Gamecocks, to a man, say they are paying no attention to Georgia
But if South Carolina drafted its own list of the various metropolises, ranking them in terms of importance, Knoxville would undoubtedly come before Jacksonville. In fact, Knoxville would be the only name on the list, because that's the city hosting the only game this weekend the No. 14 Gamecocks are concerned with.
Theirs.
USC understands where it stands in the race for the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division championship. At 4-1 in the SEC, the Gamecocks are tied with No. 22 Georgia for the division lead. USC holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulldogs thanks to a 45-42 win on Sept. 10 in Athens, Ga., but Georgia is thought to have the easier remaining schedule. Each team has three conference games remaining. Given the stakes at hand, it would seem natural to assume USC will be engaging in the great American tradition of scoreboard watching come Saturday.
Georgia plays Florida in Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. in the game formerly (or, to be honest, still) known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, while the Gamecocks will kick off against Tennessee at 7:15 p.m. in Knoxville's Neyland Stadium. The time differential would give the Gamecocks a perfect opportunity to monitor their most immediate threat and, in all likelihood, begin their own contest knowing whether the Bulldogs won their sixth straight game or hit a major bump in their respective road to a division title.
But the Gamecocks, to a man, say they will pay all attention to the Volunteers and none to what is occurring 546 miles southeast of them because it simply doesn't matter to them.
"We control our own destiny," said offensive lineman Terrence Campbell. "It's not hard to not think about them at all. We control everything. We're in the driver's seat. If we come to play our game and we come to do what we're supposed to do at the ballpark, then we're not worried about them. No worries at all."
The math is pretty simple and stands tall in Carolina's favor. If the Gamecocks win out, they win the East and return to the SEC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. But a Georgia loss, to the Gators or anyone else, would make USC's chances of getting back to Atlanta even more likely. Assuming USC can beat UT and its home game against Florida on Nov. 12, it would have a margin for error with a UGA loss — a comfort considering the Gamecocks play at No. 8 Arkansas next week. But USC doesn't want to think along those lines.
"We can't sit there, focusing on what's this team going to do, what this team's going to do," said linebacker Rodney Paulk. "We've got to focus on ourselves. In order for us to win this league, we have to make sure ourselves is straight. We have to make sure our kitchen [has] everything done from our standpoint."
Granted, the ability to control its own destiny likely makes it easier for USC to have such tunnel vision of the race. The Gamecocks don't need to pay attention to what is going on around them because they hold all the cards. Teams that don't control their fate lack that luxury.
"Ask those Georgia Bulldogs what kind of attention they're giving us every week," said coach Steve Spurrier. Georgia coach Mark Richt alluded to as much when speaking to reporters earlier this week, stressing his team knows how important its meeting with Florida is, both for his program — Georgia has lost 18 of its last 21 meetings with the Gators — and the entire SEC East picture.
"We know if we win it, it doesn't count us in," Richt said. "It's important and it's huge and we know we are in much better shape if we win the game, but there's no guarantees either way win or lose."
Running backs coach Jay Graham said he feels a team knowing it controls its own destiny makes it easier for it to block out what is going on outside and focus on the task at hand.
"I guess (it changes the mindset)," Graham said. "Maybe Georgia's watching us more than we're watching them, but it's important to us to play as hard as we can and win every game that we possibly can."
Spurrier has joked in the past that he isn't sure many of his players are aware that USC and Georgia are in the same division. But the divisional race is "no joking matter," defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles said.
"I know and I believe we can win the SEC East," Quarles said. "I feel like we can win the conference, no matter what."
The best way to accomplish that, Quarles said, is to stress only what USC can control, and nothing more as it finishes the season on this "big stretch," as Campbell called it. Graham echoed that sentiment.
"When you go in, you control your own destiny, the most important thing is to go out there and play as well as you can, every game, and play as hard as you can," Graham said.
The Gamecocks have endured a tremendous amount to date. Quarterback changes, the dismissal of Stephen Garcia, numerous injuries, most notably to star tailback Marcus Lattimore, and an anemic offense have made the first seven games of the season quite the bumpy road.
And yet, USC sits in a prime position to repeat as division champions. It has a clear path, a potentially crucial tiebreaker in hand and a second wind after a well-timed open week. For all the disappointments and headaches, Carolina is choosing to focus on that fact, and that fact alone. There's only one city and one football game that matters to the Gamecocks at the moment.
"We have no control over that game down in Jacksonville," Spurrier said. "We need to worry about our game in Knoxville. That's the one we have some control over."