Louisiana Love: south carolina gamecocks

Showing posts with label south carolina gamecocks. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

LSU runs over South Carolina, 23-21

The Ol' Ball Coach came into Death Valley (that Death Valley) with a vaunted defense, star running back and national title hopes. He left with a new perspective.

"Tonight I realized why LSU was preseason No. 1 (in USA Today)," Steve Spurrier said moments after the No. 3 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks were beaten by the Tigers. "They're a big, strong team," he said. "They can run the ball and stop the run. That was the biggest difference in the game probably. I don't know how many rushing yards they had, but I know we didn't have many at all. I give those guys credit. They were running much better than we thought they would."

The Gamecocks got ran over in a 23-21 loss to LSU that shouldn't have been as close as it was. The Tigers nearly doubled South Carolina's yardage, but a Zach Mettenberger interception gave the Gamecocks the ball at the LSU 1 and they punched it in.

Tiger freshman running back Jeremy Hill had a breakout game, finishing with 124 yards on 17 carries, including touchdowns of 7 yards and 50. It was just what the Tigers needed after a bitter loss last week, losing by eight points to a good but one-dimensional Florida team that uses a lot of misdirection and trickery to move the ball.

''At the beginning of the season, it was about the national championship. But at the end of the day, it's all about family. I think we got back to that,'' Sam Montgomery said. ''Last year, we never would have talked about a national championship. We took it week by week by week by week, getting closer and closer.''
LSU (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had the appearance of a team in a slide for the previous several weeks, which included several unimpressive victories over heavy underdogs, followed by a loss at Florida on Oct. 6 in which first-year starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger and the Tigers' offense were unable to get into the end zone once.

Check out the box score

''Maybe we needed a loss to be humbled, to get that hunger back, to get adversity knowing that everything doesn't comes so easily,'' said Montgomery, a defensive end, who had two sacks of South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw. ''It was something we needed to wake us back (up), to get us playing tough, hard-nosed football.''

For South Carolina, the loss was simple.
'Our front seven didn't come to play,'' said South Carolina star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who was in on six tackles but did not have a sack. ''We gave up way too many yards and too many third down conversions. We can't win like that.''
LSU plays at BCS No. 18 Texas A&M (5-1, 3-1 SEC) at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

LSU, Referee Edge Gamecocks, 24 - 17

LSU, like many teams, has frequently needed the referees to nip a persistent opponent at one time or another. Sad is the day when the LSU Tigers need a tackle from a referee. Sadder still is when the major footnote of a major LSU game is the fact that the ref tackled somebody (of course,
Spurrier investigated it). But in Baton Rouge, that's what it's come down to. The LSU-South Carolina game will be forever remembered (and immortalized) as the day an SEC ref forearm-stabbed a Gamecocks player.
The funny thing? LSU needed it.
Gone are the blowouts and wildly superior physical performances of last year. This bunch has to all-out blitz - every time - to ensure a sack. I'm not down on my boys when it comes to a championship, I'm just not particularly bearish this year, not with the re-emergence of Joe Eterno, er, Paterno's Penn State. Not with the unflappable Texas Longhorns playing a schedule every bit as rough and rugged as Georgia's. Not with a 1-loss USC team blowing teams out the stadium. And I didn't even mention the best Alabama team in nearly 20 years. But we'll be alright. TRANSLATION: Lester Miles bought himself at least 2 years of mediocrity with last year's championship, so if we lose two it's still a bonus.

class="statcounter">href="http://www.statcounter.com/">src="http://c37.statcounter.com/3304105/0/e4276e7c/0/" alt="free hit
counter" />

Friday, October 17, 2008

Spurrier, Gamecocks Will Be Ready

The diabolical Steve Spurrier has had 2 weeks to prepare for the Tigers. No doubt he has some razzle-dazzle planned for one of the Gamecocks' biggest games this season at home. Look for something worthy of YouTube, and something ESPN would want to lead off with. For it was only one year ago that LSU went into its bag of tricks and did a fake field goal that ran on all the highlight shows for about 2 weeks. Spurrier's not one to rest on his Florida trickery, he's got at least one, maybe two in the bag. Thing is, LSU is smarting from the worse loss since the David Green-led Georgia Bulldogs smoked them in 2004. Les Miles and Gary Crowton will no doubt dial up a few things to get ready for the Gamecock Nation. South Carolina is playing for respectability, LSU is still playing for a national championship. Saturday's game will go a long way to establish both ends, but unfortunately, only one team can win.
PREDICTION: LSU 28- SC 24

class="statcounter">href="http://www.statcounter.com/">src="http://c37.statcounter.com/3304105/0/e4276e7c/0/" alt="free hit
counter" />

Thursday, January 03, 2008

LSU 2007 Football Season Recap: How They Got There

The most awesome, captivating, exhilerating LSU football season in history came to a close last night, culminating in a 38-24 victory over Ohio State for the BCS championship. It was LSU's second title in 5 years. This is how they got there:

Thurs, August 30
Starkville, Miss. 8:15 p.m.
LSU opened up the season by picking off the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss. The game was broken open in the second half when LSU got 4 interceptions (6 overall) and put the Tigers offense in easy scoring positions. Senior LSU safety Craig Steltz picked off 3 all by his lonesome and in stood atop the NCAA standings in interceptions for the first two weeks.

Sat, Sep 08
Virginia Tech - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 8:15 p.m.
The massacre last semester at Virginia Tech weighed heavily as LSU's band played the Tech song before the game. I thought the Hokies would sneak out a win here (I predicted 21-13), but LSU dominated from start to finish for a 48-7 victory. In the process,

Hokies senior QB Sean Glennon lost his starting job to freshman Tyrod Taylor, and the LSU defense got even more praise than before. Quarterback Matt Flynn in two games at this point has completed 29 of 46 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 77 yards and another score. But the biggest theme so far has been Michigan's failure to enter the win column after two tries at the beginning of the season. The speculation has started that Les Miles may leave LSU and go to U-M, his alma mater.

Sat, Sep 15
Middle Tennessee Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m.
The key of the game was that Matt Flynn didn't play due to a sore ankle; backup and next-year starter Ryan Perrilloux was 20 for 25 for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns. 55-17 LSU

Sat, Sep 22
South Carolina - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m. LSU beat No. 12 South Carolina 28-16 in front of 92,530 in Death Valley.

"Ole Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier showed his scorn after LSU kicker Colt David ran around the right end for a 15-yard touchdown on a fake field goal (an instant SportsCenter highlight), and his point-after kick made it 21-7 with 1:10 to play in the half. South Carolina gained only 89 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 261. The Tigers sacked quarterback Blake Mitchell twice and held him to 70 passing yards. The Gamecocks ran for only 17 yards on 27 attempts.

Sat, Sep 29
Tulane - at New Orleans, La. (Louisiana Superdome) LSU (5-0) scored 24 unanswered second-half points in a 34-9 victory on Saturday. Matt Flynn was sacked six times, throwing for 258 yards.

His passing was inconsistent in the face of constant pressure and he was intercepted once, finally showing chinks in his armor. But he stayed upright just enough for LSU to take a 10-9 halftime lead in the surprisingly tight game. If not for a pair of Tulane turnovers, Matt Forte's fumble and Anthony Scelfo's interception, the game might have been closer. The next day, LSU moved into the No. 1 spot, prompting Les Miles to famously say "Anybody that voted us No. 1 obviously didn't see the Tulane game." He was right.

Sat, Oct 06
Florida
- Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m. In arguably the most exciting game ever played in LSU’s storied Tiger Stadium in front of the largest crowd in its history, the No. 1-ranked LSU Tigers overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat ninth-ranked Florida, 28-24, in front of record 92,910 emotionally spent fans. The major footnote in the game was Les Miles calling for and the Tigers going 5 for 5 on fourth-down conversions — including two that went for touchdowns.

The Tigers trailed 24-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter but mustered a 4-yard touchdown pass from Matt Flynn to Demetrius Byrd with 10:15 left in the game on an improbable fourth-down play. The touchdown capped a 5-play, 27-yard drive that was sparked by a crucial interception of a tipped Tim Tebow pass by defensive end Kirtson Pittman at the Florida 27. There was a decibel-level cheer when the public-address announcer informed the 92,910 fans that Stanford had upset No. 2 Southern California in Los Angeles, meaning LSU would take the top spot.

Sat, Oct 13
Kentucky - at Lexington, Ky. (Commonwealth Stadium)LSU was able to cover mistakes by good defense and fortunate execution for weeks before the bottom fell out behind a blue background. No. 17 Kentucky upset the Tigers 43-37 in triple overtime after Charles Scott was stopped on 4th and 2 in the final extra period.

Earlier, LSU came at Kentucky in waves, sending in third- and fourth-string running backs to rack up yards, first downs, and points. With a 27-14 third-quarter lead against a wavering Wildcat defense, as the sun set it seemed like another test passed. With LSU just one pass away from getting into secure field-goal range in the final 30 seconds of regulation, Kentucky's defense — gashed on screens and flat passes all game long in third-down situations — finally reacted to a screen and forced a 57-yard Colt David field goal that just missed on the final play of the fourth quarter.

Sat, Oct 20
Auburn - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) A cardiac clinic of a game, LSU defeat No. 18 Auburn 30-24 behind a harrying-last second touchdown from Matt Flynn to Demetrius Byrd. Instead of calling a timeout with under 25 seconds remaining and running one last play before giving kicker Colt David a chance to win the game, LSU decided to pocket its last timeout and let the clock roll.

The game turned in the second half: LSU’s offense was sluggish and out-of-sync in the first half, but recovered to gouge Auburn in the second half, finishing with 488 total yards, 319 of those coming from Flynn’s sharp passing. He completed 22-of-34 including three touchdowns and an interception that wasn’t his fault. He also rushed for 34 crucial yards, mostly in the second half.

Sat, Nov 03
Alabama - at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bryant-Denny Stadium)
The third-ranked Tigers did it again, scoring two touchdowns in the final three minutes to stay in the thick of the national championship race with a heart-stopping 41-34 win over No. 17 Alabama.

The game turned when Chad Jones caused a key fumble late and Jacob Hester cashed in moments later with the go-ahead touchdown. With No. 2 Boston College losing 27-17 to Florida State, it let LSU move up another slot in the rankings and the BCS standings.

Sat, Nov 10 Louisiana Tech - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium)
7:00 p.m. Matt Flynn passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 2 LSU to a comfortable 58-10 triumph over Louisiana Tech that could lift the Tigers back to the top of the national rankings. "I'll be shocked if they're not the national champions at end of the year," Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley said. "They put it to us tonight." Flynn's scoring strikes included a career-long 71-yarder to Terrance Tolliver, which also was a career long reception for the freshman receiver. That was LSU's longest play from scrimmage this season until Tech's secondary over-pursued on a trap play and Jacob Hester broke loose for a career-best 87-yard touchdown run.

Sat, Nov 17 Ole Miss - at Oxford, Miss. (Vaught-Hemingway Stadium)
After a stylish start, forcing two turnovers on goal-line stands in the first half, the Tigers (10-1, 6-1 SEC) defense faltered against the last-place Rebels, giving up a season-high 466 yards. Trindon Holliday returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and the Tigers came up with a couple of pivotal turnovers to hold off Mississippi 41-24 and keep the national championship in their sights. The Tigers clinched their first outright Southeastern Conference Western Division title and set a school record with 10 or more wins for the third straight season.

Fri, Nov 23
Arkansas - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 1:30 p.m.
It was the Darren McFadden Heisman show: The Razorback runner's rushing touchdowns went for 16 yards in the second quarter, 73 yards in the third period and 9 yards in the second OT as Arkansas stunned the Tigers 50-48 in triple overtime on the Friday after Turkey Day.

His TD pass was a flawlessly executed 24-yarder over the middle to Peyton Hillis after McFadden froze the defense with a play-action fake. Peyton Hillis scored four TDs, the last in the third overtime for Arkansas. In the first OT LSU had Arkansas with a 4th and 10 at the 25 but they converted. LSU responded when Matt Flynn found Brandon LaFell for a 9-yard TD, but Matterral Richardson intercepted the 2-point conversion attempt, and Arkansas' bench emptied onto the field in triumph, having ended the nation's longest home winning streak at 19 games.

Tennessee - Atlanta, Ga. (SEC Championship Game) With Flynn banged up and on the sidelines, the Tigers turned to oft-troubled heir apparent Ryan Perrilloux. He didn't win the game, didn't lose it.

Tennessee senior QB Erik Ainge did that, throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions, the first of which LSU's Jonathan Zenon returned for the game-winning 18-yard touchdown with 9:54 left to play for a 21-14 Tigers' victory in the SEC's 16th annual title game. The second interception hurt almost as much. Ainge was driving the Vols toward the game-tying score when he forced a short pass into double coverage and it was picked off by LSU linebacker Darry Beckwith at the LSU 7 with 2:42 left. Les Miles was forced to make an almost-tearful vow to remain at LSU after media reports confirmed he had accepted the job at Michigan.

A win away from playing for the national championship, the West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2, 5-2 Big East) lost to rival Pittsburgh (5-7, 3-4) 13-10.

NO. 4 Missouri beat No. 2 Kansas 36-28, handing the Jayhawks their first loss.

No. 9 Oklahoma beat No. 4 Missouri, 38 -17.

UP NEXT: LSU (11-2) vs. Ohio State (11-1)for All The Marbles aka the National Championship.
LSU rallied from an early 10-0 deficit, taking a 24-10 lead at halftime that held up. Two key plays on special teams helped shift the game — Ricky Jean-Francois blocked a field goal, and LSU took advantage of a roughing-the-kicker penalty.

Matt Flynn threw four touchdown passes and LSU made it look easy with a 38-24 win over No. 1 Ohio State, turning the title game into a horrible replay for the Buckeyes. Still, LSU was a runaway No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The Tigers received 60 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel. Georgia, Southern California, Missouri and Ohio State rounded out the top five. Georgia had three first-place votes while Southern Cal and No. 7 Kansas each had one.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Cockadoodle Don't: For Spurrier, the Bottom Has Fallen Out

"Thinking about winning the SEC about four years ago was a realistic thought," South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said recently when he reflected on the Gamecocks' 2007 campaign. "But obviously it turned out to be very unrealistic."
As the season winds down, Ole Ball Coach is finally facing the reality that is oh so obvious to the casual SEC observer: The Gamecocks pretty much suck.
"Somebody told me, 'Coach, if you don't go to a bowl, at least you won't have a losing record this year,' " Spurrier said. "Well, that's one way to look at it."
But Spurrier and the South Carolinians had much bigger plans.
When he met with the athletic director this summer for an honest assessment you had to figure their meeting went something like this:
Spurrier: Well, boss, I think we got ourselves an SEC East contender.
A.D.: Really? A contender in less than 4 years? Let's run down the schedule, shall we?
Spurrier: Yes-sir-eee, let's do it.
A.D.: Louisiana-Lafayette?
Spurrier: Yeah, easy.
A.D.: Georgia?
Spurrier: Hell yeah.
A.D.: South Carolina State.
Spurrier: (laughs, adjusting his visor).
A.D.: At LSU?
Spurrier: Well, (grimacing) we'll make a game of it.
A.D.: Okay, um, Mississippi State?
Spurrier: We'll get that one.
A.D.: Kentucky?
Spurrier: Com'on, now. You kiddin' me?
A.D.: At North Carolina?
Spurrier: Battle for the state? No problem.
A.D.: Vanderbilt.
Spurrier: (stares at him) It's Vandy (shrugs with both hands out)
A.D.: At Tennessee
Spurrier: It'll come down to the last play. It's 50-50.
A.D.: At Arkansas?
Spurrier: They don't have a passing game. We'll kill 'em!
A.D.: Florida?
Spurrier: They can't recruit since i left. Done.
A.D.: Clemson?
Spurrier: (deep breathe) They'll be at the bottom of the ACC. Course!
Before the season, Spurrier had every reason to expect a two-loss campaign. They had high hopes for senior tailback Cory Boyd, who had over 800 yards the previous season and a 5-yard-a-carry average for this career. Hopes were even higher for freshman Chris Smelley, a Tuscaloosa kid who spurned the obvious school choice to experience a little Cock N' Fire, and compete for the starting position with seasoned senior Blake Mitchell. Spurrier has tinkered with the lineups so much that both quarterbacks have turned in uneven seasons, but it didn't start out that way.
The Gamecocks proceeded to run the table early on, except for a Purple-and-Gold speed bump in Baton Rouge, where the Ole Ball Coach even accused LSU of
"dirty play". But they regrouped for awhile. At their highest, they made it to No. 6 in the country, despite a bad showing against the Tar Heels. But they managed to hold up their end of the bargain.
Then came Vanderbilt. A perennial cupcake, the Commodores would stop two deep USC drives and stymie many others with their secondary play. The loss was a stunner, to say the least.
And the Tennessee game? USC spotted the Vols a 21-0 lead before a furious comeback was spoiled by special teams in a 27-24 loss. Spurrier sensed that the bottom could fall out even then.
"When we were 6-1, you guys heard me talking, I wasn't sitting on the table here telling you how great we were," Spurrier said after that game while preparing for the Razorbacks. "It sort of just all caught up to us against some good teams."
And then the Arkansas, a 48-36 laugher, saw Razorback running back Darren McFadden personally do a Heisman highlight reel through the Gamecock line and secondary.
"I don't know if Arkansas was that great a running team or we're that bad," Spurrier said then. "I guess we're going to find out as we finish the season here."
He'd find out the following week, as Florida came to town.
Gator quarterback Tim Tebow was so dominant, scoring all seven of the Gators' touchdowns in a 51-31 romp, that he astoundingly contributed 80 percent of Florida's entire offense.
He had 424 of Florida's 537 total yards on offense.
Spurrier, like his team,
had no answers.
And he doesn't have any today as the Gamecocks look to finish against Clemson next week.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Spurrier Inconsolable After Gamecocks lose to Gators

Maybe he should have made his team celebrate for like, 20 minutes after their first touchdown.
On a wild weekend in the SEC, South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier could no longer put on a happy face Saturday night.
Ole Ball Coach sounded detached and demure after his team lost to Florida 51-31 before 81,000 Gamecocks fans. It was the fourth straight loss for South Carolina, marking only the second time in Spurrier's coaching career that he has lost four consecutive games. As much success as he's had coaching college football, safe to say he soundly appreciates having to serve up quality football at a C-list athletic program. As glanced across the field he could only wish he had access to the rich stables of Florida high school talent he left behind for meaner pastures in the NFL.
Now, Spurrier, do you feel our pain now?
Still, he tried his best to squeeze out, to rinse, wringle, strain any ounce of goodness from this game, but he just couldn't.
"We moved the ball somewhat in the second half ... but to no avail," said South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier. "We were getting shoved around at the line of scrimmage. The guys are trying, but we're just not that good. The other team toyed with us. We'll see if we can play better. If we can't, we'll need to get in the weight room and see if we can't stop getting pushed around."
Spurrier has been getting less and less optimistic about his team since the start of the season where he stated that the Gamecocks could finally "compete" in the SEC East.
South Carolina's Blake Mitchell completed 26-of-42 passes for 316 yards, but had a pair of costly turnovers that ultimately led to the fourth consecutive loss for the Gamecocks (6-5, 3-5). Gamecocks tailback Cory Boyd scored three times on the ground and Kenny McKinley caught seven passes for 95 yards.
On the other side of the ball, "Superman" Tim Tebow rushed for a career-high and SEC-record five touchdowns and threw for two more.
After the contest, Spurrier was impressed with his old team.
"If we played them 10 times they'd probably beat us 10 times. We got problems stopping a lot of stuff. We got our butts kicked."
Spurrier's defense gave up 537 total yards to Florida. Last week South Carolina allowed 541 yards rushing in a loss to Arkansas. Can they beat anybody?
"It's going to be hard to beat anybody when you can't stop people and get them off the field," Spurrier said. "We basically just got pushed around and got our butts beat. That's just where we are, men. We're just not very good right now."
Don't worry Ole Ball Coach, it wasn't a bird, or a plane, that did you in. It was Superman.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Spurrier suicidal after Orange Crush

With LSU off, I took in Tenn-S.C., oh what a game. Tennessee did all it could to lose the game, but South Carolina couldn't find its way out of the gift wrap. They lost 27-24 in OT.
"It was a good game for television, I guess, but it wasn't a very good game for us," South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said. "We had our chances but we weren't good enough to win the game tonight. You have to give Tennessee credit for kicking the field goal in overtime, and we couldn't make one. They tried to fumble it to us a couple of times on their last drive but we couldn't get either one of them. We couldn't cover the kickoff very well to pin them back in there. They outplayed us and they won the game. You have to give them credit."
Daniel Lincoln hit a field goal to force overtime and another to win as Tennessee recovered after blowing a three- touchdown lead to defeat 15th-ranked South Carolina, 27-24, in overtime at Neyland Stadium.
After LaMarcus Coker's 37-yard kick return gave Tennessee the ball near midfield with 1:11 remaining, Erik Ainge completed a pair of passes before the Vols picked up 18 yards on a fluke play. Arian Foster broke to the outside and was stripped cleanly, but offensive lineman Jacques McClendon fell on the ball for a first down at the Gamecocks 26. Three plays later, Ainge nearly gave the game away when he fumbled while being sacked, but Tennessee regained possession and spiked the ball in time to set up a 43-yard field goal attempt from Daniel Lincoln with five seconds remaining.
Lincoln hooked the kick badly, but a false start penalty negated the miss, and the Vols placekicker made good on his second opportunity to send the game to overtime when he hit from five yards deeper on the next snap.
Coker rumbled 12 yards for a first down on Tennessee's possession to open overtime, but the Vols ultimately had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Lincoln.
"There will be a lot of talk about the two field goals," Lincoln said afterward. "But the kick return by LaMarcus (Coker) was huge."
The Tennessee defense, torched for 24 unanswered points in the second half, then came up with its biggest stand of the game to preserve the win. A busted flanker screen was blown up for a loss of five yards on the first snap, and the Vols defense forced fourth down when South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell overthrew Kenny McKinley in the corner of the end zone. Finally, Tennessee escaped when Ryan Succop's 40-yard field goal try went wide right, thanks at least in part to some pressure up the middle.
Ainge finished the game 26-for-44 passing for 216 yards and a touchdown, though the Volunteers offense sputtered in the second half. Foster carried 19 times for 75 yards and a score as Tennessee (5-3, 3-2 SEC) won for the fourth time in its last five games.
"(This was) a wonderful team win by our football team," said Tennessee head coach Phil Fulmer. "It wasn't pretty all the time, but it was a darn fine effort. This team has a really great spirit about it - a great effort team. They're fun to be around. They've been very responsive to us as coaches."

Mitchell came on in relief of starting quarterback Chris Smelley to complete 31-of-45 passes for 290 yards, with one touchdown and one costly interception. Cory Boyd rushed 20 times for 160 yards and a score, while McKinley tied a school-record with 14 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown before leaving during the overtime session with apparent leg cramps.

The Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3) went scoreless in the first half, completing a stretch of eight consecutive quarters in which they had not scored a touchdown, and ultimately lost for the second straight week.

Late in the first, Smelley completed a pass to Freddie Brown at the Tennessee 44, but Tennessee's DeAngelo Willingham jarred the ball loose and Eric Berry recovered and rumbled 52 yards before being driven out of bounds inside the Gamecocks five-yard line. Three plays later, Foster plunged in from a yard out to give the Vols a 7-0 lead with 1:14 remaining in the first.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Spurrier accuses LSU of 'dirty play'

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier just won't leave last week alone. Days before his team is to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, he says that LSU tried to punish Gamecock players with helmet-to-helmet hits by LSU blockers on a punt return Saturday in the Tigers’ 28-16 victory against the Gamecocks.
“There was no helmet-to-helmet contact,” LSU coach Les Miles said Wednesday during a Southeastern Conference teleconference.
But Spurrier saw it differently.
“You guys need to go watch the tape,” Spurrier told reporters.
NCAA rules prohibit “spearing,” the use of a helmet to butt or ram an opponent in an attempt to punish him.
“No,” Spurrier said after his a reporteer asked him if he thought LSU played dirty. “LSU, I thought, played fair. There’s no problems except for that one punt return when they had a few clips there, but anyway … .”
The play in question was when an illegal block in the back against LSU negated Mitchell’s 78-yard punt return into the end zone midway through the second quarter.
“They had a couple of helmet-to-helmet hits on that punt return,” Spurrier said in his initial response. “They had about five (penalties) on that one.”
A handful of penalty flags littered the field during Mitchell’s return.

ANOTHER PLAY SPURRIER DIDN'T LIKE:

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Quotes from Week 4 around the SEC

There were heavy hits all over the field, including one in which Craig Steltz flattened Jared Cook to break up a long pass over the middle. Cook stayed down for a couple minutes before coaches got him up and off the field.

"We just tried to dislodge them from the ball. If we can't catch it, nobody can."
- LSU safety Craig Steltz, after leveling South Carolina receiver Jared Cook, who lay motionless for several seconds after the hit.

"It was pretty close until then and that just put another dagger in them. It always works (in practice). We felt confident with it. I've been playing soccer all my life, but I also can catch footballs."
- place kicker ColtDavid, after his fake field goal-touchdown run.

"We had to try something different. Blake Mitchell "maybe didn't do all that poorly, but we had to give (Chris) Smelley a chance. We're going to give him a chance next week and see what happens."
- Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier on why he replaced his starting quarterback with the backup.

“We’re not anxious to play L.S.U. again.Let’s put it that way.”
- Steve Spurrier said.

No. 22 Georgia beat NO. 16 Alabama in dramatic fashion on Saturday, 26-23 in overtime, before 92,138 in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Saban-haters are on in full force, and it'll only be a short time before the Tide turns against Saban, probably before the showdown with LSU on Nov. 3. But, you've got to be happy for Georgia, perennially to 2nd and 3rd place among SEC bigdogs.
“It’s huge for us,” Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We’re young. It’s big to win in the SEC anywhere, especially on the road in a place like this where it seemed like there were 200,000 people. It’s big for us in terms of morale.”

“I think the biggest difference in the game was in terms of time of possession and the ability to keep the ball.” - Alabama coach Nick Saban

Tim Tebow, err, Superman, accounted for all of the Gators touchdowns Saturday, proving his worth. Ole Soup threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for two scores, as third-ranked Florida held on for a 30-24 victory over Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Tebow completed 20-of-34 passes for 261 yards and ran for 166 yards on 27 carries for the Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC), who played on the road for the first time this season.
"They played very well against us on defense. They forced us to show immaturity and make some mistakes. They played hard. I admire the way they do things. It was a tough win." -Florida head coach Urban Meyer.
"Obviously we are disappointed with the loss. But we put ourselves in a position to win. We came back and fought. We gave us ourselves a chance on the last drive, if we had just made some plays. We just didn't get it done. It was a good effort by the team. We made some improvement after a very tough week. We showed some leadership. I am proud of that. Florida is a good team. They are talented. We are a couple players short."
- Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Thoughts of the SEC as Week 4 approaches

AUBURN'S HURTIN: It used to tickle me last year that Brandon Cox was regarded as a good quarterback and Kenny Irons was seen as just an okay running back in the wake of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams' departures to the NFL. Now that Irons has went on to greener pastures in pros as well, Cox is being exposed as an overrated stickpin. And Tommy Tuberville is feeling all alone, as he looks around him and sees no blue-chippers. Ole Tubby is on a island. Has it escaped anyone's mind that Tubby has avoided the criticism that Lloyd Carr received from losing to App State in Week 1, even though Tubby should be 0-3 right now, instead of 1-2? Last week against Mississippi State, Tuberville finally realized that the problem is under center, not the defense, although it could be better. Without a superb O-line, Cox just is not mobile enough to hang in the pocket as Armageddon ensues around him. Tuberville may have hit the panic button too late though; backup quarterback Codie Burns may be more agile but cant' possible right the ship before it runs into at least three more icebergs (Alabama, Arkansas, LSU) along the way. Oh, not to mention this Saturday's game against pass-first New Mexico State. Oh, and believe the hype: Ole Tubby's job is on the line.

FLORIDA AINT GOING AWAY: To LSU fans, the "Florida problem" started as a nagging issue two weeks ago, morphed into a concern after week 2, then became an outright issue last week as they throttled Tennessee 59-20. That's right, Tennessee lost by 39 points. Tim Tebow is nothing short of Superman, and the Second Coming rolled up into one for Florida fans. And he figures to only gain confidence in his passing skills as time goes on. In Florida, we're witnessing something that comes along only about every 20 years: A bonafide superstar college athlete. Not even Reggie Bush, as hyped a collegiate as we've seen in the last decade, is fawned over like Tebow. LSU will have to play disciplined football to win it, regardless of the fact that it's in Death Valley.

'BAMA IS BACK: Ole St. Nick(or, um, Satan, as we call him in these parts) lives in Tuscaloosa and is bringing back memories of a certain houndstooth-crowned one. Nick Saban has quickly transformed the Alabama football into a powerhouse program. Last weekend's last-seconds come-from-behind victory at Arkansas was the coronation. SEC, forewarned: 'Bama's back. Key play in the game: Darren McFadden rides the bench as his team clings to a 5 point lead inside of 3 minutes left in the game. Arkansas coach Houston Nutt would go on to say that his star running back had a "mild concussion," but it's a major coaching error to leave him out of the ballgame when he had been so effective and could have easily been a huge decoy on a playaction (the safety definitely would have stepped up) without taking a hit, or a fake handoff-bootleg or something. Either way, this is Coaching 101.

IN ARKSANSAS, IT'S 2006: The Razorbacks are playing like they won't be intimidated by three straight losses to end last season and last week's last-seconds defeat to the Crimson Tide. Arkansas will continue to ride uber-star Darren McFadden, and you know? He will deliver.And powerful McFadden and fleet-footed Felix Jones are the best running back duo in the nation (since Ronnie Brown and 'Lac Williams at Auburn) and just need a little more solid quarterback play and imaginative playcalling by the coaches to run the table in the SEC. Can they beat LSU? If this game were played early in the second, possibly in weeks 2 or 3 I'd say yes, but with possible national title hopes on the line for LSU I don't see them losing focus that late in the season.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

LSU's Miles disses South Carolina players?

Not unlike our nation's president, LSU coach Les Miles stumbles, bumbles and fumbles when he opens his mouth. This week, he pissed off some South Carolina players Monday by stumbling over their names during a news conference.
Gamecocks fifth-year senior Cory Boyd was the poster boy of Miles' lip slips. While complimenting him and the team's running game, no less, Miles called the back "Cory Byrd." That mistake, and others, have not become lost on the Gamecock players as they prepare for Saturday's game against the second-ranked Tigers in Baton Rouge. Boyd and junior Mike Davis are Gamecock running backs, and they're averaging 169 rushing yards a game.
"That's something our strength coaches spoke to us about today in the weight room," Boyd said. "They said the guys don't even know us over there. They act like we're nobodies.
"They're looking over us. I like it. You don't have to know my name."
Miles stuttered through receiver Kenny McKinley's name. He called All-SEC linebacker Jasper Brinkley "No. 52." He didn't attempt all-conference kicker Ryan Succop's name, either.

The Gamecocks noticed. "Hopefully, at the end of the game, you'll understand who Cory Boyd is," Boyd said. "You'll understand who Kenny McKinley is. You'll understand who Jasper Brinkley is.

"And you'll understand these Gamecocks that we have over here, that we're a serious team and we're not a team that you can overlook."

Monday, September 17, 2007

Is LSU more banged up than it's letting on? (Gamecocks await)

As the college football world comes to grips with the balance of power, LSU's fearsome squad may be more banged up than they're letting on: wideout Early Doucet didnt' play against Middle Tennessee and he may not play Saturday against South Carolina. LSU coach Les Miles called his injury "pretty significant." Word on campus is that he evidently suffered a groin injury against Virginia Tech. Quarterback Matt Flynn also didn't play last week because of the ankle injury suffered against Virginia Tech. He is expected to start against South Carolina, though. If Flynn couldn't go they would have to turn the reins over to second-string quarterback Ryan Perriloux, who threw three touchdown passes last week. At this point, he's got more yards and TD passes (6 to 2) than Flynn and probably would give the Gamecocks more problems, limited only in the number of plays he knows how to run. In any event, if LSU is more roughed up than it is admitting then, Virginia Tech really took a larger toll out of them than the nation thought. The win was not as easy and more costly. In any event, Miles has admitted to local media that he is not playing straight when it comes to reporting his team's injuries."If it comes out of my mouth, you use it," he said. "If it doesn't [and] if you root for your team - if in fact this is your team - then you would choose not to report anything not described by me.
"Everything is news, but sometimes news doesn't help your team. I would encourage [the media] to see it my way."
Somebody who won't see it his way is South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier
Spurrier has been coy about his team's chances against LSU, preferring to talk about their SEC East foes instead.
Olde Ball Coach might be still mad LSU didn't hire him when it had the chance to in 1986.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

LSU 2007 season preview: Who dat afraid of USC?

Sat, Sep 08
Virginia Tech - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 8:15 p.m.
The massacre last semester will weigh heavily on this one: finally Tech fans will get to do what they enjoy the most: Watch the Hokies play smashmouth football. This one reminds me of LSU a couple of years ago after Katrina; they became the sentimental favorite. V-Tech will be the same. Look for one game-turning play to run the emotions off the charts for the Hokies. Ahhh, the suspense is killing me. 21-13 Hokies

Sat, Sep 15
Middle Tennessee Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m.
LSU will show up for the first half ... then the lead will be so big that the waterboys will show up after that to coast to victory. 55-17 LSU

Sat, Sep 22
South Carolina - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m.
"Ole Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier says this is the year his team joins the first tier. He'll have to prove it in the East with the Georgias, Tennessees and Floridas. He's not ready to challenge the West. Not yet. 36-11 LSU

Sat, Sep 29
Tulane - at New Orleans, La. (Louisiana Superdome)
Expect the unexpected — just kidding, LSU will whip the living snot outta these boys — but with love, since they are Louisiana homeboys. 48-3 LSU.

Sat, Oct 06
Florida
- Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 7:00 p.m.
Last year it was the Tim Tebow show plus a stout Gator defense as Florida scored 16 points off three LSU turnovers and earned seven more on a short field following a safety, as the No. 5 Gators took advantage of the errors to win, 23-10, at The Swamp. Without a muffed punt and the turnovers (including a goal-line fumble by JaMarcus Russell) the Tigers would have won the game with the score reversed, but that was then. Look for the Tigers to come out ferocious and dominate the Gators for some getback. Oh, and it gets fugly. 34-10. LSU

Sat, Oct 13
Kentucky - at Lexington, Ky. (Commonwealth Stadium)
If the Tigers can run on you, they will. Last year the Tigers owned the Wildcat defense for 546 total yards; 268 on the ground and 278 in the air. Meanwhile the LSU defense held Kentucky to 227 total yards and recorded its first shutout of the year. Kentucky will be better than last year, and I DO believe in getback (not Karma). This is the upset. 27-24 KU.

Sat, Oct 20
Auburn - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium)
7:00 p.m.
Last year, these teams met in the 3rd game of the season. And LSU surrendered its first touchdown of the season, but wasn't able to get into the Auburn endzone with a last gasp effort in the final minute. This game will again be a close one, and a seasoned Brandon Cox may be able to pick apart and blitz-happy scheme. Or maybe not. 13-7 LSU.

Sat, Nov 03
Alabama - at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bryant-Denny Stadium)
It's Nick Saban, y'all! The Tigers don't need any pep talk, no motivation. Just show them the hash marks. We're gong to particularly enjoy punishing this team. 'Bama actually has decent talent. Even last year the the two teams combined for 35 points in the first half, until LSU's blitz started to work up ole Brody Coyle. The Tide went scoreless for the last 30 minutes of the contest and the Tigers held on for a 28-14 win. Look for a repeat. 28-14 LSU.

Sat, Nov 10
Louisiana Tech (HC) - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium)
7:00 p.m.
This game will allow the LSU running backs to pad their stats. No surprises here. 42-0 LSU.

Sat, Nov 17
Ole Miss - at Oxford, Miss. (Vaught-Hemingway Stadium)
The Rebels soundly beat LSU in every aspect of the game through three quarters last year and carried a 20-7 lead into the fourth quarter. But, LSU fought back in the final quarter, scoring with 8:46 left in the game and for the final time in regulation with just 14 seconds to play in a 23-20 overtime thriller. I don't think Ole Miss can play over their heads again. 45-17 LSU.

Fri, Nov 23
Arkansas - Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Stadium) 1:30 p.m.
This is always, ALWAYS, the scariest game of the season for Tiger fans. The Razorbacks have been down-right scary since Houston Nutt took over the program a few years ago and this year it's no different. As long as Darren McFadden is in the Razorback backfield it could be a long day. Last year LSU needed a 92-yard kickoff return to escape the fifth-ranked Arkansas, 31-26, this year it'll come down to the fourth quarter with maybe a BCS bid on the line. Yeah, I said it.

Labels