In one of the most important series of the season, the Gamecocks went into Baton Rouge and beat the Tigers twice, including one shut out, to win the series and keep them in good shape for the postseason. This should also hopefully calm some fans who were ready to hit the panic button a week or two ago.

South Carolina 2, LSU 5

The Tigers were the first ones on the board Friday night, and they put up their first runs in the second inning. With two outs, Ty Ross and Jacoby Jones took back-to-back walks, then Jared Foster singled to load the bases. Sean McMullen came through with a base hit of his own to bring both Ross and Jones across the plate and put the home team up 2-0.

LSU added to their lead in the fourth. Ross, Jones, and Foster knocked back-to-back-to-back singles, then McMullen launched a sac fly that put his team on top 3-0.

The Cocks ended the shutout in the fifth inning, as Connor Bright singled with two outs, then Tanner English tripled to get him home and make it 3-1.

The Tigers added another run in the sixth, though. McMullen got a boo-boo and a free base with two outs, Mark Laird knocked a base hit, and with runners on the corners, Alex Bregman singled to left to put LSU up 4-1. They added their final run in the next inning. Raph Rhymes reached first on an error by Chase Vergason, then made it to second. He advanced to third thanks to a sac bunt from Christian Ibarra, and came home when Ross singled to center.

USC tried to rally in the ninth inning, but they managed only one more run, as Joey Pankake led off with a homer.

Yardcocks starter Nolan Belcher lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed seven hits, four runs, walked four batters, struck out four, and hit one batter. He took the loss and dropped to 6-4 on the season. Patrick Sullivan pitched the remaining 2 1/3 innings and gave up three hits, one run, and tallied one K.

Tigers starter Aaron Nola tossed a complete game and surrendered six hits, two runs, struck out eight batters, and hit one. He obviously earned the win and improved to 8-0 on the season.

Pankake had two hits to lead Carolina at the plate while Sean McMullen, Ty Ross, Jacoby Jones, and Jared Foster all had two for LSU.

» Continue reading “South Carolina Takes Two Out Of Three Against LSU”

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”

It almost had to happen this way.

Always having to make it interesting, South Carolina, the team that’s made battling, winning anyway, and fearing a fish their MO, won the SEC East today by virtue of two other teams losing. More on that in a minute.

In today’s rubber game with LSU, the Gamecocks lost a chance at being named the conference champion by falling 3-2 in extra innings.

The Tigers got on the board in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but Carolina evened the score in the third on an Adam Matthews sac fly that brought Evan Marzilli home from third. The game stayed knotted at 1-1 forever, until the Tigers scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning.

With runners on first and second and two outs, pinch hitter Jackson Slaid laced a single off reliever Tyler Webb that gave LSU a 2-1 lead. Mason Katz added an RBI single of his own, which gave the Tigers an insurance run. Carolina responded in the bottom of the inning, as Marzilli doubled and Matthews singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Christian Walker hit a sac fly to pull the Cocks within one, but that was all they’d get.

South Carolina outhit LSU 9-7. Marzilli and Matthews led the Yardcocks at the plate, both going 2-for-4. LSU’s leader was Katz, who went 2-for-5. He was the only Tiger with more than one hit.

USC starter Colby Holmes and his heinous facial hair had a solid performance, throwing 6 2/3 innings and allowing only one run on four hits. He issued no walks and struck out three batters, and received a very nice ovation as he left the field. Nolan Belcher, Evan Beal, Webb, Hunter Privette, and Logan Munson all saw action today. Beal took the loss and drops to 3-4 on the season. LSU reliever Chris Cotton earned the win and improves to 6-0 this year. Nick Goody got the save, his tenth.

With the victory, LSU earned at least part of the SEC title. When Kentucky was swept by Mississippi State, that gave the Tigers the conference championship outright. Though the Gamecocks lost their shot at the SEC crown, they did win the East title. Thanks to that UK loss as well as Florida falling to Auburn, Carolina comes out on top. This is USC’s sixth SEC East championship.

That means that the Gamecocks will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament and will have a bye on Tuesday, which means they’ll play on Wednesday night. Hopefully some offensive mojo (Fear The Fish?) will find its way to the team by then.

Game 1: A weak offensive performance from the Yardcocks led to a 5-2 LSU victory Friday afternoon in Columbia.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and made it 2-0 in the fourth. Joey Pankake finally got USC on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single, cutting LSU’s lead to only one run. Unfortunately, the Tigers responded in the fifth inning with a solo homer.

The Cocks kept the game within reach until the ninth, when LSU added two more runs and took a 5-1 lead. Pankake had another RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but that was as far as the rally would go.

He led Carolina at the plate, going 2-for-4. Mason Katz and Jordy Snikeris were LSU’s leaders. They also went 2-for-4 and were responsible for the Tigers’ two home runs. The Gamecocks were outhit 12-5, and the only area in which LSU was outperformed was in the number of men left on base. USC stranded six, the Tigers left 10.

South Carolina starter Michael Roth pitched eight innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits. He walked four batters and also struck out four. He took the loss, his first this year, and is now 5-1 on the season. Patrick Sullivan and Logan Munson combined to pitch the final inning. Munson was perfect, but Sullivan gave up two runs on two hits. Neither issued or walks or tallied and K’s. LSU’s Kevin Gausman pitched a complete game and allowed only two runs on five hits. He walked two batters and struck out six. With the win, his record improves to 9-1.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks, Tigers Split Doubleheader”

Welcome to the second-to-last installment of football SEC summaries for this season. It’s hard to believe that the regular season went by so quickly, but the good news is that we’ve arrived at bowl season again. Of the 12 teams in the Southeastern Conference, nine were bowl-eligible this season (Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Kentucky were not), and all those eligible were given bowl bids. Below are the details of where each team will be headed and when, who they’ll be playing, and any major storylines that might be important/interesting to know.

(1) LSU and (2) Alabama

The Tigers (13-0, 9-0) will face off against the Tide (11-1, 7-1) in the BCS National Championship Game. The game will be played in New Orleans on Monday, January 9th, and will kick off at 8:30 ET on ESPN.

Major storylines: This is a rematch, the first ever national title game with two teams from the same conference, OMG THIS IS A REMATCH OF SAME CONFERENCE TEAMS IS THAT FAIR?!?!?! (I say yes.)

(8) Arkansas

The Razorbacks, (10-2, 6-2) will play against No. 8 Kansas State (10-2, 7-2) in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. The game will be held in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, January 6th. It’s set to start at 8 ET and will be televised on FOX.

Major storylines: Um…the game is being played at JerryWorld and is one of the best non-BCS games, Arkansas is the highest ranked team who did NOT get selected for a BCS bowl.

» Continue reading “SEC Summary: Bowl Game Edition”

Honey Badger en route to the endzone. (photo via LSUsports.net)

This was it. SEC West winner No. 1 LSU (13-0, 9-0) against SEC East winner No. 14 UGA (10-3, 7-2). The game for the mighty SEC title. The game that would potentially have a big impact on the BCS standings. The Tigers’ chance to keep their undefeated season alive. The Bulldogs’ chance to keep their perfect 10-0 streak going. How important was this game? There were hype up rap videos made by fans on each side. It was serious business.

And it was a good game…for the first half.

Georgia jumped out to a 10-0 lead, which could have been even bigger, had their receivers’ hands not been coated with butter. LSU was completely flat, and didn’t even manage a first down in the first half. Luckily, though, their not-so-secret weapon wasn’t cool with being shut out.

Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu got the Tigers on the board with just under six minutes left in the second quarter, when he took a punt return 62 yards to the house…kind of. Mathieu did reach the endzone, but he flipped the ball to the official before it was officially over the line. The ref had signalled the touchdown, though, which prompted the flip. The play didn’t get reviewed, so the Tigers got the points. It wouldn’t matter in the end, though. 

» Continue reading “SEC Summary: Championship Game Edition”

Welcome to one of the last installments of Cocky Country’s weekly summary of SEC football action. This was rivalry week, so winning was that much sweeter, and losing hurt that much more. Now that all is said and done, there will only be two SEC teams playing next weekend – No. 1 LSU and No. 13. UGA. They’ll meet at the Atlanta Dome to decide the SEC championship Saturday night. Six teams finished with overall winning records, while only five finished with winning conference records. Only four SEC teams will not go bowling, while two will almost certainly play for the national championship.

(3) Arkansas at (1) LSU

Had Arkansas pulled off a win Friday in Baton Rouge, the BCS would have been sent into chaos. Luckily for the BCS, that didn’t happen. After getting off to a slow start, LSU rallied to soundly defeat the Razorbacks 41-17. The Hogs got off to a good start, taking a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, and one of those TDs came from a Tigers fumble. They couldn’t keep up with a resilient and powerful LSU team, though, who had taken the lead by halftime. Arkansas scored only once more, a third quarter field goal, pulling them within four points of tying the game. The Tigers went on to score 20 answered points, though, completing their perfect regular season and almost certainly knocking the Razorbacks out of BCS bowl contention. The Tigers’ Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu, had a great game, highlighted by his 92-yard punt return for a touchdown. LSU QB Jordan Jefferson was 18 of 29 for 208 yards on the day. He threw his first interception of the year, but also threw for a touchdown and ran for one. The five Tigers TDs were scored by five different players. LSU had 26 first downs to Arkansas’ 11, and had 286 yards on the ground, compared to the Hogs’ 47. The non-football storyline from this game was Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino’s apparent disrespect of Tigers coach Les Miles. Petrino pointed at Miles from across the field and appeared to have a few choice words for his opposition. He then pretty much blew off the post-game handshake at midfield. I’m no Miles fan, but that’s just not appropriate. Stay classy, Bobby.

Arkansas falls to 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. They will await a bid, potentially from the Cotton Bowl . LSU improves to 12-0 on the season and 8-0 in conference play. They’ll travel to Atlanta to take on SEC East champ Georgia in the SEC title game, then will either play for the national championship or, should they lose to UGA, possibly be selected for another bowl.

» Continue reading “SEC Summary: Week Thirteen”

Welcome to the Week Twelve breakdown of what went on in SEC football this weekend. There’s only one week left in the regular season, and a few teams are still battling to become bowl eligible. LSU remains the only unbeaten team (in and out of the conference), while Ole Miss is the only team without an SEC victory. There are seven bowl eligible teams (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn), three teams still hoping for eligibility (Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Mississippi State), and two teams who will not go bowling (Kentucky and Ole Miss). As the regular seasons comes to an end, it’s now rivalry week for many schools. Read on for recaps on commentary on this weekend’s SEC action. 

Kentucky at (14) Georgia

This game was for all the marbles, at least in Georgia’s case. A win would send them to the SEC title game, a loss would send South Carolina. Lucky for the Dawgs, they were playing the Wildcats, who have only one conference win. The 19-10 score was a lot closer than I thought it would be, but UGA certainly didn’t care, as they punched their ticket to Atlanta and ensured Mark Richt’s time in Athens will last at least one more year. UK took an early lead and Georgia wasn’t even all that sharp offensively, but their defense and kicker Blair Walsh, combined with Kentucky’s general ineptitude, was enough to secure a victory. The only bad news for the Bulldogs was that they lost RB Isaiah Crowell to an ankle injury. He sat out most of the game and his status for the future is unknown. Turnovers plagues both teams (each had four), but the Wildcats also couldn’t develop any sort of ground game (23 yards total) and had almost no first downs in the second half. QB Maxwell Smith was also left the game but was able to return.

Georgia improves to 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the SEC. They’ll travel to take on Georgia Tech in the rivalry game to end the regular season. Kentucky falls to 4-7 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. They will play their final game of the season at home against Tennessee.

» Continue reading “SEC Summary: Week Twelve”

Welcome to Cocky Country’s SEC summary for Week Eleven. The college football season is rapidly coming to an end, and now’s the time when teams are more likely to be facing must-win situations. Somewhat unbelievably, there are still two SEC teams that are winless in the conference – Tennessee and Ole Miss. There’s also still on undefeated team – LSU. Most other teams are either trying to stay alive in the division race or trying to win and get bowl-eligible. Six teams from the conference are in the BCS Top-25, and three of them are also in the Top-10. Read on for recaps and commentary about what went on in the SEC this weekend.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt

Not to take anything away from Vandy, but Kentucky is incredibly bad. Their one conference victory this season came against an even worse Ole Miss team (more on them later), and they’ve been hapless in almost all of their other games. Yesterday was no different, as the Commodores rolled to a 38-8 victory at home. UK didn’t even score until the third quarter, when they managed a touchdown and two-point conversion. Prior to that score, they were down 31-0. Jordan Rodgers completed 12 of 22 passes for over 200 yards, two TDs, and a pick. RB Zac Stacy added three touchdowns and had 28 carries for 135 yards. Kentucky’s leading rushers, Jonathan George and CoShik Williams, had less than half that many yards combined, and Vandy outgained UK in rushing yards 203-32. The Wildcats also had only nine first downs to the Commodores’ 28 and were flagged 10 times. This was the biggest margin of victory has had in an SEC game since they beat Mississippi State 49-19 in 1971, and they are now one win away from being bowl eligible for the first time in three years.

Vanderbilt improves to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference. They’ll be in Knoxville next weekend to take on a struggling Tennessee team. Kentucky drops to 4-6 on the season and 1-5 in the SEC. They’ll travel to Georgia next weekend to try and spoil the Bulldogs’ SEC championship bid (and help South Carolina’s).

» Continue reading “SEC Summary: Week Eleven”