An unbelievable scene unfolded following Lattimore’s injury this afternoon.

Numb. Heartbroken. Stunned.

All three words describe how I’ve felt since Marcus Lattimore was injured this afternoon. Reports on Twitter claim that he tore all his knee ligaments, broke his femur, and chipped his patella. That has yet to be confirmed by any actual source, but the injury was gruesome and if those things listed above aren’t true, the actual injury is likely pretty close. He is out indefinitely (obviously).

Regardless of what the exact injury is, the whole situation is just heartbreaking. After coming back from an injury last year, it’s just tragic that Marcus now has an even worse one to deal with. He’s proven that he’s one of the greatest Gamecocks ever, on and off the field, and it’s unbelievably sad that this has happened to him. Players on the field were clearly emotional and Marcus sobbed with a towel over his face while he was carted off the field.

The level of respect that people across the country have for Marcus was made clear when both teams surrounded him on the field this afternoon (I don’t know that something like that has ever happened before) and fans, high-profile athletes, and media members took to Twitter to share get well wishes for No. 21.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Get Most Bittersweet Win Ever”

Connor Shaw needs to get back into beast mode – or at least winning mode – this afternoon.

Ah, home sweet home.

This week, the No. 13 Gamecocks are back home in Columbia to host the Vols, whose fans might be more concerned about Jon Gruden rumors than the actual game at this point.

USC needs to get back in the “W” column after back-to-back conference losses. Granted, those losses were to two of the top teams in the country and on the road, but still. Luckily for Carolina, this game shouldn’t be nearly as intimidating or difficult.

QB Connor Shaw will need to get back into a groove after the pest couple of games. He was okay against LSU and not very good against Florida, so hopefully he can fix that today. The HBC said this is Shaw’s game unless he gets hurt, so let’s all keep our fingers crossed that he can right the ship.

The offense as a whole as looked sort of anemic recently, too. UT has been giving up tons of yards on the ground, so hopefully Marcus can get back into a groove this afternoon. Catching the ball has been a bit of an issue as of late, but that’s somewhat contingent on how well/if Shaw throws passes. JUST GET IT TOGETHER, PLEASE, DUDES.

The defense has been fairly strong all season, but they’ll obviously need to continue that today. Special teams – and especially the kicking game – is a concern for the Cocks, but that’s nothing new for us (sad face).

Tennessee has been struggling for two seasons now, and fans on Rocky Top are rapidly running out of patience. The Vols have yet to win a conference game this season and are a two-touchdown underdog today.

If South Carolina can’t put all the pieces together, the game could end up being closer than that. Fortunately, I think the combination of being back at home and playing a team that honestly just isn’t very good will be just what the doctor ordered for the Gamecocks. I think (and hope) we at least cover the spread this afternoon.

Two bits of news out of Gamecock Nation this morning:

1)   Jadeveon Clowney has been named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best college football player.  Clowney, a sophomore, has 36 tackles, including 14.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks so far this season. He has been chosen as the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week twice this season. Clowney also is tied for sixth in school history with 15.5 sacks and tied at 11th in career tackles for loss with 26.

Already this season, Clowney was put on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Award, the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy, the Hendricks Award, and the Lombardi Award.

Congrats and good luck to Jadeveon!

2)   Athletics Director Ray Tanner has hired Charles Bloom, a USC alum, to take the position of Senior Associate Athletics Director – External Affairs, the university announced today. He will start his new role following the SEC championship game in December. From Gamecocks Online:

Bloom has spent the past 17 years as director of the Southeastern Conference office’s media and public relations efforts, and the last 10 years as Associate Commissioner. He has supervised the media and public relations operations for the SEC’s 21 sports, directly overseeing football, has been the chief spokesperson for the conference office and has overseen the communication strategies for the office.

In addition, Bloom oversaw the editorial content and planning for the SECDigitalNetwork.com website and started the SEC office’s presence in social media. He has also served as media director for the SEC Football Championship Game and various other conference and NCAA championships. Bloom assisted with the creation of the Bowl Championship Series, including its formula for ranking teams and also developing its media relations policies and procedures.

Since 2000, he has also served as chief administrator for baseball in the SEC office, setting conference schedules, serving as liaison for the league’s coaches and umpires and overseeing game operations with the conference tournament.

Tanner had this say about the hiring:

“Charles brings a vast amount of experience working on both the university level and at the SEC office. He brings tremendous expertise in communications, having worked closely with Commissioners Roy Kramer and Mike Slive, both visionaries in collegiate athletics. We are excited to welcome Charles and his family back to Columbia, where both he and his wife, Cindy, are Carolina graduates.”

Bloom released a statement as well, saying:

“I am excited about the opportunity to return to my alma mater in this capacity. Carolina is a special place and I look forward to working with Ray Tanner and the USC staff to promote and enhance the Gamecock brand.”

Welcome back to Gamecock Nation, Charles!

Well. That was painful/embarrassing/rage-inducing.

No. 7 South Carolina went down to Gainesville and came away with another loss following a horribly inept display of “playing football” against No. 2 Florida. The Cocks were never really even in the game and they lost 44-11.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Forget How To Play Football, Sink In The Swamp”

Last time the Gamecocks were in The Swamp, the Gators had no answer for Marcus Lattimore.

Another week, another Top 10 game with major implications. Saturday, the No. 7 Gamecocks will face off against the No. 2 Gators in The Swamp in a game that could decide the SEC East this season.

Florida is still undefeated, while Carolina has one loss. If the Cocks knock off the Gators, they would win the division (assuming they beat Tennessee). If UF wins, though, USC is almost certainly out of the picture for the divisional crown.

The biggest concern going into this game is whether or not some of the most important players on the team will actually be able to play. Marcus Lattimore, who injured his hip last weekend against LSU, is probable for the game, but will not start. Kenny Miles will be the No. 1 guy instead.

Jadeveon Clowney was dealing with a foot injury this week, but will play Saturday afternoon as well. Byron Jerideau and J.T. Surratt also missed practice time with injuries, but will be on the field against the Gators.

Ace Sanders and Bruce Ellington, among others, were hit by the flu bug this week, but they too will play. The services of Kelcy Quarles won’t be on display, though, because he’s both injured and suspended for throwing a punch in last weekend’s game.

QB Connor Shaw will look to bounce back after a rough game against the Tigers. He wasn’t terrible in Baton Rouge, but he wasn’t very good, either, and he’ll have to correct that if the Gamecocks want to win in Gainesville. Steve Spurrier joked during this week’s “Carolina Calls” that they’ll throw on every down on Saturday, but Shaw will have to improve on his passing numbers this week, and throwing will be especially important if the Cocks can’t establish a run game. The o-line needs to get its act together, too, so Connor doesn’t feel like he has to run quite so frequently.

» Continue reading “Showdown In The Swamp: South Carolina – Florida Preview”

It seems like this football season just started, but today, all 14 SEC teams announced their conference match ups for next season. 2013 is considered a “bridge” season, which basically means that new cross-divisional rivalries will not start until (at least) 2014. For South Carolina, that means another year of playing Arkansas, not Texas A&M. The Cocks will also not face off against Alabama or LSU and the Georgia game has gone back to being early in the season.

On a non-USC note, Vanderbilt apparently dropped my current institution of higher learning, Northwestern, as well as Ohio State from their 2013 non-conference schedule. They’ll now face these four non-SEC opponents: Austin Peay, UMass, UAB, and Wake Forest. If that’s your strategy for bringing the Dores to the top, James Franklin, you’re just not a very good strategist.

Happy 32nd birthday to the best mascot out there, our very own Cocky!

The beloved bird made his debut in 1980 and followed in the footsteps of his father, Big Spur. This year, Cocky has a fancy new garnet color to his feathers and spiffy new football gloves to complete the look.

Cocky can be found at all Carolina athletic events, as well as on campus and in the community to promote Gamecock athletics. On gamedays at Williams-Brice, Cocky enters the stadium in a cage surrounded by smoke while the sounds of “2001″ play.

Whether the Gamecocks are winning, losing, or tied, television cameras at various sporting events often catch Cocky flapping his beak and dancing on the sidelines and in front of the student section, as well as giving his signature hand spurs and “#1″ gesture.

He has been featured in national commercials for the university, and USC’s literary community outreach program, Cocky’s Reading Express, is named for him. If you’re lucky enough to spot the big bird on campus, he’s always looking to give out hugs and high fives, and maybe even a kiss or two (just don’t tell his girlfriend, Caroline)!

This busy bird has received plenty of other national attention, too. He was the Universal Cheerleading Association’s national champion mascot in 1986 and 1994, won the Capital One Mascot Challenge in 2003, and was chosen as the winner of the 2009 National Cheerleading Association Mascot National Championship. He was also a member the Capital One Bowl All-America Mascot Team in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Speaking of the Mascot Challenge, go and vote for him in the this year’s contest. Cocky is the only mascot who is still undefeated and this week he faces off against Wilma Wildcat from the University of Arizona.

Enjoy your day, Cocky – and forever to thee!

Jimmy Legree’s interception was one of the few bright spots for South Carolina tonight.

So long, Top 5 ranking and undefeated season.

After being called one of the nation’s trendy teams by Kirk Herbstreit, No. 3 South Carolina fell to No. 9 LSU by a score of 23-21 tonight in Baton Rouge. The Cocks were outplayed and seemingly outcoached all night long, as they couldn’t manufacture much of anything on offense, and the defense was nothing to write home about either.

Unlike last week, the Gamecocks did not get on the board first, nor did they come out looking very fired up. If you weren’t paying attention, you might’ve even missed the Cocks’ first possession, because they went three-and-out so quickly. The Tigers didn’t do a whole lot either, but they did put up a field goal after a 68-yard drive to take a 3-0 lead with five and a half minutes left in the first.

LSU QB Zach Mettenberger was interepted by Jimmy Legree on their next possession, and Legree got thisclose  to the end zone. Ace Sanders then made a catch in the end zone to put USC up 7-3, and I hoped things might be looking up. They did, kind of. The Tigers missed a field goal, and then I really thought things might be going the Gamecocks’ way.

Carolina managed to hang on to the 7-3 lead going into the half, trading punts with LSU for the better part of the second half. The Tigers got the ball to start the third quarter, and an almost-four-minute drive resulted in a touchdown and gave them a 10-3 lead.

The Cocks punted on their first possession, but found the end zone on their second, thanks to a nifty two-yard run by Marcus Lattimore. That gave South Carolina a 14-10 lead with just over 20 minutes left in the game.

LSU then scored two field goals and another TD in the fourth quarter, putting them up 23-14 and taking almost all of the wind oout of the Gamecocks’ sails (not that there was much to begin with). Connor Shaw was picked off a third of the way throught the uarter, but he managed to rally the troops on the next possession and found Bruuuuuuuuuuce Ellington in the end zone to make the score 23-21.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks’ Perfect Season Ends On The Bayou”

The Gamecocks will wear these…interesting uniforms against the Tigers tonight.

The No. 3 Gamecocks will take on the No. 9 Tigers in Baton Rouge tonight in a game that has big implications for both teams.

A victory for South Carolina will keep their perfect season intact, keep them in the division/conference title race, and keep them in the mix for national title contenders. A loss won’t destroy their season, but it will make it harder for them to reach both the SEC and national championships.

A win for LSU would keep them alive in the SEC West/conference title race (though I don’t see Alabama going down) and keep a little bit of national title hope alive. A loss would drop them from any sort of title chances.

The Cocks dominated against Georgia last week, but it was in Columbia and the crowd was a big factor for the team. This week, USC will have to execute while on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football. They’ll also have to face an angry Tigers team who saw their first loss of the season come last weekend against Florida.  Because these teams haven’t met since 2008, almost all of the current players on both teams have never faced off against each other.

Look for South Carolina to focus on the running game (i.e. Marcus Lattimore and some rushes from Connor Shaw). That being said, if the Tigers defense is able to shut that down, the passing game is obviously going to become very important. Shaw threw only 10 passes last week, so I’m not expecting much more than that tonight, unless it becomes necessary.

LSU QB Zach Mettenberger has done more throwing than Connor has this season, but he’s struggled when under pressure. If the Gamecocks defense gets to him early and often, he probably won’t have a very good night.

The Tigers offense overall has had some difficulty this season, and things won’t get any easier for them with guys like Jadeveon Clowney, Devin Taylor, Shaq Wilson, and the rest of the Carolina D coming after them. The Gamecocks have seemed to click offensively as of late, but they too will face a strong defensive corps, including the Palmetto State’s own Sam Montgomery.

» Continue reading ““Duel In Death Valley”: South Carolina – LSU Preview”

This weekend, CBS will air special college football-related programming prior to their regularly scheduled SEC game. “South Carolina Uncut,” which is billed as ”an all-access pass to South Carolina football featuring exclusive footage and audio of the team as they contend for an SEC title,” will air from 2:30-3:00 ET. A few “teasers” have been released to help get fans excited:

Players talking about the USC squirrels AND Spurrier working out in a bandana and sweatervest/polo shirt combo? Get your popcorn ready.

In other news, congrats to Ace Sanders for being named the SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week and T.J. Johnson for being chosen as the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week!

And best wishes for a speedy recovery to former Gamecock Alshon Jeffery, who fractured his hand after catching a touchdown for the Chicago Bears yesterday. Alshon is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.