That's because 2010 looks every bit to be the year of the spur. The Gamecocks have defeated the top-ranked team in the nation in the NCAA's three biggest sports: Basketball, Baseball, and the biggest...Football. In January, Carolina knocked off top-ranked Kentucky in basketball by a final score of 68-62. In June, The Gamecock baseball team defeated number one Arizona State by a score of 11-4, eliminating them from the College World Series. The Gamecocks would later win the CWS, gaining their first National Championship. And now for the crown jewel...
On Saturday the South Carolina Gamecocks won the biggest football game in their school's history, as they stunned top-ranked Alabama by a final score of 35-21 in Williams-Brice Stadium.
In this game we saw something that we haven't seen in over two years...Alabama getting overpowered. The Tide has been the roughest, toughest team in the nation for years, but they weren't on Saturday. South Cack came out of the tunnel and railroaded Bama.
Carolina had a bye week coming into this game, and they made use of every bit of it. Usually Coach Spurrier lets the team out of practice a little early on Thursdays, but not last week. He kept them til the whistle blew, and then a little longer. At the end of the day, all the hard work paid off.
That goes for the fans too. They put in a hard days work themselves, and they've fought through many heartbreaks (and the "Chicken Curse") to get this win. I've never seen or heard Williams-Brice as lively as it was for this game. You guys kept it loud to the very end. I liked the "you can't stop us" chant that was belted at the security officers. They had no business trying to stop you in the first place. You had beaten number one. Rushing the field was more than appropriate. It was necessary. There was no other option.
Now to the game. The Gamecocks came out smoking just like Cocky's 2001 entrance, but minus the curtain. They didn't try to mask anything. They went right after the Tide. No smoke, no mirrors...just smashmouth football. Carolina was up as much as 21-3 at one point, and took a 21-9 lead into halftime.
Stephen Garcia was the X factor in this game. If he played bad USC would lose, if he played well they could win, and if he played great they would win. Well he came through, and in the biggest way possible. He had without a doubt the best game of his career. He finished the day 17 of 20 for 201 yards, and 3 touchdowns (and 1 interception). The Ole' Ball Coach couldn't believe what he saw, but he liked it. Garcia was flawless, except for the lone pick and the shovel pass out the back of the endzone for a safety. That may have been the weirdest/stupidest play I've ever seen. He could have just fallen on the ball, and it would have been 2nd down and long...minimal damage done. I guess he just didn't want to give up an easy TD. I guess I can't blame him, it was the biggest game of his life. It doesn't matter though. He recovered well, didn't let it get him down, had a career day, and most importantly led his team to victory.
Alshon Jeffery is a beast. Enough said, but I'll say a little more. He was literally unstoppable in this game. No one in the stadium could cover him. That goes for both teams, the fans in the stands, and any blankets in attendance. He just wasn't getting covered. Jeffery finished the game with 7 receptions for 127 yards and two scores. Included in that mix was a sick one-handed catch that set up the Gamecocks' final gamebreaking touchdown. He made a bold Joe Namath-like statement prior to this game. He said it was going to be fun beating Alabama. Like Namath, Jeffery delivered.
Speaking of beasts, how about freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore. He's a stud, and by stud I mean horse because this kid gallops, and by horse I mean work-horse because he carries the team. He finished the day with 93 yards off of 23 carries, with 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Lattimore scored the Gamecocks' first touchdown, and he scored their last touchdown of the day. It was only appropriate. He started the scoring party, and ended it. He could be a great runningback, if Carolina doesn't run him to death first.
The Carolina defense played lights out as well. They did three crucial things in this game that no team has done in the past two years. 1. They sacked Greg McElroy 7 times. Seven times, that's unheard of against Bama. USC reaked havoc all day long in the backfield. 2. They held Mark Ingram, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, and explosive back Trent Richardson to just 64 yards. That Roll Tide rushing tandem...silenced. And most importantly: 3. They survived the Tide's fourth quarter surge. The Tide should have a helmet with the number 4 on it as their logo instead of a number 13. That's because they own the fourth quarter...of every game. The opposing team can be up by 1 or 100, and it doesn't matter. The Tide overtakes them. Bama scored on the first play of the fourth quarter in this one. It was the all too familiar comeback, and everyone was like "well here it comes." But the Tide finally went out. The Gamecock D stepped it up, and held Bama scoreless through the rest of the game. They did it through a brilliant scheme of blitzes and stunts, which yielded two big sacks in the quarter. They stopped the unstoppable. They beat the unbeatable. They won the game.
As I sat in the dense traffic leaving from the stadium, I see a cop car and an ambulance leading five large tour buses through the sea of cars behind me in my rearview mirror. They speed right by me. I happen to catch a glimpse of the back of the last bus. It had Alabama plates. In those very buses sat the disappointed Bama players, and in the ambulance...their broken hearts. Poetic Justice at its best.
When it comes to an analysis of this game, Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliot said it best, "this was a team effort." It truly was a team effort, and it was a team win. A team win that reached across the Palmetto State and beyond. A win that will never be forgotten. After the game I interviewed Gamecock fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes. My job was to capture the fans' reactions to this historic win. The last question that I asked each fan was an easy one, "where does this win rank on your win list?" Without hesitation every one of them, young and old, replied: "Number One."
On Saturday the South Carolina Gamecocks won the biggest football game in their school's history, as they stunned top-ranked Alabama by a final score of 35-21 in Williams-Brice Stadium.
In this game we saw something that we haven't seen in over two years...Alabama getting overpowered. The Tide has been the roughest, toughest team in the nation for years, but they weren't on Saturday. South Cack came out of the tunnel and railroaded Bama.
Carolina had a bye week coming into this game, and they made use of every bit of it. Usually Coach Spurrier lets the team out of practice a little early on Thursdays, but not last week. He kept them til the whistle blew, and then a little longer. At the end of the day, all the hard work paid off.
That goes for the fans too. They put in a hard days work themselves, and they've fought through many heartbreaks (and the "Chicken Curse") to get this win. I've never seen or heard Williams-Brice as lively as it was for this game. You guys kept it loud to the very end. I liked the "you can't stop us" chant that was belted at the security officers. They had no business trying to stop you in the first place. You had beaten number one. Rushing the field was more than appropriate. It was necessary. There was no other option.
Now to the game. The Gamecocks came out smoking just like Cocky's 2001 entrance, but minus the curtain. They didn't try to mask anything. They went right after the Tide. No smoke, no mirrors...just smashmouth football. Carolina was up as much as 21-3 at one point, and took a 21-9 lead into halftime.
Stephen Garcia was the X factor in this game. If he played bad USC would lose, if he played well they could win, and if he played great they would win. Well he came through, and in the biggest way possible. He had without a doubt the best game of his career. He finished the day 17 of 20 for 201 yards, and 3 touchdowns (and 1 interception). The Ole' Ball Coach couldn't believe what he saw, but he liked it. Garcia was flawless, except for the lone pick and the shovel pass out the back of the endzone for a safety. That may have been the weirdest/stupidest play I've ever seen. He could have just fallen on the ball, and it would have been 2nd down and long...minimal damage done. I guess he just didn't want to give up an easy TD. I guess I can't blame him, it was the biggest game of his life. It doesn't matter though. He recovered well, didn't let it get him down, had a career day, and most importantly led his team to victory.
Alshon Jeffery is a beast. Enough said, but I'll say a little more. He was literally unstoppable in this game. No one in the stadium could cover him. That goes for both teams, the fans in the stands, and any blankets in attendance. He just wasn't getting covered. Jeffery finished the game with 7 receptions for 127 yards and two scores. Included in that mix was a sick one-handed catch that set up the Gamecocks' final gamebreaking touchdown. He made a bold Joe Namath-like statement prior to this game. He said it was going to be fun beating Alabama. Like Namath, Jeffery delivered.
Speaking of beasts, how about freshman sensation Marcus Lattimore. He's a stud, and by stud I mean horse because this kid gallops, and by horse I mean work-horse because he carries the team. He finished the day with 93 yards off of 23 carries, with 3 TD's (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Lattimore scored the Gamecocks' first touchdown, and he scored their last touchdown of the day. It was only appropriate. He started the scoring party, and ended it. He could be a great runningback, if Carolina doesn't run him to death first.
The Carolina defense played lights out as well. They did three crucial things in this game that no team has done in the past two years. 1. They sacked Greg McElroy 7 times. Seven times, that's unheard of against Bama. USC reaked havoc all day long in the backfield. 2. They held Mark Ingram, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, and explosive back Trent Richardson to just 64 yards. That Roll Tide rushing tandem...silenced. And most importantly: 3. They survived the Tide's fourth quarter surge. The Tide should have a helmet with the number 4 on it as their logo instead of a number 13. That's because they own the fourth quarter...of every game. The opposing team can be up by 1 or 100, and it doesn't matter. The Tide overtakes them. Bama scored on the first play of the fourth quarter in this one. It was the all too familiar comeback, and everyone was like "well here it comes." But the Tide finally went out. The Gamecock D stepped it up, and held Bama scoreless through the rest of the game. They did it through a brilliant scheme of blitzes and stunts, which yielded two big sacks in the quarter. They stopped the unstoppable. They beat the unbeatable. They won the game.
As I sat in the dense traffic leaving from the stadium, I see a cop car and an ambulance leading five large tour buses through the sea of cars behind me in my rearview mirror. They speed right by me. I happen to catch a glimpse of the back of the last bus. It had Alabama plates. In those very buses sat the disappointed Bama players, and in the ambulance...their broken hearts. Poetic Justice at its best.
When it comes to an analysis of this game, Offensive Line Coach Shawn Elliot said it best, "this was a team effort." It truly was a team effort, and it was a team win. A team win that reached across the Palmetto State and beyond. A win that will never be forgotten. After the game I interviewed Gamecock fans of all ages, shapes, and sizes. My job was to capture the fans' reactions to this historic win. The last question that I asked each fan was an easy one, "where does this win rank on your win list?" Without hesitation every one of them, young and old, replied: "Number One."
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