CLAWS vs. PAWS - Week 6

Weekend of October 5, 2013

THE TIGERSWAG:

They say truth is better than fiction.  If you ever wanted to debate this statement, don't use USC's last seven days.  Beginning with Shaq Roland being suspended, the crazy week picked up USC as they nearly lost to UCF.  It followed that by playing "As Connor Shaw's Shoulder Turns", from where he was hurt to how he's been miraculously healed.  And the week ended with a Scooby Doo Mystery focused on finding & releasing Spurrier's awkward coaches show.

But you know what fixes a crazy week like this?  The SEC East.  After heading out of conference to face some decent competition, the Gamecocks welcome another SEC world beater in Kentucky.  And playing another SEC juggernaut like Kentucky will help you forget all your troubles.  Just like Vandy did and just like Tennessee & Missouri will do.

Unfortunately for Kentucky, USC has a ton of troubles to work out, which means the Wildcats will be getting the Jadeveon Clowney (remember him) blocking sled treatment.  And this week, the only troubles the Gamecocks will worry about will be where the students spend the second half.

The Fightin' Slurriers 33
The Kentucky Bourbons 10

THE COCK-A-BOOSTER:

The Gamecocks will be in Columbia on Saturday for the last time this month, and Kentucky will be a nice test before we head off on the three-game road adventure.  Connor Shaw insists he will be back to play against the Wildcats (we are at home where he is comfortable so why not).  Hopefully he won’t aggravate his injuries.  

We know that to actually go three for three at Fayetteville, Knoxville and Mizzou Dylan Thompson will have to play a prominent role.  Shaw will likely miss time due to being hurt during that stretch.  

But for this weekend, all should be well at Williams-Brice.  I say USC comes out sharp instead of flat, gets a nice early lead and cruises to a big victory.  The young defense will be working on new schemes and coverages as promised by Spurrier, so we will likely see another big play or two given up.  But the spread should be covered and all in Garnet should be smiling as we head off to the Ozark Pig Trough.        

South Carolina 45

Kentucky 17

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THE TIGERSWAG:

When Dabo instituted the no social media policy at the beginning of fall camp, many wondered why.  Some of the responses we heard: "It's not fair!" "What about recruiting?" and "What's the big deal?"

Well, after Syracuse's starting running back Jerome Smith took to the twitter world spouting how his QB was better than ours, it was game on.  But that wasn't enough, he backed it up, followed by his teammates and coaches saying the same things publicly.  And now, after a game that has quietly crept up on Clemson, especially with a showdown vs Florida State in a few weeks, this game just got important.  A Clemson team that could have been in sleep mode was just thrown from the bed with some Zombie Nation, and now it's game on.

This won't be a cake walk for Clemson, and no expects it to be, but Clemson will be focused, much more so than at NC State, and the differences will be obvious.  Syracuse will also be ready - and may even jump out to an early lead to get their spring game crowd amped up.  But in the end, the Clemson storm eats them up and spits them out. 

Clemson 37
Syracuse 20

COCK-A-BOOSTER:

The Tiggers will continue their tour of high schools this weekend at Pearl Washington’s Carrier Dome up in the Empire State.  It is hard to take the Klimpletons seriously right now but what makes this year particularly bad is the added hysteria from Herbie and crew at ESPN.

The kittens will come out, shake off an early flat start and pull away in the second half to a comfortable victory margin.  Clemson will be looking dynamic and flashy on paper while their lines of scrimmage get softer and softer.

We’ve all read this book before folks.

Clemson 40

Syracuse 20

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READ MORE FROM THE COCK-A-BOOSTER HERE.

READ MORE FROM THE TIGER SWAG HERE.

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