The Toughest Test Yet For The "New Carolina"
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard player after players contend things are different with this year’s team. Better attitude, more togetherness, greater trust.
It’s worked so far. But three of the first five games were played on prime time national television. It’s easy to get up for those games.
But what about an early afternoon game in which many students won’t even be on campus? That’s an entirely different deal.
In years past, this weekend’s battle with Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium would be considered a game in which the Gamecocks were likely to suffer a letdown.
-- It’s fall break on the USC campus.
-- Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m., meaning, if history means anything, it will be a late arriving and fairly docile crowd, at least at the beginning.
-- USC is expected to win. The Gamecocks are better than a touchdown favorite over Kentucky.
-- The Gamecocks are coming off a recent Thursday night victory over a highly ranked SEC opponent.
Of course, most astute Gamecock fans will recognize that most of those same factors were present when USC faced Vanderbilt at home in 2007.
After sixty minutes of wretched football, USC lost, 17-6, and started a five-game slide to end the year that cost the Gamecocks a bowl game.
That’s why some long-suffering USC fans will be sweating profusely on Saturday afternoon.
Has anything changed in two years to positively affect the outcome in favor of the Gamecocks? That’s the key question for Saturday.
More than any other, this game will present a stiff challenge for USC’s senior leadership to keep the troops fired up even if the atmosphere inside the stadium fails to match the players’ intensity.
The good news is the first five games have shown that Eric Norwood and Moe Brown – the two senior captains – are capable of keeping the rest of the team focused, especially in games against BCS opponents.
Norwood, especially, must show the way. He is the undisputed leader of the USC defense and they have the capability of dominating the UK offense much like they did against Ole Miss.
Man-for-man, USC possesses an advantage over Kentucky at most positions. Kentucky’s Mike Hartline is a serviceable quarterback but he suffered through back-to-back poor performances against Florida and Alabama, completing about half (30-of-59) his passes with five interceptions and two TDs.
Statistically, Stephen Garcia is a better signal caller. He’ll be facing a Kentucky defense ranked in the bottom quarter of the SEC in three of the four major categories (scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense).
The first quarter will hold the key in this game. Two years ago against Vanderbilt, USC committed a couple of early turnovers in their own end of the field and the Commodores jumped out to an early lead that USC was never able to overcome.
Considering USC has committed just five turnovers all season, that scenario is unlikely to repeat itself unless the offense melts down.
If USC is able to come out, establish the offense early and jump out to a quick lead, they should be in good shape. The crowd would get into it and the energy throughout the entire team should be high.
Another key to the game is planting doubt in the minds of the Kentucky players. The word out of Lexington this week is that UK’s nine-game losing streak to USC is a major source of embarrassment within the Wildcats’ program.
So, if USC is able to get off to a good start, a “here we go again” mentality could envelope the Wildcats.
Too often, we’ve seen that unfortunate line of thinking poison the efforts of Gamecock players. It would be nice to see an opponent start acting that way.
Make no mistake, this is a huge game for USC. When you factor in next week's clash with Alabama in Tuscaloosa, it's as close to a must-win situation for the Gamecocks as you get without saying it. They certainly don't want to face the Crimson Tide with the prospect of falling to 1-3 in the SEC staring them squarely in the face.
Hopefully, USC will play with the same sense of urgency we saw against Ole Miss.
That, truly, would be a New Carolina.
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Is this group of Gamecock football players truly a ‘New Carolina’? We’ll find out on Saturday.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard player after players contend things are different with this year’s team. Better attitude, more togetherness, greater trust.
It’s worked so far. But three of the first five games were played on prime time national television. It’s easy to get up for those games.
But what about an early afternoon game in which many students won’t even be on campus? That’s an entirely different deal.
In years past, this weekend’s battle with Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium would be considered a game in which the Gamecocks were likely to suffer a letdown.
-- It’s fall break on the USC campus.
-- Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m., meaning, if history means anything, it will be a late arriving and fairly docile crowd, at least at the beginning.
-- USC is expected to win. The Gamecocks are better than a touchdown favorite over Kentucky.
-- The Gamecocks are coming off a recent Thursday night victory over a highly ranked SEC opponent.
Of course, most astute Gamecock fans will recognize that most of those same factors were present when USC faced Vanderbilt at home in 2007.
After sixty minutes of wretched football, USC lost, 17-6, and started a five-game slide to end the year that cost the Gamecocks a bowl game.
That’s why some long-suffering USC fans will be sweating profusely on Saturday afternoon.
Has anything changed in two years to positively affect the outcome in favor of the Gamecocks? That’s the key question for Saturday.
More than any other, this game will present a stiff challenge for USC’s senior leadership to keep the troops fired up even if the atmosphere inside the stadium fails to match the players’ intensity.
The good news is the first five games have shown that Eric Norwood and Moe Brown – the two senior captains – are capable of keeping the rest of the team focused, especially in games against BCS opponents.
Norwood, especially, must show the way. He is the undisputed leader of the USC defense and they have the capability of dominating the UK offense much like they did against Ole Miss.
Man-for-man, USC possesses an advantage over Kentucky at most positions. Kentucky’s Mike Hartline is a serviceable quarterback but he suffered through back-to-back poor performances against Florida and Alabama, completing about half (30-of-59) his passes with five interceptions and two TDs.
Statistically, Stephen Garcia is a better signal caller. He’ll be facing a Kentucky defense ranked in the bottom quarter of the SEC in three of the four major categories (scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense).
The first quarter will hold the key in this game. Two years ago against Vanderbilt, USC committed a couple of early turnovers in their own end of the field and the Commodores jumped out to an early lead that USC was never able to overcome.
Considering USC has committed just five turnovers all season, that scenario is unlikely to repeat itself unless the offense melts down.
If USC is able to come out, establish the offense early and jump out to a quick lead, they should be in good shape. The crowd would get into it and the energy throughout the entire team should be high.
Another key to the game is planting doubt in the minds of the Kentucky players. The word out of Lexington this week is that UK’s nine-game losing streak to USC is a major source of embarrassment within the Wildcats’ program.
So, if USC is able to get off to a good start, a “here we go again” mentality could envelope the Wildcats.
Too often, we’ve seen that unfortunate line of thinking poison the efforts of Gamecock players. It would be nice to see an opponent start acting that way.
Make no mistake, this is a huge game for USC. When you factor in next week's clash with Alabama in Tuscaloosa, it's as close to a must-win situation for the Gamecocks as you get without saying it. They certainly don't want to face the Crimson Tide with the prospect of falling to 1-3 in the SEC staring them squarely in the face.
Hopefully, USC will play with the same sense of urgency we saw against Ole Miss.
That, truly, would be a New Carolina.
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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 @.