting to step in and replace him. This isn't going to be a pretty game. I have to give the advantage to the home team here, and LSU knows how to win.

South Carolina 6-1 (4-1, SEC)

October 20: @Florida

Coming off the first loss of the season, the Gamecocks head to Gainesville to take on a Florida Gator team that has a lot of questions. We'll know more about the Gators than we do right now, but this isn't going to be a Florida team that runs up points. I think the first team to 28 wins this game. The Gamecocks will need to play disciplined and grind the clock out to get another win in the Swamp. Lean on Lattimore time at the end, but freshman WR Shaq Roland will contribute in this game early.

South Carolina 7-1 (5-1, SEC)

October 27 Tennessee

I like Derek Dooley as much as I can possibly like a UT head coach. He actually seems like a classy guy, which is more than I can same for the asshat that he replaced. Unfortunately, Tennessee is going to fire Dooley after the Gamecocks hammer the Volunteers. Ellington has a big day. Think kickoff-return for a TD-type big.

South Carolina 8-1 (6-1, SEC)

November 10: Arkansas

The Hogs. They've had our number for years. I just can't sit here at my keyboard and type words that predict us to win this game. I try, but the words just come out alksd adifojee rejadsoiew jeejielkdx. See? I tried. Arkansas continues to roll over us despite their lack of Petrino.

South Carolina 8-2 (6-2, SEC)

Will 6-2 be good enough to win the SEC East? I really don't know. This could be a repeat of last year where the Gamecocks sweep the East, lose two games to Western division foes, and the Georgia Bulldogs go to Atlanta. That could happen. Again.

November 17: Wofford

Yeah, Wofford. Am I looking ahead to the next game? Yep.

South Carolina 9-2 (6-2, SEC)

November 24 @Clemson

State Championship Game. The three-time defending Champion South Carolina Gamecocks travel up to Clemson to try and make it four in a row. Just think about that for a moment. Trying to make it four in a row. Clemson is going to fight like hell, the crowd will be fired up, and this will be a tough game. In the end, Carolina breaks their Tiger hearts for the fourth time in a row. Mass suicides may take place at the Esso Club after the final whistle. What makes this even sweeter is that Spurrier gets to become the winningest coach at South Carolina but sticking the knife into Clemson.

South Carolina 10-2 (6-2, SEC)

___________________________________________

There you have it. A ten win season, four in a row over Clemson, sweeping the SEC East (again) and Spurrier becomes the all time winningest Gamecock Football coach. Sounds like a hell of a season. Who's with me?

2012 South Carolina Football Poster

It's that time of year again! Football posters are out! We've seen that this isn't as simple as standing around and having your picture taken, though. I think we all remember this poster-failure.

In any event, I was going to put the photo of the 2012 South Carolina Football Poster on the blog, but you can see it better here at the link. I know it's tough to make that single left-click, but I'm sure you'll have a power-bar afterwards.

In my opinion, the poster looks great. I like putting Clowney and Taylor on each end...because they're...defensive ends. (I see what you did there, Spurrier.) They're also each about 12 feet tall, so the composition is balanced. Few people know it, but Spurrier actually minored in studio art. He has a real critical eye for composition and form.

After close scrutiny, it appears that Lattimore's knee is 100% good to go. You see that look in his eye? It's saying Yeah, you think I'm going to be slowed down by a little ol' knee injury? Your funeral bro.

In related news, we finally have our QB in the team poster. Sorry #TeamGarcia. Shaw is going to shake and bake this year. Remember, when in doubt, it's never a bad decision to hand the ball to #21.

Spurrier vs. Muschamp

From Inside the Chart: Florida coach, Will Muschamp said this about his experience trying to walk-on at UF: "I went to see Coach Spurrier, but he wasn't there for his appointment. I think he was 2-under."
 
Spurrier (in response) told Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun, "You tell Will we never had appointments for walk-ons, and I haven't been 2-under for a long time."

Zing! Gotta love the HBC.

SEC Coaches Interviewed by ESPN (Spurrier Emphasis and Translation)

ESPN's Page 2 has a great interview with all 12 SEC head coaches. It's more of a "get to know you" style interview, rather than a wonkish "break down the Tampa Two" with us. Of course, Spurrier is great. Read the whole article, but for those of you just interested in Spurrier, I've got his answers (any my translation of Spurrier-speak) below the jump.