Two Heads Are Better Than One
posted by Scott Hood on Thursday, October 18, 2007
But here’s one thing I do know - Steve Spurrier’s decision to play Mitchell against Vanderbilt, this week’s opponent, has nothing to do with the Commodores, and everything to do with Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson.
It’s no accident Spurrier is bringing Mitchell out of mothballs one week before the most important stretch of his three-year tenure at South Carolina begins.
Chris Smelley has done a fabulous job as the starting quarterback for the Gamecocks the last three weeks. How do I know? USC went 3-0 in those games, beating Mississippi State, Kentucky and North Carolina.
A quarterback – it doesn’t matter if he’s in the NFL or NCAA Division I - is ultimately judged by how many games his team wins and loses.
As I’ve said before, football at this level is a cold-hearted, bottom-line business. You win, you play. You lose, you sit.
It’s very simple.
Smelley is 4-0 as a starter this season. Therefore, he’s earned an ‘A’ grade for his performance, even with a fairly low completion percentage rate of 56.4 percent.
Remember, Spurrier didn’t ask Smelley to be great. He just asked him to manage the game, minimize mistakes and win. Smelley performed well in all three areas.
With a perfect record in his backpocket, Smelley has earned something else – the right to start the next game. That’s the only prize you get when Steve Spurrier is your head coach.
Here’s why, in my opinion, Spurrier has decided to start playing Mitchell again – the stakes become much higher and the fans become a lot more hostile starting next week in Knoxville.
Smelley has done well as a starter, but three of his four starts have come at home in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium. After Saturday, the next two games take place at Knoxville and Fayetteville.
Here’s a Memo: Chapel Hill, N.C. is not Knoxville. Neither is it Fayetteville.
That's why the SEC is the top conference in college football.
I’m not sure Spurrier is fully confident Smelley is prepared at this stage of his career to lead the sixth-ranked Gamecocks to victory in front of 108,000 crazy Tennessee fans dressed as traffic cones.
On the other hand, Mitchell has proven he can win in Knoxville. He pulled off the feat two years with a dramatic 16-15 victory. Sure, it took some good fortune and Tennessee shot themselves in the foot with several key errors, but USC made the plays in clutch situations to pull out the win.
One of those plays was a third-down pass from Mitchell to Sidney Rice after two timeouts.
Tennessee was only the beginning, though, for Mitchell. He’s officially the only QB in Gamecock history to defeat Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in his career. He was also the Offensive MVP for USC in the 2006 Liberty Bowl.
Here’s the Mitchell trend: he appears to play better in big games. The four games after Vanderbilt can all accurately be described as big games.
Now, I’m not saying Smelley won’t start the Tennessee game. He might. But consider this week’s home game against Vanderbilt as sort of a test run for Mitchell, a time to wipe away the rust before the huge stadium by the Tennessee River beckons.
Of course, we’ve been through this before with Mitchell. He sat out most of six games last season while Syvelle Newton razzled and dazzled opposing defenses in a six-week stretch that Spurrier is still fond of talking about.
How big was Newton’s performance? Spurrier knows it may have saved USC’s season.
Surprisingly, Mitchell was a much better quarterback when he returned. Extend his performance over the final 18 quarters of the season (69.4 completion rate; 1,467 yards; 10 TD passes) over a full 12-game schedule and Mitchell would have been holding the Heisman Trophy aloft in early December.
He played like Superman with a "SC" scrawled across his chest. The only difference is Mitchell didn't have to wear those annoying blue tights.
Can lightning strike twice in the same place? Spurrier is counting on it.
Spurrier’s philosophy is simple. He will always play the quarterback that gives his team the best chance to win. After Vanderbilt, that QB could be Blake Mitchell, or, more likely, a combination of Mitchell and Smelley.
Spurrier caused a stir for his two-quarterback systems at Florida. He often ran quarterbacks in and out of games at a frantic pace depending on the circumstances.
Gamecock fans may finally get an opportunity to see what the fuss was all about.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
I don’t know how this quarterback saga with redshirt freshman Chris Smelley and fifth-year senior Blake Mitchell will play out over the next several weeks.
But here’s one thing I do know - Steve Spurrier’s decision to play Mitchell against Vanderbilt, this week’s opponent, has nothing to do with the Commodores, and everything to do with Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson.
It’s no accident Spurrier is bringing Mitchell out of mothballs one week before the most important stretch of his three-year tenure at South Carolina begins.
Chris Smelley has done a fabulous job as the starting quarterback for the Gamecocks the last three weeks. How do I know? USC went 3-0 in those games, beating Mississippi State, Kentucky and North Carolina.
A quarterback – it doesn’t matter if he’s in the NFL or NCAA Division I - is ultimately judged by how many games his team wins and loses.
As I’ve said before, football at this level is a cold-hearted, bottom-line business. You win, you play. You lose, you sit.
It’s very simple.
Smelley is 4-0 as a starter this season. Therefore, he’s earned an ‘A’ grade for his performance, even with a fairly low completion percentage rate of 56.4 percent.
Remember, Spurrier didn’t ask Smelley to be great. He just asked him to manage the game, minimize mistakes and win. Smelley performed well in all three areas.
With a perfect record in his backpocket, Smelley has earned something else – the right to start the next game. That’s the only prize you get when Steve Spurrier is your head coach.
Here’s why, in my opinion, Spurrier has decided to start playing Mitchell again – the stakes become much higher and the fans become a lot more hostile starting next week in Knoxville.
Smelley has done well as a starter, but three of his four starts have come at home in the friendly confines of Williams-Brice Stadium. After Saturday, the next two games take place at Knoxville and Fayetteville.
Here’s a Memo: Chapel Hill, N.C. is not Knoxville. Neither is it Fayetteville.
That's why the SEC is the top conference in college football.
I’m not sure Spurrier is fully confident Smelley is prepared at this stage of his career to lead the sixth-ranked Gamecocks to victory in front of 108,000 crazy Tennessee fans dressed as traffic cones.
On the other hand, Mitchell has proven he can win in Knoxville. He pulled off the feat two years with a dramatic 16-15 victory. Sure, it took some good fortune and Tennessee shot themselves in the foot with several key errors, but USC made the plays in clutch situations to pull out the win.
One of those plays was a third-down pass from Mitchell to Sidney Rice after two timeouts.
Tennessee was only the beginning, though, for Mitchell. He’s officially the only QB in Gamecock history to defeat Clemson, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in his career. He was also the Offensive MVP for USC in the 2006 Liberty Bowl.
Here’s the Mitchell trend: he appears to play better in big games. The four games after Vanderbilt can all accurately be described as big games.
Now, I’m not saying Smelley won’t start the Tennessee game. He might. But consider this week’s home game against Vanderbilt as sort of a test run for Mitchell, a time to wipe away the rust before the huge stadium by the Tennessee River beckons.
Of course, we’ve been through this before with Mitchell. He sat out most of six games last season while Syvelle Newton razzled and dazzled opposing defenses in a six-week stretch that Spurrier is still fond of talking about.
How big was Newton’s performance? Spurrier knows it may have saved USC’s season.
Surprisingly, Mitchell was a much better quarterback when he returned. Extend his performance over the final 18 quarters of the season (69.4 completion rate; 1,467 yards; 10 TD passes) over a full 12-game schedule and Mitchell would have been holding the Heisman Trophy aloft in early December.
He played like Superman with a "SC" scrawled across his chest. The only difference is Mitchell didn't have to wear those annoying blue tights.
Can lightning strike twice in the same place? Spurrier is counting on it.
Spurrier’s philosophy is simple. He will always play the quarterback that gives his team the best chance to win. After Vanderbilt, that QB could be Blake Mitchell, or, more likely, a combination of Mitchell and Smelley.
Spurrier caused a stir for his two-quarterback systems at Florida. He often ran quarterbacks in and out of games at a frantic pace depending on the circumstances.
Gamecock fans may finally get an opportunity to see what the fuss was all about.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.