So, we are 7-2 and unhappy? Sounds good to me!

First let’s review last night’s loss to Arkansas.  The Hogs were the better team, deserved to win and they did. I have seen the “couldas” and “shouldas” lining up on both sides as you would expect.  Could it have been a bigger score if Arkansas doesn’t drop some open passes in the first half?  Yes.  But if you’re going to say that, then acknowledge that the Gamecocks could have won if they make one defensive stop in the second half.  After all, both teams got a non-offensive TD and both teams missed some chances. 

What DID happen is that Arkansas defeated South Carolina 44-28 and Carolina “plummeted” all the way down to…….7-2, still ranked and still alive for the SEC East.  Wait, that’s where this “free-fall disaster” landed us?  Right where most of us had USC before the year started?  Well, most actual Carolina fans had us at 7-2 after 9 games on their preseason prediction list.  I actually had us predicted to be 6-3 at this point.  (Check my facebook page for my preseason calls on the Gamecocks and Tiggers if you are skeptical about this.)

Yes, yes, we were overhyped by the national media before the year started to be more than that.  Largely this was based on three players, two of which who are now not playing.  We also knew that the two positions that could not sustain an injury were offensive line and linebacker.  (Yes, we knew this in the summer.)  We lost our best offensive lineman earlier this year and this week- ahead of the best passing team we have faced- we lose Antonio Allen.  OUCH!  These are not excuses, just the facts ma’am.  To use a very tired cliché, “It is what it is.” 

Arkansas was facing a much weaker and younger defense than we usually field and they took advantage, especially at linebacker.  We couldn’t cover the wheel route or stop the draws underneath our front 4 rush.  We were gashed over the middle three times specifically where Allen would have been. It was a bad night to be facing that good of an offense and we paid the price. 

Yes, yes, Connor Shaw was on the run early and often and made some bad decisions.  Young QBs with thin offensive lines do that sort of thing, but he still had three impressive scoring drives and made some good plays too.  Remember that the mantra all week was that we would not get more than 14 points and we got 21 (plus a really nice pick six from big Devin Taylor). The bottom line is that we scored enough points to win. 

So we have ¼ of the season left to go.  I have to chuckle at anyone who is “unhappy” with the Gamecocks at this point.  We are 7-2, will be ranked in the Top 20 (or 15) and have 3 home games left.  We had a school record win streak on the road snapped Saturday, but ended the season 4-1 away from Williams-Brice Stadium!  With a win over Florida next week, we will have gone 6-2 in the conference this year, our best SEC record ever.  Are we disappointed we lost?  Always.  Did we want an upset of the Hogs?  Sure. But should we be “angry” over where we stand through 9 games?  Heck no! Bring on the Gators!

New feature on the Cock-A-Booster - "THE CRANKSHAFT GAZETTE!"

We have launched a new page on The Cock-a-Booster this morning. It is called The Crankshaft Gazatte (The editor is our own Rusty Crankshaft from Pelion, SC). This is the best and "most-fake-est" news you will find on USC and Clemson sports! Check it out. Just click on the THE CRANKSHAFT NEWS tab at the top. We hope you enjoy it.

"If we are going to poke fun at our Clemson brethren then we have to be able to poke a little fun at ourselves." -- Rusty Crankshaft

Have the roles reversed?

For years and years, I would laugh to myself as almost every Gamecock fan would head into the fall with Arkansas checked as a win.  My “circle” of fellow featherheads isn’t a scientific sample or anything, but it’s a pretty diverse group with positive fans, negative fans and in between.  Perhaps like no other team we face every year, for some reason the Hogs were always assumed to be a win………and we almost always lose to them. 

Arkansas is 12-7 against Carolina since we joined the conference and is favored to make it 13-7 this weekend.  Having said that, unlike the previous 19 years, most USC fans I talk with had this game marked as a loss in August.  And why wouldn’t they?  Arkansas is #7 in the BCS, has a tremendous offense and will be jazzed up in the home trough with a bunch of drunk women “oinking” loudly from the opening kickoff.  The odds are in their favor, no doubt. 

Maybe it’s just my natural tendency to cut against public opinion but for some reason I think we’re going to play well tomorrow night.  Yes, yes, pour on here and blister me if I am wrong but I just have a feeling that we are sandbagging just a bit.  Many times, the piggies have ignored our big talk, quietly come in, whipped our fannies and taken off.  This year, they are the ones doing most of the squealing and we’re unusually quiet. 

Gamecock fans always build up their opponents into super heroes that can’t be touched so I am not talking about that.  The insane hype about that boy in Knoxville was comical and of course ended up being nonsense.  Similarly, on the boards this week Arkansas is now being purported to be the finest collection of athletes to ever walk the earth which is par for the course for Carolina posters.

What isn’t par for the course this year is the undercurrent discussion.  Are the roles reversed in 2011?  Will it be Carolina that has quietly ignored all the bluster about how awesome Arkansas is, and how sure of a loss this is?  Will we go into Fayetteville without any fanfare, take the field and proceed to get a victory, get on the plane and fly home before anyone in the Ozarks realizes their pants have been dropped? 

Go for it Gamecocks.  Disappoint the “Hades” out of 1400 AM, The State and everyone in Athens.  Bring home a victory and let’s get ready for the “home” stretch. 

The Cock-a-Booster's Crystal Ball says...

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

LAST WEEK'S RECORD (5-0); OVERALL RECORD (5-0)

UT-MARTIN at MISSISSIPPI STATE

The orange and navy nest at Hardy Graham Stadium will be empty this weekend, as the “North of Humboldt” Hawks fly South, hoping to swoop in for a safe landing at Starkville’s Gridiron Kennels.   The maroon barkers have found themselves leashed early and often this fall, but they’ll find these visiting birds a tasty treat. 
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Mississippi State by 15.

MTSU at TENNESSEE

The Azul Pirates from Murfreesboro sail their Pigskin Jolly Roger into Knoxville on Saturday, hoping to find the Knoxville Brigade ripe to be plundered.  Derek Dooley’s hillbilly minutemen have been outgunned all year, but they’ll withstand this blue raid with little trouble. 
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Tennessee by 20.

 

OLE MISS at KENTUCKY

Houston Nutt and his Oxford Soldiers storm into Bluegrass Country this weekend, hoping declawed blue kitten is on the menu.  The home cats are happy to be “hoops eligible” real soon and have used up most of their 9 gridiron lives.  Based on how the fall has gone, it’s hard to pick either team.  
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Ole Miss by 1.

 

NEW MEXICO STATE at GEORGIA

Pistol Pete and his Las Cruces Cowpokes gallop away from Route 66 this weekend, hoping to lasso some Red Clay Hounds down in the Athens Dog Pound.  Mark Richt and his Sanford Bone-chewers have been howling loudly of late, and they don’t like the idea of being penned in by desert ropers.  
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Georgia by 25.
 

VANDERBILT at FLORIDA

The Einsteins from Eastern Tennessee sail their pigskin fleet down I-75 this weekend, hoping to wade into the Gainesville Bog without getting death-rolled.  The Ocala Lizards have slithered all over these boats before, and should chomp the Nashville Captains back to Music City when it’s all said and done. 
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Florida by 6.
 

LSU at ALABAMA

The Mad Hatter and his Baton Rouge Kittens paw into Elephant Land on Saturday night, hoping to capture some Houndstooth Ivory as a pigskin souvenir.  The Tuscaloosa Herd has other ideas, and their red trunks will be swinging for keeps.  The Bayou Bengals have razor sharp claws, but they won’t be able to penetrate the pachyderm’s hides enough at Bryant-Denny.  
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Alabama by 2.

SOUTH CAROLINA at ARKANSAS

The Garnet Cluckers from Richland County flock west on Saturday, hoping pork is the white meat of choice on the menu at the Fayetteville Trough.  The Ozark Squealers prefer poultry on their grills and think some BBQ’d visor would hit the spot instead.  The pigskin world decided long ago this one would be a plucking, but the Fort Smith Piglets may find the truffle rooting tougher than expected.  
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...South Carolina by 5.

We are now on Facebook too!

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Gamecock Fans Should Enjoy this Era

Watching Carolina’s relatively easy 14-3 win in Knoxville on Saturday night, I found myself thinking about just how successful the Steve Spurrier era in Columbia has been.  Don’t think so?  Try juxtaposing it against our football history.  Like it or not, the program has never enjoyed this kind of consistent success.

 

The Head Ball Coach is 51-34 in Columbia in just under seven seasons.  That 60% winning percentage may not seem daunting, but it is a heck of an improvement over 65-82, which was Carolina’s overall record in the 13 SEC years before he arrived.  In conference games under Spurrier, Carolina is 28-26 with two games left this year.  Again, that might not seem great but pre-Spurrier saw the Gamecocks run up a 36-67-1 SEC record.

It gets even better when looking at how he has dealt with Carolina’s SEC rivals and Clemson.   From 1992-2004, Carolina had a grand total of 9 wins over Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Clemson.  In roughly half that time, Spurrier has landed 12 wins over those same teams-  2 wins over Florida, 4 wins over Tennessee (including 2 straight), 3 wins over Georgia (including 2 straight), and 3 wins over Clemson (including 2 straight).

 

Now no one is saying everything is perfect or that we shouldn’t want to do more and keep building.  It is just interesting that the football program is in the best shape it has ever been right now and many Gamecock fans just cannot enjoy it.  I have said many times that Clemson fans are always one game away from claiming they are on a winning streak, while Gamecock fans seem to always view USC as one game away from a new losing streak. 

 

Having watched this program go through ups and downs for nearly 35 years, I have had the “pleasure” of sitting through some rotten football and horrible seasons.  If you had told me in 1999 that we would be 7-1, ranked in the top 10 and leading the SEC East I would have assumed Gamecock fans would be wallowing in happiness and soaking up every second of every game. 

 

Instead I detect a palatable fear of each week as the landmine that is going to blow everything up and start us on a freefall tailspin back to the 90s.  The next game is a great example of what I mean.  If you’re a Gamecock fan, ask yourself if you view the trip to Fayetteville as a chance to do something great, or have you written the game off as a probable loss so you won’t be disappointed?  I can tell you our Coach intends to go over there and win on Saturday and so does the team.  They aren’t thinking about how they will handle a loss.  They are going to do everything they can to go get a win, and isn’t it nice to finally have a program like that in Columbia?   Enjoy it, don’t endure it!



 

Why Knoxville Matters

I understand that winning in Neyland Stadium is always a big deal and is always important.  This year, maybe for the first time since Carolina joined the SEC, it’s almost as important “not to lose.”  Gamecock fans already feel that way about trips to Vandy and Kentucky so it’s not a foreign concept.  (Last year’s loss in Lexington is still seethed about by the Garnet and Black feathered followers as something that is inexcusable and should never happen.)

But Tennessee?  Rocky Top?  Lulu and Junior-land?  If you’re like me and you were there when Taneyhill and crew fell just a bit short at 55-3, or painfully watched us lose in OT twice with great chances to pull upsets…it’s just different trying to feel that way about the Vols. 

Also, we have one win in that stadium ever.  ONE!  Josh Brown’s FG is one of my favorite memories as a Gamecock (along with Sidney Rice’s tantalizing tightrope walk on the back end line after we used two timeouts ahead of the throw).  So you’ll just have to forgive me if I’m not yet comfortable with this situation.  Moving from “perennial loser” to “winning program” seems like it would be an easy thing to do, but it actually involves a ton of these “mental battles” among the fan base. 

A current Gamecock student from the Lowcountry told me something recently that I think accounts for this “divide” between the negative and positive fans.  Students who entered USC as freshmen in Columbia this fall were born in 1993.  That means several things that make me feel old but explain their new optimism:

• They were born AFTER Carolina entered the SEC in 1992.
• Their first real memories of Gamecock football were 2000 and 2001, the Outback Bowl years.
• They have only really known two Gamecock coaches- Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier.  They were mostly 5 years old when Holtz was hired.

They weren’t around or paying attention for any of that horrible negative history us older fans have endured.   They just expect us to do well.  Imagine that.  For once, maybe us “Old Dogs” should learn some of their “New Tricks.”  A second win in Knoxville would help us make that transition.

The Cock-a-booster's Crystal Ball says...

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2011

ARKANSAS at VANDERBILT

The Ozark Piglets will squeal into the Grand Ole Opry this weekend, hoping to root out some pigskin truffles on the SEC’s academia cruiseliner.   The brainy boat captains have showed some spark this year but 2012 and beyond is the gridiron horizon they are seeking.   
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Arkansas by 13.

FLORIDA vs. GEORGIA (Jacksonville, FL)

The Lizards from Tebowtown slither into Jacksonville on Saturday, hoping the Outdoor Cocktail Party will be a swampy affair.  They will find out that the Athens Alpos have other ideas, and the red howlers have a loud bark.  Almost everyone thinks the pups are too strong to be neutered, but if they aren’t careful it will be a St. John’s River surprise.   
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Georgia by 3.

OLE MISS at AUBURN

The War Eagle Kittens from East Alabama open up the Plains Scratching Post on Saturday, hoping to give a good clawing to the invading Oxford Brigade.  Johnny Reb showed some life last week during a spirited piggy hunt, but they may have used up all their ammo in the process.  Too much Toomer’s lemonade here.   
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says... Auburn by 8.

MISSISSIPPI STATE at KENTUCKY

The Starkville K-9’s missed their last chance to salvage 2011 last weekend and they will be whimpering along on cruise control until the Egg Bowl.  The good news is that when they limp into Lexington, they will find the Bluegrass Meows have been declawed themselves.  Normally a dog vs. cat matchup makes for some fireworks, but this one appears to be a fizzler. 
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...Mississippi State by 14.
 

SOUTH CAROLINA at TENNESSEE

Cocky and his Columbia Cluckers flock into the hills this weekend, hoping to corral Old Smokey’s Mountain Gunners before they get to shooting.  The Deliverance Deputies always defend the home trailer well, but the Richland Roosters have some long pigskin spurs. In the end the visiting poultry should be able to leave the Red Tick Hounds howling.   
 The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...South Carolina by 4.

WHERE IS THE "MOO U" PICK??

My crystal ball is saying something about orange garlic and me being a vampire.  No pick needed here as there is always plenty of nose-picking at a Klimpsun game.  And I don't mean just the cheerleaders. 
The Cock-a-Booster’s crystal ball says...STAY AWAY...STAY VERY FAR AWAY!!!

Everything is all set up for Connor Shaw

No matter which faction you put yourself as a Gamecock fan, you have to like and be pulling for Connor Shaw.  And no, that is not the norm in Columbia.  Is there a starting QB in Columbia who has been talked about less than #14?  When you’re talking about our insanely bitter, negative and divided fan base, that’s a good thing.

What a strange year this is so far and all of it has provided the perfect situation for such an anonymous signal caller.  If Carolina has a big finish, only loses one more (maybe in Fayetteville), wins the East, pulls another “Omaha” on Clemson and gets to 10 or more wins, Shaw will deservedly get the credit for taking over an apparent mess and leading us home.  If not and things go sour, all the turmoil over Stephen Garcia’s dismissal, Ron Morris and Marcus Lattimore’s injury will be blamed, as they should be.  

This is vintage Carolina!  We actually have that rarest of situations where the one person that CANNOT lose is our starting quarterback.  And why not?  By all accounts this is a very nice kid who works hard and is from a good family.  He looks the part of the likeable, quiet hero in the white hat.    

His first home start (he technically started the neutral site ECU game) was against a very bad defense and he looked great.  His first road start was a logical step up in difficulty.  Miss. State was not an easy situation by any stretch but it wasn’t Baton Rouge either and he was able to maneuver through and get the win.  Now we go to Knoxville.  Again, not an easy setting at all but not exactly Tuscaloosa.  If we do win, and I am predicting we will, think about where the Gamecocks will be through 2/3 of the season:  7-1, near the Top 10, and 3-0 on the road in the SEC!  

And remember that while Shaw has been quietly going about his business, getting better and earning these wins, all of the recent drama and turmoil over Spurrier and Morris has been dominating the media.  Most folks think that the Morris incident was done on purpose to deflect away from the Garcia dismissal.  I think Spurrier was actually wanting to keep everyone from focusing on Connor.  Intentional or accidental, that is how things have played out in 2011. 

Here’s to hoping that it all works out for you Connor.  It’s your team now and you have nothing but good will and almost unanimous fan support behind you.  Even the most “negative” Carolina fans I tailgate with seem to be going out of their way to find positive things to say about you.  Enjoy it while you can.  As we have seen many times, it doesn’t last that way forever for a Gamecock quarterback.



 

WELCOME TO THE COCK-A-BOOSTER! Get ready for a wild ride!

There are many professional websites and blogs dedicated to USC sports.  What will make this one unique?  First, let me say that we are not trying to become another standard message board site with a national affiliation.  We won’t have any special inside information and we will NOT stick to a “company line” when talking about Carolina.

I am just a Gamecock fan with a unique perspective, and I tell it like it is.  I believe you will find it authentic and always interesting, even when you disagree with what is being said.  Outside of my regular column there will be some sarcastic humor and a lot of satire.  We will have some picking at my Clemson friends, but it will all be in fun and that’s what a rivalry is about. 

After all, this old Calhoun County Boy is as “Gamecock” as they come.  I was born and raised in St. Matthews, the home of Zam Fredrick and the Jeffery Brothers.  I have never lived anywhere but South Carolina, and was blessed with parents who are rabid Gamecocks themselves. 

My lineage is rooted in the Garnet and Black as well.  My Great Uncle was the late Tatum Gressette (also of St. Matthews), the Gamecock Football Captain in 1920 and 1921.  “Uncle” Tatum drop-kicked a field goal to beat Clemson 3-0 during his career and he became a Carolina legend in the process.  My late Grandfather, T. M. “Babe” Nelson, was the most loyal and passionate Gamecock fan I ever knew and I sat in many games with him in Section 104. 

So you can see it started early for me.  My Mom likes to tell folks that my first “memory” as a USC fan came when she was 7 months pregnant with me in March of 1971.  She and my Dad were at the Greensboro Coliseum that spring night when Kevin Joyce tapped the ball to Tom Owens and we won the ACC tournament.  So I was there at age -1.  And I have “been there” ever since. 

I hope you like The Cock-A-Booster and feel free to let me know what you think.   

Go Gamecocks!