Darkest before the dawn?

I would guess that 90% of Carolina fans, if they were pumped with truth serum, would admit that they left the East Carolina game happy with the win, but with a HUGE knot in their bellies.  Did we “feel better” about things.  I suppose that term is relative.  You should almost always feel better with a win than a loss.  So yeah, I guess we feel better in that sense. 

But the long-term prognosis is bleak…at least according to those “in the know.”  The accepted narrative about this team nationally now is that we flopped against A & M, sputtered through against the Pirates and now will be slaughtered by the Dawgs.  How can you argue with that assessment based on the eyeball test?    

Our defense has been just putrid.  We look like we’re confused, weak, slow and small trying to stop anyone right now.  There is no reason to think that we have a magic gear we haven’t shown that will mysteriously appear against Georgia.  Gurley is probably salivating at the prospect of gashing through us early and often and just wearing us down like they did the Klimpletons in Athens. 

Meanwhile, on offense, it’s not nearly as bad, but there is a similar vibe there in the undercurrent.  Davis’s season has hardly lived up to the hype this fall and our majestic, royal, fantastic offensive line we were promised has largely flopped against two of the weaker defenses we will play.  Clemson may have had a nice game plan between the hedges and made a couple of big plays to keep it close, but once “Uggah” figured out what they were doing it was a slap-down. 

The bottom line is that if you had to bet real money on this game, most of us would have to choose the barkers.  The Vegas line has rocketed in Georgia’s favor since it opened at about a point or so.   No one, and I mean NO one (that I can find) with any credibility says we have a chance this weekend.  Heck, if we made it off the bus successfully and got our shoes tied, that would be a moral victory the way it’s being set up. 

Ever the contrarian, that is why I will now swerve into the insane lane for a moment.  When the entire football world and gridiron glitterati get together and guarantee without a doubt that something will not and could not possibly happen, look for it to happen.  I concur with all the Eggheads that have analyzed this matchup.  Georgia should win and win easily.  We don’t play well on CBS at 3:30 historically.  On paper, this game should be over by halftime. 

Well, in my opinion, when one team is coming in expecting a coronation and the other is a wounded animal that has been left for dead, strange things happen folks.  And don’t be surprised on Saturday afternoon if some kookiness appears at Williams-Brice. 

It's a great time to be a Gamecock!