If you watched Steve Spurrier’s press conference without seeing the game Saturday, you’d probably have thought that the Gamecocks had just suffered a loss. Spurrier was frustrated that his team let the Knights get back into the game in the fourth quarter. It was the second game in a row in which the defense allowed an opponent to fight its way back.
South Carolina will travel to Orlando, Fla., this week to take on Central Florida. While the name may not strike fear into Gamecock fans’ hearts, they should be worried about the Knights. UCF is coming off a win at Penn State, is 3-0 this season and is receiving votes in both major football polls.
If you take special teams out of the equation, South Carolina played one of its more impressive games in recent memory Saturday. For the students that decided to stay, they got to see the Gamecocks rack up nearly 579 yards of offense and 31 first downs.
786 students with tickets didn’t show
Athletic director Ray Tanner said he spoke with top executives at The State but did not pressure them to reassign columnist Ron Morris, calling the suggestion “ridiculous.”
On Saturday against the Bulldogs, the South Carolina defense was exposed like it hasn’t been in quite some time. Over the past four or five years, the Gamecocks were developing a defense that was comparable to that of other top SEC teams, like Alabama and LSU.
First-years learn cheers in ballroom A large group of students cheered, shouted and groaned at the Gamecocks’ loss to the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday afternoon, but they weren’t at Sanford Stadium.
In its first test, a revised student ticketing system experienced few hiccups at the Aug. 29 football game against UNC. Almost all of the ticketing issues were faced by students who had replaced their CarolinaCards after 4 p.m. Aug. 28, after the Student Athletic Tickets Office pulled the final set of data from the CarolinaCard system, according to Anna Edwards, director of student services.
Bulldogs utilize offensive attack to outscore USC 41-30
Football season opener sees nearly double the number of removals from last year’s opener
More than 150 people were ejected from Williams-Brice Stadium during Thursday’s game against UNC, marring the season opening victory, according to USC’s Division of Law and Enforcement Safety.
After months of building up the Jadeveon-Clowney-is-unstoppable hype, the junior star finally hit the field for a new season last Thursday against North Carolina. Because of the constant replay of Clowney’s hit on Michigan’s Vincent Smith in January, it appears that fans and critics around the nation expected that highlight to be a given every week this season.
Senior Connor Shaw is the winningest quarterback in South Carolina history, with 17 wins to 3 losses as a starter, but that does not mean his starting job is safe from junior Dylan Thompson.
The offensive and defensive lines are often overlooked and underappreciated, but this year, the battles in the trenches could determine South Carolina’s fate. With other position groups scrambling to replace departed starters and much of the weight of the team on his unit’s shoulders, offensive line coach Shawn Elliott is confident that his group can deliver come gameday.
Last season, the South Carolina defense was full of names. Safety D.J. Swearinger made a name for himself by making big hits and intimidating players on the field. DeVonte Holloman was a consistent presence at the spur and linebacker positions, as were Shaq Wilson, Quin Smith and Reginald Bowens.
There are a few familiar wide receivers from last season that will return this year for South Carolina, but some new names are expected to contribute, too. The big story involving the receivers for the game against North Carolina is the status of junior Bruce Ellington, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury. He would normally start as an outside receiver, but is not listed as a starter in the depth chart USC released before this week’s game.
When the Gamecocks take the field against North Carolina in the 2013 season opener, the team will have a slightly different look than fans are used to. Earlier this month, Under Armour rolled out a brand-new uniform set for South Carolina football. In terms of looks, the threads are not too much of a departure from the uniform the Gamecocks have worn for the past two years; the name and number fonts remain the same, and the stripes have been moved from the front of the jersey to the shoulders.